Drawing a Day Challenge: Day #9

I had so much energy today!

I’m not sure if it’s because everyone was back at school, the sun was out, or my office was freshly cleaned, but I got so much done! I guess it was really shocking that I got a lot done because when the boys got home, Kid #2 just stopped and said “Woooooowwww….”, and Kid #3 said “What happened? The house looks so weird!”.

Apparently I don’t clean a lot….

But anyway, back to art things. Number One on my list of course was the Drawing a Day Challenge, and today’s subject seemed daunting. It actually went fairly smoothly, and I really enjoyed working on it!

Title: Falcon

Medium: Graphite pencil and ink on acid free paper

Size: 5×7

This subject was suggested by my friend, Lisa H. She mentioned a bird of prey, and I know my husband especially loves falcons, so it was a no-brainer as to which one I was going to choose.

I once tried doing a watercolor of a falcon for my husband as a gift. I had a book that gave a step by step description on how to do it, and I was all excited about it. About two steps in, it was looking more like a muddy dalmatian than a falcon, so I gave up. Thankfully this one is bird-like! 😉

One thing that has always haunted me from college art classes is that my work is “too soft.” I don’t push the contrast a lot, and that always always always was a comment my instructors would make and grade me poorly on. I really struggle with trying to push for more contrast, and I always hear their voices in my head, making me feel like I’m a horrible drawer, that the quality of my drawings is never going to be good enough. Well, today I really tried hard to get good contrast, and you know what? It didn’t kill me. It still stressed me out, but getting out of my comfort zone every once in awhile is good to do.

* Side note: One of my favorite artists, Alan Lee, is (was?) a concept artist for the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit movies, and some of his concept work has a very soft, low contrast quality to it. So if it’s good enough for those movies, it’s good enough for me!

While I did try to push the contrast, especially in the head area, I did try to leave the chest, back, and wings more soft and muted in their shading. I was trying for a similar effect as when I did the fox drawing, having the face be in focus and the rest of the body fade into the background. I’m not sure it’s quite as effective, but practice is great!

The original drawing is available on my Etsy store here. Prints will definitely be coming soon! Maybe a note card, too? Maybe I’ll do a wildlife assorted set! Hmmm…..

Missed a day of the challenge? You can find the other drawings here!

 

Have you gone outside of your comfort zone lately? Let me know what you did in the comments below!