Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Studying The Texture of Fur


I have recently been studying the texture of fur while working on a commissioned painting of two dogs.  This post describes how I approached representing the texture of fur.  My thought process for modeling fur was greatly enhanced by Scott Waddell's Still Life Demonstration video on representing fur and Doug Flynt's advice to focus on considering the texture of fur in terms of planes.

The Process I Used
I will describe the process that I used through an example of a small section of the painting.

Underpainting
 I began with a thin underpainting, thinned with turpentine, to get a quick sense of the large planes of form.  This underpainting was applied to the entire painting as well.  The underpainting also assisted in making sure the light color of the canvas did not show through while applying paint during the next step.

Large Planes
I then painted in a few distinct planes of form.  I painted one plane at a time and while placing in adjacent planes I focused on how much each plane was facing towards or away from the light source.  I started with the plane most facing the light and attempted to gain a feeling of each new plane bending away from the preceding plane.

Modeling

 Then I tried my best to model a sculptural representation of the form.  This process was focused on bending the large planes into each other to create a more subtle curve of form.  I intended to model the form smoothly during this stage, as if the form was made of plastic, to make it easier to focus on the sculptural quality of the form.

Setting up the Fray

 I set up the fray from the fur on the neck into the shoulder.  Since the shoulder was darker than the neck I made a thin band of a color that was a bit darker than the neck and placed it next to the right edge of the neck.  I let the edges of this band fray into the darker color of the shoulder.  Since the paint was wet while I was working on this form it was easier to blend the edges of the band of fray into the shoulder.

Examining Fray

 This diagram shows a simplified version of the fray of fur.  The image on the left shows a microscopic image of distinct strands of fur fraying into the gray background.   As the fur frays into the background less of a solid area of fur is seen and the color behind it shows through.  While this distinction is very apparent upon a close view, the small image on the right shows how the interaction between the fray and the background influences the color and soft edge of the fray at a normal viewing distance.  Because the area of the fray shows both the fur color and background color seen together that area is a bit darker than the solid area of fur.  That darker band of fray is what I focused on representing when setting up the fray of fur in my painting.

Adding Fray

 Adding the more distinct areas of fray was focused on distinguishing the areas of fur form that were most opposed.  The more opposed the planes of fur are, the more distinct the edges of fur are perceived.  I focused on adding more distinct fur where I perceived that opposition most clearly and let the other areas remain closer together in value.  

I found it helpful to consider this opposition of planes of form in relation to the distinction of blades of grass.  In the image below, the top leaves of grass are most distinct where the grass below it is grouped together as it is turned more away from the light.
Grass image from Nicolas Raymond
Direction of Strokes

 While applying the strokes of fur I focused on making the direction of my marks in the direction that the fur was emitting from the form.  I found it helpful to use a more thick amount of paint and a worn brush tip at the edges of the fray to attempt to mimic fraying strands of fur.

Considering Gradations In Paint

 Study of an eye made under the guidance of Scott Waddell in a portrait workshop.
As form turns away from the light it becomes darker in value and less intense (less chromatic) in color.  Therefore in painting, specificity in gradations reveals the structure of form.

As the sphere turns away from the light it becomes darker in value and less intense (less chromatic) in color.  The hue (property of color pertaining to the spectrum of colors, whether blue, yellow or in this example, orange) remains the same for the entire sphere.   The hue of a form can be determined by a form's local color.  

Local color is the inherent color of a form under the specific lighting scenario. A form's local color can be identified at the point where a form is most facing the light.  As the form turns away from the light, less of the local color is diffusely reflected and the form becomes darker in value and less intense (less chromatic) in color.  The reason for this phenomenon is based on a form's orientation to the light source(s).

Light's Interaction With Form

Many light rays are projected from the light source in every direction.  The image on the left only shows a small number of the millions of light rays emitted from a light source.  (Please note, these diagrams are simplified for illustration purposes only).

