Pelvis Studies

Up first is the masters drawings follow by my rendition of the pelvis. In each of the drawings you can see the pelvis is turned forward pointing almost outwards like its being tipped forward. I think I demonstrated this accurately in my drawings. The last image is suppose to be the foreshortened image. I had a hard time finding a good one, but none the less I think the image shows how you can see down into the pelvis from a top angle.

Rib Cage studies II

Here are my rib cage studies that are derived from the previous posts figure drawings by the old masters. Each image shows the egg structure, the first pair of ribs at the top, the cartilage that connects the bottom ribs and the sternum.

Rib Cage Studies I

These are the images I found of old Master drawings with attention to figure drawing. Both of the first drawings were found in the book, Drawing in Early Renaissance Italy by Francis Ames-Lewis. and the last drawing was taken from Leonardo Da Vinci: The Divine and the Grotesque by Martin Clayton.Benozzo Gozzoli, Studies of nudes. Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Silverpoint, with white heightening, on violet prepared paper; 22.5 x 15.5 cm.

Antonio Pollaiuo, Nude youth. Bayonne, Musee Bonnat, 1269. Pen and ink on paper; 26.8x8.8 cm.Leonardo Da Vinci, The proportions of the body according to Vitruvius, c.1490. Pen and ink with touches of wash, over stylus 34.4 x 24.5 cm.

First long drawings

Following my progression through the pictures form top to bottom you can see an absolute progression. The first drawing was mainly focusing on the imaginary outlines that appear to encase the figure. This was the first drawing before any instruction was given. The next two focus on the long axis lines. This is a much more representational view of the actual structure and form of the figure. I added a skull, rudimentary rib cage, and a rough pelvis in order for the figure to be more connected and for the figure drawing looks more like a human figure and less like a stick figure. Drawing the long axis instead of the body's outlines is a much easier and more accurate way to start out a figure drawing. This way everything is drawn proportional from the start and each limb is drawn with its correct curvature. The last drawing was the most recent and it was meant to focus on the spinal cord, with specific attention to the 4 curves that make up the spine. Although this figure was facing towards me, so there really isn't much spine detail that can be seen. The sternum on the other hand can be seen and the curve of the chest and stomach is depicted. After the long axis lines were drawn in I drew rough lines that depict the feet, hands, and rude muscles in the arms and legs. Overall I feel I have developed my drawing skill really well for a short amount of time that has passed. What i've learned will continue to grow and my skill will become more realistic.

Sample of Works

Self Portrait
This was a large self portrait I created in fall semester of 2007. The entire image is created with pen and ink. The guidelines were to create a self portrait using only words. Overlapping and layering of the words was encouraged. In total this took more time then I anticipated but overall I believe it came out successful. The feathering of the words created a very believable and realistic shading gradient, which gave dimension to the overall portrait. This was by far the largest drawing I have ever done.





Puppeteer
This image was created for drawing II class taken at Stout the spring semester of 2008. This was my first mixed media project that I have tried. The composition was completely imagined and the subject matter was pretty much random. This image came to me one day and I still am not aware of what I was trying to represent or say with it. The image was drawn using pastels on a black presentation board. After the image was completely drawn, white thread was stitched through the presentation board to give the look of the hand controlling the puppet. This image in person has very vivid colors which are amplified with the all black background.


Destiny
This image was my final project for the drawing II class in the spring semester of 2008. This as well was my first water color painting I have ever done. The criteria was to emulate another artists style. I chose Frank miller, who most people would know now as the mind behind comic book that inspired the movie 300th. The muted warm tones along side the vibrant red and black are very reminiscent of his comic books. The image is very very detailed and is probably my favorite piece of art work I have done yet. The subject matter is taken form the anime Full Metal Alchemist and is a still frame from the show. The color and style of the image was added to the still frame to make it reminiscent of Frank millers work.


All these images can be seen as well as the rest of my portfolio on my website. My Portfolio

Let myself introduce... myself

My name is Nathan Strauss and I grew up in a smaller town in the middle of Wisconsin called Beaver Dam. out of high school I decided to go to a tech college as I did not know where I wanted to go for my future. I spent two years at the tech college completing all my generals. I then transferred here to stout and in the last 3 years I finished a psychology degree. Upon graduation I realized I didn't want to sit in an office all day and was not happy with the outlook of my career choice. So right before finishing my psych degree I added studio art as a second major.

My plan was to finish a studio art degree and start a career as a illustrator/game concept artist. At the same time I started talking to some teachers and I found out that Stout was going to offer a game development and design degree. So I figured since I wont be able to handle 16 credits of studio classes each semester, I might as well fill out another degree and mix my studio classes up with some GDD classes. Effectively I plan to graduate in about 3 more years, bringing my total of college years to 8, and 3 degrees with neither of them being a doctorite :)