Progress and Finals

Before I go on to the Progress images I promised,

let me share an excerpt about my school and their grading system:

"The grading standards at the Academy of Art are very high.

• A-level work is excellent and exceptional.
• B-level work is very good, far above average.
• C-level work is acceptable. Students can expect to receive a C when their work meets the basic requirements of the assignment, and it is well-done, complete, and turned in on time.
• D-level work is below average or poor. The student didn't get all of the basic requirements.
• F-level work means the student has failed."

For all who care or are wondering...

I got an A in my (very easy) Digital Photography and Photoshop class!
And I passed my Figure Drawing Class with a C+, (which is actually a huge relief!
I could have done better, but missed a whole week of assignments after getting sick
and couldn't make it up in time, as well as just having trouble with my time management).

The way my adviser explained it to me: if you could teach the class or be hired straight into a firm with your current knowledge and abilities, you will get an A. B's are given to those showing extreme potential and are doing very well. The rest is mostly the same as above. Hope that gives you an idea of what I am being challenged with. ;) You now know something it took them almost an entire semester to tell me! I would have freaked out a lot less about all the B's I was getting if I knew that in the first place. Ah well, they are still learning and so am I...

Progress from Week 3 to Week 12 and Week 15


Well, that is the last of Fall '09. Now, to try to keep updated on Spring '10. Lol.
I'm trying, I promise. Not sleeping already, but I am sure trying to stay caught up!

Fall Semester's Finals... Finally!

Okay. I totally bombed my finals! But, it was a great learning experience, and I still know I am not a fan of tests or finals! Blech! Without further ado... some of the last assignments of last semester.

This is my pre-final, and I have some step-by-step images to take you through some of the process I go through to get the more detailed image I have when I finish. Enjoy! :)

Week 14 Pre-final

Week 15 Final Project

The head is a bit too small, but otherwise I am pretty pleased with this one.

Now for a before and later sample... Next post!

So behind... and a new beginning.

Started a new year with new beginnings, a new semester... and yet I feel so behind already. I blinked and my 6 week break was over. 1 week for the holidays, another lost to sickness and more consumed time cleaning and trying to catch up on filing, laundry, etc.

So here I am, no posts since November and with more than just lost time. During that time I lost all the info on a 500GB harddrive, irreplaceably, and also lost all the pictures I took, both personal and academic, from October 1st to the middle of December. Ugh!

Despite all that, here is a blurb of everything I still have to post from last semester...

Week 9

I chose a beautiful picture of my sister-in-law, Heather, on her wedding day as the subject for my head drawing. This is a bad angle of the drawing and not quite what I hoped would turn out from it. Because of the nature of the assignment I had to do it differently than I wanted to artistically. (I would show you somewhere in the middle where I would have stopped, but that is one of the images I had to sadly say goodbye to.) I def need to practice doing quite a few more portraits...

Week 10
The second drawing was a bit more rushed than usual, but I was proud of myself for what I accomplished in the time frame that I did. Usually takes me about 3 times as long. I'm working on challenging myself to speed up, because I really do take much too long for the kind of courses I am in. Which is good, I need to be challenged. My favorite is the last one of my husband crushing a Mt. Dew can! Though it isn't perfect, I am really proud of that one. I didn't want to work on my other drawings, just kept trying to "touch up" the one I loved and wanted to make it perfect. Time, as usual, didn't permit me that luxury. Still, I'm happy with it. :)

Week 11
This was an intensely difficult, but rather enjoyable lesson. I chose my family as the subject of this drawing. I need to finish Kaylana's feet (in the middle) and get Colson's added. My hubby was even a good sport for the fun! Kaylana and Colson didn't want me to stop using them as models. Haha. Great fun. I'm glad that my family can sometimes be a part of what I am doing. As far as quality, my foot actually came out the best, and I got the best grade for that one... I'll have to fix my family's feet so they are great as well. I'm thinking this one might go on my wall in the future, if I can only finish it...

Week 12
This was an awkward week. Trying to get the angles and size correct despite myself. (The craziest thing to me with these two drawings is that my grades were barely different. I spent about 3 hours on the top one, rushed. The bottom image shows a drawing I spent 6 hours trying to get right and it's one of my better ones. Both got B's, one a plain B and the other a B+. I don't even pretend to get the grading system at this point.) Lol. Much easier to look at and think you can do than to actually try. Getting better though at "seeing" the form. Practice will make perfect...

Week 13
This was by far one of the worst weeks. Exaggerating the form... I spent all the previous 12 weeks just trying to get the form accurate! Now why would I want to go and screw all that up with a ridiculous drawing like this. But, on the bright side, there are valuable lessons to be learned even when I don't want to.

I'll post again with some of the final work and a comparison of where I started and how I finished in the semester. Stay tuned!