Each of these light rays is made up photons.  A photon is essentially a microscopic piece of light.  Photon's are made up of wavelengths from the color spectrum (consisting of colors ranging from red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet).  The quantity of the wavelengths from photons projected from an object causes the combined wavelengths of photons to appear as a specific color.  Photons are made up of the same color properties of the light source and their combined make up is very influenced by any form that it interacts with.
(Doug Flynt has published a very informative article on the reflection of colored light on his blog here).  

(Please note, this diagram is simplified for illustration purposes only).  A single photon alone does not reflect the color of an object.  The combination of the wavelengths from photons reflected from an object portrays an object's color properties.   Technically speaking,  the arrow in the diagram can be thought of as a combination of light rays (paths of photons) whose wavelengths combined to portray the orange color shown.
The photon originally was composed of wavelengths that when combined with the wavelengths of the millions of other photons emitted from the light source appeared as white as the light source.  Once projected from the light source, the photon traveled in its light ray to meet the orange sphere.  Due to diffuse reflection, once the group of photons emitted from the light source interact with the sphere some of the photons and their wavelengths are absorbed by the sphere while some photons and their wavelengths are reflected.  This interaction causes the wavelengths of the reflected photons to combine and reflect the color properties of the sphere.  (Scott Waddell has also created a very informative video on the science of light that can be viewed here).  Photons continue along their path to enter a viewer's eye and make up the images that one sees.


There are millions of light rays that strike a form.  The diagram above shows, in a constricted sense, the distribution of light if six light rays were projected from a light source.  The more a plane is facing the light the more light rays can reflect off its surface area.  
     In this example, because plane A is most facing the light it receives 3 light rays, plane B receives 2 light rays and plane C only receives 1 light ray to reflect.  Therefore the less light that is received by a plane the less light rays can reflect the color of planes.  And as the planes turn away from the light they become darker in value and less intense in color.


The interaction between light and form creates specific gradations that are essential to conveying the structure of form.  Although much of this post discussed color, drawing has a critical role in representing these gradations.  No matter the color of a form, representing the structure of form is entirely dependent upon the drawing of the shapes of form and its gradations in value.

References
-Fate of Photons. (n.d.). Retrieved December 27, 2014, from http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/phy05/phy05213.htm

Statement
The type of analysis into gradations that I have presented in this post may seem to be over complicated.  So I would like to include a statement describing why these types of investigations into the appearance of form have been important to my artistic development.

It is my understanding that the representational art that I am pursuing to make has much less to do with any "skill" as it has to do with awareness and acceptance of what one sees (both optically and conceptually). 
     For example, once one accepts that the images they see are composed of shapes one can draw the subtleties that one is aware of in those shapes.  Once one accepts that form is turning more or less towards the light one can represent the turning of form that one is aware of.  This theory even extends to material handling.  Once one accepts that the gradations in their piece represent sculptural volume and that their tool of a pencil or brush is a chisel, one becomes aware of how to apply their chisel to affect their sculptural piece in an intended way.  
     In my opinion, the most important ability that I am striving to develop in my representational pursuits is the discipline to become and remain aware of what is occurring without interruption in my thought process.  The most beneficial aid that I have found in this pursuit is acquiring more information on the science of light on form, because nature holds no secrets.  By enhancing my understanding of what is percieved I may heighten my awareness to more fully represent what is seen.

Simplifying Forms

 While working on a cast painting study I was struggling with understanding how the structure of form was bending.  By simplifying each form into small strip like sections and focusing on how the axis of each strip was turned I was able to better understand the form's structure.

Use of Strips

Even understanding the subtle turning of form on a sphere can be difficult.  But by simplifying the sphere into large planes that define its structure one can gain a less complicated realization of a form's structure.

The section on the sphere outlined in red represents a strip of form.


By further simplifying the planes on the sphere into strips, or slices, of form one can approach modeling with a simpler and clearer sense of a form's structure.


