Assignment #4 - Upside down as all get out

(Find a black and white family photo or a photo you like with at least one figure in it. You can even use something stylized or illustrated; as long as it's as complex as Picasso's drawing of Igor Stravinsky. Turn it upside down, and without mentally labeling the image, try to reproduce the image as accurately as possible.  If you're having trouble on the shading feel free to just focus on the lines. Only when the image is complete, turn it over to look at the result.)

Assignment number, wait for it, 3!

Soooo as discussed in class, your next sketchbook assignment (due Monday, February 19th) is to draw a pile of your dirtiest laundry.  It doesn't have to be laundry necessarily; you can use a bunched up comforter or sheets, towels, or anything made up of fabric.  The idea is to fill your page with a drawing of a mound of fabric (no tiny drawings off in the corner) and to use varying line quality.  You don't have to shade anything; I just want you to explore all of the interior lines and fill your page like we did with the palm drawing.

Assignment #2: Due Monday February 13th, 2012

So, the idea is to draw the interior of your room (no shading unless you want and just contour lines to define the forms).  Make sure to have at least one corner of your room visible, but don't put it in the center of your page.  You are free to draw any other part of your house/apartment if you wish or even a room in another building entirely.  The only requirements are that you again, pick a corner to display in your drawing and that there be a fair amount of visual interest (no empty rooms free from signs of human life).  Have some examples!

Sketchbook Assignment #1: Gesture Drawing

I want you to (ideally) go to a public place and do 10 gesture drawings.  The idea is to draw 10 figures that are moving very loosely and gesturally for 30 seconds so the assignment shouldn't take very long to complete.  Don't worry about capturing proportion or likeness, just fluidity of movement and the angles of the limbs like we practiced in class.  If you can't find enough human subjects then attempt drawing some inanimate objects while retaining a gestural quality.

There's a more in-depth explanation at Wikipedia.

Some examples:

Art 21 Video

The full Art 21 video shown in class (Yinka Shonibare, Cindy Sherman, Paul McCarthy).

Art 21 Episode: Transformation

Drawing assessment video

Just in case you dreamt about it for days, here's the first video I showed you in class.

Assignment #8 - Plant based lifeforms

Oh Dear Lord it's what it sounds like!  For our final assignment I want you to utilize contour drawing (no shading, just very detailed exploration of the form) and explore the forms of a plant.  This means ignoring any shading and focusing on the undulation of form and lots of little details.  This also means no single leaves or a lonely twig in a field of snow, but a detailed drawing of a semi complex plant.  Also, no hand turkeys.