Its only two weeks left of my amazing year at the Academy of Art university. I have learnt alot from my time here and its time to embrace its final moments. Just this morning I had the majority of my final assessment graded for Introductory to Human Anatomy class (please refer to photo). I was chuffed with my assessment. It feels good to know that youre on the right track. However more importantly in my circumstance (the fact that Im studying at the Academy for personal development moreso than making a career out of it) did I gain anything from this particular class? The answer is a no brainer - yes. I have a much better understanding of how the anatomical structure of the human body (both male and female) works. Why is this important? Itll enable you to draw more convincing figures in any medium you wish to express - illustration, animation, comics, painting and so forth. I know for sure that I still have a long way to go in perfecting the drawing of the human figure but by golly, if I didnt take this class it would have taken me hours on end to figure out how a certain pose works in any given situation. Also being one of the A students on this class, I can give you a realistic overview on the level of difficulty and how I compare to others. This class is relatively easy if youve had drawing experience, if you had none it will be a challenge - it is after all an introductory class. Overall I feel that half the class have a lot to catch up on or are at the average level. The other half are on the good to outstanding category. I see myself as good. I know a few out of the 25-30 students in the studio that are beyond my current level simply because they have put in more hours than I have. Anyways here are samples of my best work in-class (most of them 20-40 minute drawings). (Please refer to photos) At the end of the day my main message to the people who watch me on deviantART and are keen artists themselves - STUDY HUMAN ANATOMY!!! It is quintessential to get a firm grasp on illustrating almost ANYTHING of the real world - because humans like to see other humans in pictures dont they (or anything alien that attributes to the familiarity of human features and expressiveness in their poses)? Many artists who have admired my stuff ask me the question of how to improve on their drawings and take it to the next level. Well your best bet is to start here - learn and understand how your body works, observe the skeleton, muscles and structure, and apply what youve learnt by drawing everyday. Try it for a few months and youll see a significant improvement on your drawings! All the best! Oh and a big thanks to Valerie Winslow, my instructor for this class. Shes been amazing and I admired her passion for the subject, to teach and give feedback sensibly and professionally, and last but not least - her interesting sense of humor. To close heres some info on my instructor: Valerie L. Winslow is a contemporary figurative fine artist whose work has been exhibited in museums and galleries nationwide since 1975. Her paintings and drawings are in many private collections and she has won numerous awards in group exhibitions, including Best of Show at the Palm Springs Desert Art Museum and the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art (SVMA) in California. Other museums which have exhibited Winslows work include the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, San Diego Museum of Art and Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in Santa Barbara, CA. For more than 30 years, she has taught figurative art and artistic anatomy at renowned art institutions, including the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA and the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). She has also taught artistic anatomy to animators at Pixar Animation Studios. Since 1989, Winslow has been teaching at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University, School of Fine Arts, where she is a full-time faculty member and the Anatomy Coordinator. You can learn more about her on her website: valerielwinslow/about
Posted on: Wed, 07 May 2014 06:56:23 +0000
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