I chose this Mackerel because I really like the markings along the back and I found this exercise very interesting because I had never drawn a still life of a fish before. In all honestly, drawing the fish was relatively simple but I had real difficulty in drawing the plate, I just could not get the ellipse right, and I still do not think it is completely right now. I even used a ruler and created a diamond shape to assist me in doing the plate but it was still difficult. I am pleased with the result, I could of so easily gone overboard with the black shading but found myself trying other colours to blend to make a dark tone instead of using black because in reality, the fishes dark markings were not true black either, just a mixture of colours.
Check and log
What were the main challenges of drawing animals
Obviously drawing a moving animal forces you rely on your short term memory as it moves around, or if you are drawing an animal coming towards or away from you, then getting an accurate perspective is key as well as getting proportions correct, this means drawing accurately and quickly at the same time. I do not know if this is right to say but it is also hard to get that spark of life from an animal, is it in the eyes or how it moves, and how would this differ from the "Hare" that Dürer painted which was allegedly stuffed. I think that texture can be difficult to draw, whether it is the shine from scales on a fish, roughness on a crocodiles back or fine fur on a lion.
Which media did you enjoy using most and which did you feel were best for the subject matter and why?
It would depend on the subject matter I should think, in terms of my "Fish on a plate", watercolour was the best medium for me to use on a mackerel. I was able to pick out the iridescent colours that the scales produced and the transparent qualities of watercolour complimented this. My wolf on the other hand works well with pastel as a characteristic of the wolf fur was to blend at various points either through shadow or the layers of the fur. The pastel still had the richness to apply distinct marking that the wolf has. In terms of capturing movement ( for me, my subject, Mollie the cat) then charcoal was the most productive. Having the advantage of Mollie being black and white helped, as I could quickly shade sections of her fur in as well as blend to grey where light hits the black fur.
Where can you go to draw more animals? Think about the sorts of places that will give you opportunity for animal drawing. Have you tried drawing a moving animal Yet?
I think you have to get a bit ingenious to draw animals, there is a selection of domestic pets that you or your friends have that you can draw. Then there is the spontaneous such as what you may see by a lake or an nature walk. This could be a good way of exploring nature but there is no guarantee of what you may or may not see. Zoos and farms can give you access to some interesting animals, as would a sea life center. A beach or area where there are rock pools would be a good place to draw marine life and there is always a museum that sometimes have an area with stuffed animals. The ingenious part comes from thinking outside the box, why not draw moving animals from wildlife programs on the TV or when opportunity arises, capture local wild life on your camera phone. There are books and of course the internet which is a treasure trove of royalty free images to draw from.
No comments:
Post a Comment