Ellie Drotning- Post #3
Hey everyone- here's a photo of my drawing since there wasn't quite enough time to get to it in class. It's Eleanor of Aquitaine, and she was a queen of France, Spain and her own Duchy of Aquitaine as well. She led a band of 300 women in the Crusades, and once I finish the drawing there will be a line of the woman she led standing in the background. She was a very powerful and strong woman, so I tried to depict her as such. The animal she's holding is supposed to be a lion cub, and yes, baby lions have some spots, but I just can't seem to get it to look like a lion. Even before I added the spots it didn't look right, so I'm still working on that. I chose to include the lion cub as a sort of symbolism. Her son is Richard the Lionheart, and the lion is a symbol of England. Please give me any suggestions/critiques you might think of. Thanks so much everyone!!
Comments
I think the portrait definitely depicts a strong woman, I also think that the lion does in fact look like a lion, thats the first thing I thought it was. She looks like a warrior with her head gear and sheild, so I think you've done a good job telling her story. The one thing I noticed is that she looks very modern, which I think is because of the style you drew her in or possibly the paper you used. Was it vellum, I can't remember. I like that she looks that way but you might consider showing the time period more when you draw the women who will stand behind her. I'm excited to see the final drawing, it looks very nice right now.
Posted by: Nicole Shupien | February 8, 2008 09:53 PM
I think this drawing is great. And also, the lion does look like a lion so don't worry too much about that. I think once you get the background figured out then you will capture the entire purpose of who this woman was. It will help set the time period more. She looks like warrior as I said in your other post. I like that you did a straight on head shot and captured her intense look. She looks very powerful and looks like a true warrior. great job!
Posted by: Micki Benson | February 9, 2008 08:13 PM
Hi Ellie, I was the one who originally critiqued your drawing. I thought it looked great, and the composition is very strong. The pencil looks nice on the vellum, and the shading adds a lot of dimension. Her pose is very straightforward, which makes her look strong. It sounds like the line of women behind her will only add to the composition.
I was wondering, why did you choose vellum? Are you going to put something underneath it? I look forward to seeing it finished. Nice work!
Posted by: Meher Khan | February 9, 2008 08:20 PM
Very strong drawing. As for your baby lion issue, I think that the nose/snout may be too long and slender, more like a wolf than a lion. Just a thought.
Posted by: Laura | February 10, 2008 03:22 AM
What I find interesting about your rendering is that it resembles a dimensional object with its plastic-like or vinyl-like characteristics. This, in turn, ends up working cohesively with your choice of paper. The use of pencil ended up working well for you in achieving that dimensionality and it is particularly appealing where the arm of the female figure meets the bottom of the lion cub's body. Just be careful with the edges of the paper and how the lines of the figure interact; her arm and shoulder, for example, appear much wider on the left due to the edge you are working with. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Posted by: Heba | February 10, 2008 06:56 PM