In week 8, we were concentrated on creating mystery through unusual cropping and composition.
We had a live model, and as she was facing away from me, with her torso towards me, I had a lot of options. Since I feel i still need a lot figure practice, I've decided to use unusual composition instead of a lot of cropping, and fit at least half of the figure.
I've used Conté sticks here for the first time, and loved them for sketching the body. The pencils and sticks glide nicely across the paper but are a lot sturdier than a pastel.
Adding tone however, was a different story. First shadowing the figure was hard as i realized I'd be doing a lot of hatching, not my forte. Then when it came to the background, which I intended to make all dark, I simply did not have time enough in the 1,5hr class to fill it all properly in. The Conté sticks are waxy so i need to press hard, and they snap easily if you're doing any quick, expressive movements.
Overall, I am happy with how the torso turned out, despite my novice attempts at hatching. The head was in shadow, and hatching in the shape of the form gave me a much plumper cheek than in reality. The background needs finishing, but I will leave it as a reminder of diving into new drawing medium.