Negative space/ Physical Reference

Date Completed 5/26/2022

Materials Charcoal Pencils, Charcoal Blocks, and a kneadable eraser

Lovely Bones is a project that was very fun (and messy) to work on. The object we used for reference was a plastic skull with plants, seeds, and plastic grapes surrounding it. Oh, did I mention the messy part? The charcoal had an uncanny ability to stick to the walls of my room and (to my dismay) my completely white shirt. Laundry pains aside, this must be my most favorite medium to work with! The way you could cast shadows through the page and simulate wrinkles on clothes and skin just by erasing charcoal off the paper is just marvelous! The skull was very difficult to draw even with me adding some “Edwin” flair to it. I believe it’s the same reason why drawing faces is so challenging. For a good face you need to know the shape of your average fleshling’s face. The creatures I draw do not demand such knowledge for they are drawn without the care to detail that one puts into a reference portrait. You’ll see my prowess in faces soon enough just you wait.