I have found painting in strip like sections of form to be very helpful in gaining a better understanding of a form's structure.  I began modeling the sphere by simplifying a strip into a few distinct planes, as shown in the image on the left.  Then I simply turned each of those planes into into each other to gain a more subtle curve of form.  I would continue painting small strips of form next to each other, using the same process, until the entire form was painted in.

Simplifying Complex Forms

The study of part of an ear cast above was painted in strips of form.

While the sphere was a more simple form to investigate, considering the position of each strip can be very helpful for better understanding more complex forms.


Each strip of form has a specific orientation to the light.  To more easily comprehend each strips orientation to the light one can imagine an axis running through each strip.  By imagining each strip being pulled on its axis, as if the axis was a lever or handle, one can more easily approach investigating the curving of complex forms.

A step by step diagram, left to right, of strips being turned by their axis to make up a complex form.  Since I was working in strips while painting the ear study above this is the thought process that I was using to simplify that complex form. 

Monday, August 18, 2014

Interpreting The Palette

I have recently been transitioning into grayscale painting and have been utilizing sculptural thought processes to facilitate that transition.  This post describes a process that is aimed at using paint to create a three-dimensional illusion by utilizing the concept of value darkening as form turns away from the light.


My palette consists of values that are laid out in a value string and what I call a plane pool.  The plane pool is the area where I take up values of paint, that represent planes of form, on my brush before applying paint to the canvas.  I use the plane pool in order to decrease the opacity of paint before I apply it to the canvas.  I try to use a fairly opaque amount of paint to make it easier to mix paint wet into wet on the canvas, but desire to avoid painting so thickly that the amount of paint on the canvas adds a considerable amount of difficulty to manipulating the paint on the canvas.  The amount of paint in the plane pool is less than the paint from the value string and therefore provides an area for me to easily take up a desired amount on of paint my brush.



When the plane pool becomes emptied, after repeatedly taking up paint on my brush, I have to refill it with paint from my value string.  The strokes of paint above and below the plane pool are areas where I wipe off excess paint before applying paint to the canvas. Depending on the amount of paint that I want to use, I continue to wipe off excess paint on a paper towel before applying paint to the canvas.

Using the Palette to Apply Paint

Although the values on my palette are laid out horizontally, while painting I consider the relationship of those values to a form that I am modeling.


Above is a visual representation of how I consider the values in the plane pool on my palette in their relation to a form that I am modeling.  I must note that the thought of viewing the paint on the palette as planes of form to be applied to the canvas was first brought to my attention by Greg Mortenson during a painting demonstration that he gave.

While painting, I attempt to take up planes from the palette on my brush from their respective areas on a form.  Then I apply those planes to their respective areas on the form that I am painting.  In instances where I need to turn a form more towards the light, I place the planes on the canvas and then spread the edges of the stroke(s) to transition into the surrounding planes by utilizing the wet into wet properties oil paint mixing on the canvas.
     Harold Speed has noted in his book Oil Painting Techniques and Materials that “Generally speaking, remember that you can only attend to one edge of the touch that you are making."  For making transitions between strokes, I agree that it is most effective to focus on only one edge of a transition at a time in order to better control the paint on the brush.
    This way of interpreting the palette is very much like sculpting, where planes of clay are added onto a mass and then spread into the surrounding planes to create transitions that represent a desired curve of form.

In instances where I need to turn a form away from the light, I take up planes on my brush that represents how far down I would like to turn a form.  Then I place those planes on my painting and spread the edges of the stroke(s) to transition into the surrounding planes by utilizing the wet into wet properties of oil paint mixing on the canvas.
     This process is very much like sculpting, where one uses a removal tool to bend a form down a desired amount.

Manipulating Paint

The sculptural principle of this process remains the same even during instances when the wet into wet properties of oil paint limit how much a value is affected when additional paint is added from its respective areas on the palette.  In these instances I just take up the required planes from my palette and work them into the form on the canvas by using the wet into wet properties of oil paint mixing to bend planes a desired amount towards or away from the light.

