What Do You Think of Zooby's MIH Portrait and My Sensitive Drawing?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the artistic portrayal of sensitive subjects, specifically a drawing related to anorexia. Participants share their opinions on the artwork, its emotional impact, and the challenges of representing such themes in art.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Kurdt shares a drawing inspired by a photograph related to anorexia, expressing ambivalence about its beauty versus the harsh reality of the illness.
  • Some participants commend Kurdt's talent and the emotional intensity of the portrait, while acknowledging the difficulty of appreciating the artwork due to its subject matter.
  • Suggestions are made regarding techniques for improving drawing skills, including the importance of viewing images as 3D subjects and achieving a broad range of values in shading.
  • There is a discussion about the appropriateness of the subject choice, with some questioning why Kurdt chose to draw such a sensitive topic.
  • Kurdt explains that the drawing holds personal significance and aims to raise awareness about anorexia.
  • Participants offer constructive criticism, noting specific aspects of the drawing that could be improved, such as composition and value range.
  • There is a light-hearted exchange about the potential for the forum to evolve into an art community.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the emotional weight of the subject matter and the talent displayed in the artwork. However, there are differing opinions on the appropriateness of the subject choice and the effectiveness of the artistic techniques employed, indicating a lack of consensus on these points.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note the challenges of drawing from photographs, including the risk of flattening the image and losing the three-dimensionality of the subject. There are also mentions of the need for a broader range of values in shading to enhance the artwork's depth.

Who May Find This Useful

Artists interested in figure drawing, those exploring the intersection of art and sensitive topics, and individuals seeking constructive feedback on their artwork may find this discussion beneficial.

Kurdt
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When Zooby posted his portrait of MIH I said i'd been working on a drawing myself recently, and rather than hijack the other thread I thought I'd start a new one for opinions :smile:. I hope you guys like it even though the subject is a little sensitive.

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/5808/anoraxicpencilfinishedhq1.th.jpg

Had to post the thumbnail as it was too big otherwise.
 
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It's very good kurdt! The subject is a little

You definitely have talent.
 
Evo said:
It's very good kurdt! The subject is a little

You definitely have talent.

Thanks Evo. The subject of anorexia and more broadly body image is difficult to deal with. I feel greatly ambivolent about the drawing because to me as art it can be considered beautiful yet of course the reality is nothing but and is a devastating illness. I'm kind of drawn to these paradoxical things but I couldn't tell you why.
 
Nice job Kurdt. I agree that it is hard to appreciate the drawing due to the subject matter.
 
larkspur said:
Nice job Kurdt. I agree that it is hard to appreciate the drawing due to the subject matter.

Yes that could be a problem and stop people from posting but I say don't be afraid, I posted this after much deliberation to attain some objective criticism.
 
A shockingly intense portrait that also brings up pertinent questions concerning dignity and the need of self-protection for the one suffering from anorexia (I think the posture is very effective in this regard).

Very good, Kurdt.

I hope it is not a self-portrait; if it is, I sincerely wish you will be able to combat the illness successfully.
 
arildno said:
A shockingly intense portrait that also brings up pertinent questions concerning dignity and the need of self-protection for the one suffering from anorexia (I think the posture is very effective in this regard).

Very good, Kurdt.

I hope it is not a self-portrait; if it is, I sincerely wish you will be able to combat the illness successfully.

Thanks for the comments arildno. It is not me, it was a fairly famous (or notorious) photograph I took from the web. I am not yet good enough to do something like this without a visual reference.
 
An excellent piece of work Kurdt.

I have some suggestions if you want to practice.

I have always found that drawing from photographs is a very convenient technique - but it has some drawbacks. One of the biggest is the fact that the flattening to a 2D image has already been done for me. I end up drawing an image rather than a subject. Images are are all about light and dark shapes, whereas subjects are about 3D forms with light and shadows on them. I find I need to make a special effort to view the image as if it is a 3D subject.

Make sure your transitions between greys are smooth, and the broad areas aren't evenly smooth across their expanses. Otherwise it looks more like planes than curves.

And ensure that your strokes cross the curves of the form (eg. arms are cylinders, enhance the circumferential dimension, not the length). Strokes that are straight will suggest a flat surface. (Pretend your subject is modeled as a 3D computer graphic and you're drawing the grid. Everything is cylinders.)

Best of luck to ya. Post more!
 
why would you draw that?
 
  • #10
The scale is very nice, everything seems to be where it should be. The shadeing and shadows seem a bit off. Is the light source overhead? The one dark foot made me wonder.
Keep up the good work, and most importaint, enjoy!
 
  • #11
light_bulb said:
why would you draw that?

Why not?

Dave and hypatia, wonderful advice! I am definitely going to keep it up and hopefully improve along the way with your sage advice.
 
  • #12
your answering a question with a question, you can just say "because i want to" . i hope I'm not coming off like an ***, I'm just interested in why.
 
  • #13
light_bulb said:
your answering a question with a question, you can just say "because i want to" . i hope I'm not coming off like an ***, I'm just interested in why.

There are many reasons why people draw things, but I chose to draw this because it means something to me personally. Overall it was just a very powerful image and I like images that evoke strong emotions.

Hopefully it can raise awareness of a particularly deadly illness.

I was answering with a question because I thought you had been offended (which was not my intention) and was wondering why just as you were wondering why I chose it.
 
  • #14
thanks for answering, i wasn't sure of how the tone of my first reply would come off. talking to people is easier when no one has to walk on egg shells. :-p
 
  • #15
Dave is very good at figures like this and I'd listen to his advise. (I, myself, have never pursued figure drawing.)

I'll mention a couple things, though: 1.) compositionally, I don't see a good reason for having cropped off the back of her head, and, 2.)always shoot for the broadest range of values you can get. Make the darkest areas VERY dark, then you have room to model with every shade of gray up to white. The values here are compressed into a smaller range than is interesting and it's not nearly as easy a drawing to "read" as it would be if the darks were very dark. Staedtler-Mars makes soft pencils down to a 9b which is just about as dark as a soft charcoal pencil.
 
  • #16
Yea the back of the head looks too boxy, but overall it looks pretty good in my oppinion. I agree that the subject makes it hard to look at for a long time and appreciate the detail. But this is just my oppinion and art is very oppinionated I would suppose.

Overall it is really good. I hope we get to see more of your artwork soon!
 
  • #17
Kurdt, is this Klimt? Looks familiar, but I don't have the time to look it up.

Nice work. Perhaps I'll post some of my old drawings, since I see drawing is in here lately. :approve:
 
  • #18
radou said:
Perhaps I'll post some of my old drawings, since I see drawing is in here lately. :approve:

My secret plot to turn PF into an art forum is coming along nicely.

http://op-for.com/mr%20burns.jpg
 
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  • #19
Lol zoob, it truly does seem as if it is working. :-)
 
  • #20
radou said:
Kurdt, is this Klimt? Looks familiar, but I don't have the time to look it up.

Nice work. Perhaps I'll post some of my old drawings, since I see drawing is in here lately. :approve:

As in Gustav? I don't think so. It was just a photograph I found when researching anorexia.

Well there's been plenty of fantastic tips for my next attempt, especially from Dave and Zoob. Thanks for everyone who expressed their opinion and gave advice. :smile:

:smile: The physics, maths and art forums. Nice combination. Well done zoob!
 
  • #21
zoobyshoe said:
My secret plot to turn PF into an art forum is coming along nicely.

One could definitely say so.

Kurdt said:
:smile: The physics, maths and art forums. Nice combination. Well done zoob!

You never know. Perhaps an art section arises! :smile:
 

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