Thursday, November 19, 2009

SELF PORTRAIT PROJECT

DRAWING II: SELF PORTRAIT

So far this semester you have worked from direct observation of live models. Working from photographic references is also a valid form of artmaking. You will have some freedom in this next project, and I want you to be creative. On Tuesday, November 24, we will spend class time as a photo shoot for self portraits. Your job is to plan the “design” of your photo shoot. The self portrait will be a traditional bust composition (upper chest and all of the face.) Decide if you want to wear special clothing or a costume, and bring that and any props you need to class on Monday. To make it more interesting, you must have a background from a different photographic source, which you must find and bring to class. Maybe you want the background to be Paris at night. Maybe it’s from one of your own photographs. Maybe you want it to be a microscopic view of DNA. Or perhaps thousands of bicycles. Be creative with the choice of background, and be thoughtful about it. Don’t just pick a random image to be your background. We will use a grid to draw from the photographs – a technique that you will find helpful for keeping accurate proportions. We will also use Photoshop to combine the faces and backgrounds. If you bring an actual photograph for the background, we can use the scanner to turn it into a digital image.

For Tuesday you need to bring:
Clothing or props
A photographic source for the background
Mechanical pencil
Ruler (if you have one)

If you do not want to draw on your regular drawing paper, you are free to bring in your own choice of paper (minimum size 22x30".) Hobby Lobby has a decent selection of papers sold by individual sheet. You also might consider a colored paper. If you do decide to buy a special sheet of paper, use this rule of thumb -- if you can afford it, always buy an extra sheet! And consider the tooth of the paper - if it's really smooth your drawing will be smooth; if it's really rough, the texture will show up.

Check out these drawings from former Drawing II students for inspiration:






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