Mini Project: Orientation

Orientation does exactly what it says on the tin- a one-day project designed to get to know London, the other students on the course, and the discipline of drawing a little too.

Our half of the studio group got Chinatown, Seven Dials, Soho and Oxford Circus, which I know pretty well. All the same, it made for a really nice setting to get to know people, and of course is really good for capturing the true essence of London- a mixture of cultures, tourists alongside locals, street food and a great atmosphere; especially Chinatown (although we learnt the other day that the inside market is being gentrified, which is sad). This also makes it great to draw!

I feel most of these drawings are mediocre, though I enjoyed doing them for the most part since it's been a long time I've done location drawings. The last time I drew on location in London I liked the outcome- taking a sketchbook and being unable to create a perfect drawing means you're forced to loosen up which was really new to me at the time. However, I wasn't so keen on these- I think I need a lot of practice looking at environments and learning perspective, as well as how to get a nice looking sketchbook drawing while also retaining details for possible later use.

Fineliner definitely felt better and I like the outcome slightly more, even though the slanting line at the bottom makes no sense with the rest of the image. The food stall was very interesting and visually exciting so I'm disappointed I couldn't capture it very well. 

The drawing on the right is a copy of an illustration on the menu at the Candy Cafe, which is the only place I could think of to fit our whole studio group since they're always quiet. 

The crepe is obviously a nicer drawing since I was sat down and not cold to draw, and I used coloured biros which is a medium I'm very comfortable with. 

Wednesday's drawing was something of a failure, and we gave up trying to draw given it was cold and again rainy. It lacks good perspective and the use of just blue is bland.