Week 6: The Final Project

Week 6

This is it... Today I end my journey... I'm in tears to think that I'll be having no more painting times and have excuse to sketch photos and paint instead of doing homework or something. Now that I look back on this project, I've had so much fun. It was so fun yet hard to choose what kind of photo I'll draw, and actual painting was, without a doubt, amazing. I'll tell you the end of my long yet worthwhile watercolor trip.

During spring break, I went to various places. I went to BROADWAY to watch the musical, Phantom of the Opera. I brought my sketchbook all the way to New York, hoping to get some inspiration and draw something in the midst of a busy street. However, I couldn't find anything that I thought myself  capable of drawing. So without any luck, I came back home. My family friend, Hyun Ji and Charlotte came over break though, so I asked them for advice. They suggested going to Merrymead farm.

My favorite ice-cream place!!!

This has all of my favorite memories! I come here during Halloween season, and practically every week during the summer. They sell the most delicious ice cream and cookies. Also, this was the only "nature" place I could find near my neighborhood. So I went with Hyun Ji and Charlotte to the farm and sketched with them. My final goal was, as I've mentioned throughout the blogs, to sketch and paint on the spot. However, I admit, I could only fulfill half of my final goal. I wanted to bring water paint there, but it was just not possible to bring water bucket and watercolor paint/paint brushes along with me. Therefore, I had to just be satisfied with the fact that I can sketch something on the spot.

Please excuse my face... It was early in the morning

I believed drawing live animals onto a piece of paper would be the hardest part, yet I was sadly mistaken. Not only did I fight the continuous sharp winds, the millions of flies swarmed all around us! You might think I'm exaggerating, but I am being dead serious. While I was drawing, 13 flies flew onto the paper, and whenever I tried to shoo them away, they just died there! So theoretically, my painting is a graveyard for those annoying flies.

I finished the rest of the painting at home after taking a picture of the animals. (Because it was obvious that I won't be able to remember what I saw.)

Picture:

Drawing:

TIPS
Before I actually went to the farm and sketched the animals, I researched and read articles to learn tips on how to draw life drawings. First I learned about how to draw life drawings of a human, because even though I didn't draw any humans for my project, I thought the tips would work for drawing other life drawings as well.

The first tip I learned was to notice things. I took this tip into consideration while drawing the final project. It really helped a lot, to mentally note specific details. I noted the sizes, colors, and shapes of the animals, to help me while sketching.

The next tip that I learned was very important: slow, steady, and confident hand is better than indecisive  chicken scratches. Though I had learned this, I always have a habit of scratching some lines here and there, because I think the drawing looks better. However, as you can see in the drawings, the drawing looks very unstable, and blurry. I regret not having steady lines, but it's too late now. I have to be satisfied with what I have. :)

The last tip I'm going to share is about light and the dark. The article says shadows and lights give a life-feeling to the drawing. So when I was at the farm, I tried to show the light and dark with the pencil. However, Hyun Ji told me that if I was going to watercolor paint, it is better to erase them and show the  light and the dark with paint, not pencil. The reason being is when the pencil comes in contact with water, it would smear all over, causing a catastrophe. Thanks to her, I was able to stop myself from ruin  my project.

Thank you everyone who posted some REALLY nice compliments on my blog. You kept me going! :)

Works Cited

"How to Draw a Horse." How to Draw a Horse. N.p., n.d. Web <http://artyfactory.com/drawing_animals/how_to_draw_a_horse/how_to_draw_a_horse.htm>. 

McJunkin, Ryan. "Top 10 Life Drawing Tips." N.p., n.d. Web. <http://ryanmcjunkin.com/top-10-life-drawing-tips/>.