  
So in the instance above, where I needed to turn the area more towards the light, that area's respective value on my palette would not turn the form enough towards the light when it mixed with the darker wet oil paint on the canvas.  Instead I had to take up planes that faced even more towards the light on my palette so that I could turn that area as far towards the light as needed.

The same process mentioned above applies to instances where the wet into wet properties of oil paint limit how much an area's value is darkened by its respective planes on the palette.  In the instance above,  where the wet into wet properties of oil paint limited how much the value was affected when it mixed with the lighter paint already on the canvas, I had to take up planes that were even further from the light to bend an area as far away from the light as needed.

The amount of paint already on the canvas, the amount of paint that one is applying and the amount of pressure that one applies a stroke with all contribute to how far I must depart from an area's respective value on the palette to turn a form a desired amount.


I have mainly been practicing this process on painting spheres to transition into grayscale painting, but  will continue to utilize a sculptural thought process for my cast paintings.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Examining Highlights On A Portrait

There are many highlights on a portrait and examining how they occur can be very helpful in representing highlights in one's drawing or painting.  Highlights are caused by specular reflection.  In this post I will use the term highlight to refer to the concentrated area of specular reflection on a form.  Specular reflection is the mirror-like reflection of light rays on a smooth glossy surface and is visible where the angle of incidence of the light rays equals the angle of reflection into a viewer's eye.  This concept is explained in more detail in a previous blog post that I wrote here.

The shape of a highlight is determined by the shape of objects in the environment surrounding the form that a highlight is seen upon and by a viewer's spatial relation to those factors. Since specular reflection is a mirror-like reflection of light, the light that is diffusely reflected off of the objects in the environment has an impact on the shape of highlights seen on a form.


For example, the mirror above shows a reflection of the environment that surrounds it because of the light that each object in the environment is first reflecting diffusely and then reflecting specularly on the surface of the mirror.  Diffuse reflection occurs by light from a light source striking an object and then reflecting in various directions.  In the instance of the above mirror, the light rays that are diffusely reflected from the book strike the mirror and are visible at the halfway point between the angle of incidence of the light rays and their angle of reflection into a viewer's eye.  The diagram above shows the extremities of light rays that are diffusely reflected from the book's corners and where they are visible on the mirror.  The shape of a form determines just how much of the environment will be specularly reflected on it.  The form of the convex mirror, in the diagram shown above, only reflects the parts of the environment that it faces.

Examining Highlights on Eyes


Taking a closer look at the eye in the portrait drawing above, one can see that I was trying to represent the specular reflection of the environment in the model's eye.  Although the human eye is not as large as the convex mirror, shown above, it certainly exhibits specular reflection in a similar way that a convex mirror does.  One difference between the two is that the human eye is colored.  The color of different parts of the eye influences how visible the specular reflection will appear on it.  For example, the table is actually brighter in the environment than it appears on the model's eye, but its brightness is diminshed in intesity on the iris of the eye due to the dark color of the model's iris.

Examining the Shape and Size of Highlights

The shape and size of the objects reflected in the eye are determined by the shape of the form that is exhibiting specular reflection, the shape of the objects in the environment and a viewer's spatial relation to each of those factors.

The shape of the form determines the distortion of the objects that are speculary reflected on it.  The diagram above shows how the shape of the light source conforms to the shape of the form that it is specularly reflected upon.

The diagram on the left shows a large light source that is close to a form displaying a large highlight.
The diagram on the right shows a small light source that is far from a form displaying a small highlight.
Since highlights only occur at the halfway point between the angle of incidence of light rays and their angle of reflection into a viewer's eye, the spatial relation of a viewer to the form that exhibits specular reflection and thier spatial relation to the objects in the environment also has an impact on the shape of perceived highlights.  Scott Waddell made a very useful diagram that illustrates how a viewer's position in relation to a form and a light source influences how a highlight is seen on a form on his blog here.  I have found it very useful to evaluate the shapes of highlights by examining highlights in this way.

