Project 3 Art
For the art portion of my project, I decided the best way to make observational sketches is to go out and sit in a very public location such as the mall and my own classrooms. It was difficult at first to capture each person's position since they're constantly moving. I practiced loose sketching to get more of an observational look and focus more on their positions which is crucial to understanding their mood. If a person is moving quickly they could be in a rush, nervous, urgent, and/or lively and awake. If a person is moving slower or just standing still that could indicate they are lazy, tired, uninterested, or relaxed. I made a few practice sketches of strangers to learn how to use line work to express those positions and movements.
After conjuring up some rough sketches and developing better line-work/observational skills, I decided to focus on one stranger in particular that caught my eye. I was sitting at my local coffee shop trying to figure out who I should start sketching and why. I noticed a man sitting a few tables down from me. He had a particular look to him and was giving off characteristics that I could use for my project:
- He was sitting at his table slouching with bad posture
- His face was relaxed but his eyes were staring off into the wall and the back at his phone
- He appeared stressed and tired
I noticed details like how he had one hand in his pocket and the other on the table. Every now and then he would put both on the table once he was done typing something on his phone. He would fidget his fingers and tap his foot sometimes and take deep breaths. I had to also take notice in his outward identity:
- He was wearing baggy, muted colored clothing (A brown sweatshirt, baggy dark jeans, a grey T shirt underneath, and brown shoes)
- His facial hair was messy (longish, gray-brown beard)
- Hairs all around his neck and cheeks
- Thin hair at the top
- Eyes had bags underneath (could indicate he is tired/hasn't been sleeping well)
- Some wrinkles (indicates he's older)
- He was drinking what appears to be black coffee (very bitter)
I asked myself questions such as where do I think he works? Is he a boring person with a boring career? What is his motive? What could be upsetting him and why is he so tired? I was determined to learn more and answer some of these.
After observing all of these aspects, I try to find anything that is unusual/unique about him. Some time went by and there was not very much I could find. Until he decided to roll the sleeves of his sweatshirt and reveal something that was very interesting and definitely not expected. A colorful (orange, red and black) pattern of hexagons covered his forearm. Focusing on that, I noticed that tattoo looked very familiar. I could infer from this that he is also a creative type and I should incorporate that into my drawing.
Once I got the main figure down, I decided to go a bit further and add in some of the important aspects I observed to show how these certain things helped me infer his personality and emotional state.
My final piece shows the most important observations of this stranger that I soon confronted and learned the name of for my english portion of this project.