Hands!

Today was quite interesting and as a class, we were presented with a new approach to drawing from life. The process was to take a piece of clear PVC and using markers, draw onto clear projector sheets whilst positioning our hands underneath. It sounds tricky but it wasn't really. The hardest part was keeping still because the slightest change could screw up the drawings proportions. I found that taking the suggestion of closing one eye really helped with maintaining accuracy. After we had finished drawing onto the clear sheets, they were then projected onto A2 paper and then traced. 

This was my initial outline sketch of my hand after it had been projected. Just basic lines with no toning.

The next step was to add in tone and what made that difficult was the ever changing light source from in and outside the room. I found that the hand position I had chosen wasn't particularly great when it came to harsh shadows, which would of made things a little easier. Another problem I was having was with the creases in the skin. I think my drawing gave the impression of a hand that was much older than mine.

By the end of the day, this is what I finished with. It was pointed out that the palm lacked a curve which would of added further depth to the drawing. I hadn't considered it at the time due to the "flat" lighting in the afternoon, though looking at it afterwards I can definitely see that further work needs to be done on it.

Overall, I liked how class went today and it was pretty awesome to try something new even if I didn't get spectacular results. I am pretty pleased with how my drawing turned out but I think I'll be more content with it once I've made some revisions. Definitely a positive experience and I do believe that things like this couldn't happen if we didn't have the entire day devoted to observational drawing.