Examining Highlights on Skin
A microscopic view of the texture of skin.  Note, pores are not actually shaped like squares.
But it was easier to draw squares for this diagram.
The shape of highlights occurs the same way on human skin, although it is not as clearly visible as in the human eye because of how human skin is composed.  Human skin is made up of a semi-matte and semi-glossy surface of flesh and pores.  Flesh is more matte and primarily reflects light diffusely.  Pores are more glossy and primarily exhibit specular reflection.  So although there is specular reflection occuring all over the surface of human skin, the areas where flesh is visible breaks up the mirror-like specular reflection that the glossy pores show.  Nevertheless, highlights on flesh can be thought of as reflecting the objects in an environment in a similar way to the human eye.

The brightness of the highlight on each of the pores is a result of  how directly the light source is striking them.  For example, the pores, at the bottom of the form, that are furthest away from the largest angle of incidence and reflection are the darkest.  This is due to the small amount of surface area on those pores that the light rays from the light source can reach.


Taking a closer look at the nose on the drawing shown above, one can see that I was trying to represent the shape of the highlight on the model's nose.  Since highlights on human skin are broken up by areas of flesh, the shape of the highlight on her nose is not as crisp as it would be on a smoother surface such as the human eye.  Also, the color of the form that exhibits specular reflection influences how visible a highlight is seen on it much in the same way that the color of the model's iris influenced how visible the parts of the environment could be seen on the eye.  Even though the entire environment is specularly reflected by the nose, the only object that the nose is obviously reflecting specularly is the light source because it is so bright.

Although this type of analysis of highlights may seem to be over extensive, many of the factors that highlights adhere to often appear so subtle that they can be overlooked and represented out of place.  But when highlights are accurately represented an incredible illusion can be conveyed.  I hope to reach that quality one day, but so far the thought processes discussed in this post have been my most useful tools for examining highlights while working on my drawings.  Although the drawings, shown below, are unfinished I am including them in this post to show how I have been trying to incorporate these thought processes into my drawings.

 

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Hand Cast Drawing Process

This is one of the final posts describing what I learned during my time studying at The Cambridge Street Studios.  Things just didn't work out for me there and I will no longer be studying at The Cambridge Street Studios. I will be continuing the classical curriculum elsewhere and I will continue making blog posts about what I am learning.

Click here to view a higher resolution image (the drawing is 15" x 7" inches)

While I was working on my drawing of the hand cast, shown above, there were many discussions of ideas between the instructors at The Cambridge Street Studios and me and this post is a summary of the ideas and processes that have guided me through that drawing.  Footnotes are included in this post to indicate which sentences in this post are summarizations of ideas that the instructors at The Cambridge Street Studios have explained to me.


The modeling process that I have been using is focused on trying to understand the three-dimensional structure of a form and its relation to a light source.  That understanding is then translated onto my paper by first outlining the shapes of the planes on a form, so that I may sculpt the planes by using value to represent areas of a form that are turning towards or away from the light.¹  I used a few different approaches for sculpting the form on my drawing of the hand cast that offered different advantages for each stage of this drawing.

3-Day Modeling Process
 At first it was taking me a long time to move on from the areas above the wrist because I kept going back to rework my modeling in those areas.  Once I began using a 3-day modeling process (that Jeremy Deck was taught by Angela Cunningham and that he taught to me¹) the drawing began to progress much more quickly and pushed me to make more confident decisions while modeling.  The 3-day modeling process that I used is as follows.


For each daily 4 hour drawing session I would focus on modeling about a square inch of form.¹  The process of modeling each form  began with selecting the simplest path on a form that contained the most value range for that form.¹  (Paths like this that describe the three-dimensional arc of the surface on a form are known as a strips of form.)  Then I would outline 3 or 4 distinct planes on that strip of form, while trying to make sure that the strip of form on my drawing appeared to diminish or advance accurately in perspective.¹


