Figure Drawing Blog Post

In the beginning of the figure drawing process, I had previous knowledge on how to go about starting a figure drawing. This new and furthered lesson in Art 4 allowed me to go deeper into the thought process as well as the physical drawing process. In Art 3, I had learned how to look at a subject and draw quickly what I saw. This year, I had learned how to make proportions more accurate and how to do other techniques with the materials we used. I particularly liked using the eraser as a tool to form shapes rather than to fix mistakes; it was a new way to go about making a drawing and it wasn't something I had done before. I also learned more effective ways to hold my tool, whether it be the chalk or graphite, in order to add to the proficiency of the drawing process as well adding to the end product. Overall, I had gained more confidence when beginning a drawing and more confidence when drawing in different ways.

Career Blog Post: Art Therapist

The job I researched for this post was art therapy which essentially is a mental health profession that combines psychological theory with creative expression through art. It focuses on aiding those who have trouble with their words or struggle to verbalize their feelings and cope with trauma. Art therapists must assess needs of their patients, develop their treatment plans, facilitate the use of art mediums, document patients' progress, and maintain and overall safe and therapeutic environment. In order to become an art therapist, you must obtain a master's degree in art therapy that requires a certain amount of supervised hours and submitting professional references to verify capabilities. After achieving this, you may apply to become a registered art therapist through the Art Therapy Credentials Board. The best colleges for art therapy are Drexel University, New York University, Florida State University, and Syracuse University which all provide masters-level education that prepares students for certification and license. The top-ranked program for art therapy is at Drexel University which is known for its historical significance as it was the first graduate-level art therapy program in the world. Art therapists usually train for a master's degree in art therapy after an undergraduate degree in a related field like psychology or art.

Process Post

I started out this project by making thumbnail sketches in order to figure out the composition and how many faces I wanted to add to the piece. After I completed the organization of the heads and found a nice composition I liked, I had to choose reference photos which wasn't as difficult as I had originally thought it would be since I chose the positioning prior. The reference photos were then used to make the initial sketch, which I wasn't exactly happy with but once I started using pen and ink it started to come together. I want to use a rather unique shading technique but I have to think more about the shading and whether or not I want it to be all shaded with black for the darker parts of the drawing or if I want to do something more abstract. I'm a little worried about the center of the drawing because if I choose to color it in completely black, it may end up having too much negative space in the center. I might have to figure out a more creative way to blend in the three different hairs, maybe with more strands missing or loose to gain more texture. Overall, I think I'm off to a good start but I still have much more to do.