This section contains some exercises using cubic simplifications of bodies to get a feel of volume. For some reason, these just throw me in that I find the detachment from a whole figure confusing and unrelatable. I skipped those and went on to a copy of an actual figure, this one by Geoffrey Flack  (2015). Mine is in graphite pencil and again I found some success with the gridding. I’m particularly pleased with the angle of the head but oh that hand! I think I might resort to photographing the original and zooming in on-screen so I can actually see what’s going on because even posted here, I have more detail available than looking directly at the page. I wonder also if my own style is emerging – that slightly rougher, more rustic appearance that relies more on application of medium then removal by putty rubber to leave a suggestion of something, rather than making fine line details with the pencil.

Graphite pencil. This took far less time than previous copies although there is, admittedly, far less detail, no arms and only one leg! I’m no longer trying to replicate the style, just capture the image.

This is the last exercise of its type; a series of quick sketches that I’ve tried to tackle in the same spirit. There are some strange shapes in the originals but on the whole, they make it possible even for me to grasp a shape with fluidity and volume. Graphite pencil and copious application of putty rubber.

Heads, hands, and feet next.

I am running out of storage on this free blog so if these images disappear to make room for the final, more necessary, ones, they’re here on my other blog.