Introduction
This assignment was given to myself, and my fellow students, in my Observational Drawing class. The instructions were as such; Go to Union Station, pick a spot to draw, and begin. So I fled to the station, quickly picked a spot, and started to draw. This was the process of that.
Materials
- Pencils*
- Pencil Crayons
- Sharpener
- Canson Pastel Paper (1 light, 1 dark - 11 x 14)*
- Bond Pad*
- Illustration Board (15 x 20)*
Not pictured*
Creative Process
Upon starting this assignment, it would be an understatement to say that I was fairly nervous. I was very new at doing light studies, so I didn't know how exactly I would approach the task at hand. When the class was shown examples of former student work of this same project, I noticed that a lot of them were of the same scene in the station. So, I decided to do a different spot. Surprisingly, nobody else was in the same spot that I was, so I took advantage. I chose a scene that was fairly plain, however the light was very interesting - and from there I started to draw.
Photo of the spot I was drawing.
Workflow
The following photo shows the first step of this assignment, which was to do a rough one-point perspective sketch of the scene.
The following week, we were to redo the rough sketch, this time with more detail and accuracy.
The next step was to photocopy the good copy sketch onto Canson pastel drawing paper, one light and one dark, at 11 x 14.
With the now photocopied drawings, we were meant to go back to the station the next week, and begin doing light studies with pencil crayon on both the light and dark paper.
With our light studies and photos for reference, we were now ready to begin the final piece on our preferred colour of the two we practiced with.
By following the light studies and reference photos, I was able to finish my final piece and it was now ready for mounting.
Conclusion
Looking back at this assignment, I am satisfied with my work. I feel that I chose the right spot, as in the end the space appears more and more interesting. Before starting the assignment, I was very nervous that I wouldn't be able to capture the light accurately and that it would not appear realistic. However, I definitely surprised myself, as I have never created anything like this but I actually like the way it turned out. I faced a lot of trial and error doing this assignment, as well as a lot of stares at Union Station. Nevertheless, this assignment was a lot of fun and very eye-opening for me, because now I know that I can do things like this and set out of my comfort zone.
