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Drawing Exercise 

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Once again the new 1st year were introduced to life drawing at Staffordshire University with a difference. We challenge the student to attempt to make a film noir style of comic using a basic script and a model in a room with props and lights. 

    

The idea is to get the students to physically move their bodies around the model, rather than, as what usually happens, where the students get an easel and they stay in the same location. Even if the students have a really bad view of the model they will rather draw a bad pose than to physically move themselves around the model. 

Film Noir is something that many of the students today have not really encountered and even though we spend a lot of time talking about shadow and the power of that and what it can add to a drawing, students still tend to stay away from it. 

Above the lighting and aim of the lesson is to explore how we can tell the story. In each shot the student had to make a decision of whether to drawn from above, at the same level or from the floor in a sitting position. 

The final scene where the model packs her bag to leave, gives the student to leave a really interesting climax to the story.

Below are some of the attempts that the first year did during the 3 hours session. What the story is, is completely up to the student.  We encourage them to make decisions about the character on the page, is she the victim, who has managed to get away from an attacker and needs to leave as soon as possible.  Or is she the evil person, a potential murder who has committed the crime and now has to get out as soon as possible.  

 

 

New and Old technologies working together to make art

New and old Art

Last Friday, we tried something we've never done before on Cartoon & Comic Arts. That was introducing the students to a 3D programme called Mudbox by Autodesk. A vast amount of the students on the award have never used Photoshop let alone a 3d package. But undeterred by this we attempted to do it anyway. 

The aim is to get them to do something traditional and then incorporate new technologies to show them how it can help to improve their work.

Obviously some of them to to it like ducks to water - others it was a little harder. 

Portrait Drawing 

The other thing we did was to do portrait drawings, unfortunately I sprained my hand the other evening, which made the whole teaching task very hard. But I think I got the message over. 

More importantly, it was an opportunity for the students to do the Cartoon & Comic Arts Mantra - Draw....Draw.... Draw. 

The Idea is to get the students to build on their core skills that were developed in the first semester. Where we encouraged them to design characters then to build the models out of Plasticine.

From the images below you'll see that some of them aren't that bad an artist. 

This time we are going ask them to try and model their portraits using the 3d Software.

 

 

Now we quickly realised that between the drawing and the 3d modelling there is potentially a lot that can go wrong. But education at this level you don't always get the answer you expect. It is about taking the students out of their comfort zone and pushing them. So in the next few weeks it will be interesting to see what develops. 

 


It's already interesting to note that the students who haven't done any art foundation are the stubborn ones who wont push themselves. And see any