Then I would turn each of those planes darker or lighter in value based on how much each of those planes were turned towards or away from the light source.¹  While working on this strip I had to do much comparing of the planes that I had previously modeled in the wrist to try to ensure that the value hierarchy would be consistent across the entire drawing.  I would start modeling a strip by first placing the value for the down-most plane or the the plane that was most faced towards the light.¹  Then I would bend the remaining planes down in value as they turned away from the plane that faced most towards the light, or if I started by first placing the value for the down-most plane I would bend the remaining planes up in value as they turned towards the light from that point. I would often have to adjust the shape and value of each plane once all the planes on strip of form were drawn in order to more accurately represent the shape and value of each plane in relation to each other.¹
      This stage of the modeling process offers one the ability to resolve many of the important aspects of accurately representing a form.  Focusing on the shape and value of each plane in relation to each other can ensure that the large planes on a strip of form are accurately shaped and positioned towards or away from the light source.


After I did my best to organize the large planes in a strip of form I would proceed to model a form by trying to be more specific about how subtly each section of the form was positioned towards or away from the light source.  I first focused on modeling a representation of the form without details.  There were many bumps, scratches and small subtle plane breaks on the cast that were distracting from the overall volume of a strip of form.  I would ignore those details in order to focus on representing the more obvious form.¹  After I attempted to model the more simple version of a form I would include the details that I saw on the cast on top of the simple version of the form that I had modeled.¹


I would continue to model adjacent strips of form by using the same process described above.  After an adjacent strip had been focused on individually I would try to be specific about modeling the transitions between the two adjacent strips on a form.  Once all of the strips on form were modeled on my drawing I could evaluate the entire mass of a form in relation to the other forms previously modeled and could make needed adjustments.  This process continued form by form for the drawing below the wrist.  Below is a diagram of the 3-day modeling process that further illustrates how I would progress through modeling a form by focusing on a square inch of form each day.


Day 1- I would focus on modeling a square inch of form.

Day 2- I would focus on a new strip of form but would allow myself sometime to rework areas in the strip of form from day one.¹

Day 3- I would focus on a new strip of form but would allow myself sometime to rework areas in the strip of form from day two and even less time to rework areas in the strip of form from day one.¹
 Although I primarily focused on completing a square inch of form each day with this process, I did break from that habit somewhat by only completing half of a square-inch of form on some days. 

 This process was helpful for developing more confidence in my decisions as I modeled a form.  Developing confidence in one's decisions while modeling is an important skill to develop because the direct painting process with oil paint that I will use allows for little to no reworking of painted areas once they have dried.

Some progress photos of my drawing of the hand cast are shown below to illustrate what I mean by the drawing progressing form by form.  Many of the photos show multiple forms that have been modeled, but each form that was drawn in the process was first focused on individually.

 
 



A Reworking Process
I tried my best to accurately represent each form as I progressed through the front of the hand but made many severe mistakes that were made obvious once the entire front of the hand was in my drawing.  The reworking process that I used was intended to better organize the planes on my drawing to make my drawing more accurately represent the structures that I saw on the cast.
Before reworking                            After reworking
Note, I only reworked areas below the wrist in these photos.

Due to not enough consideration of the value hierarchy of each form in relation to each other I was presented with a drawing that did not accurately represent the value organization of the large planes on the cast. A reason for why I did not consider the value hierarchy enough was because I was too focused on only determining the values on each form by only trying to understand each plane's position in relation to the light source.  This resulted in a drawing that lacked the organized specificity of the values of the planes that I saw on the cast.  During the reworking process I had to embrace the fact that the values of the planes that I saw on the cast were a result of each plane's specific orientation to the light source.   Before the reworking process, I could compare the position of one plane to another to see that one plane would be slightly more facing the light than another.  But the specificity of exactly how much each plane was facing the light source was so difficult to determine by only evaluating and trying to retain an idea of where each plane is facing that it was more useful to check what I understood by comparing how light or dark the values of the planes on the cast appeared in relation to each other before I decided on the value for a plane on my drawing.¹

The reworking process that I used to try to organize the planes on the front of the hand was made easier with the use of a few thought processes.  In order to stay focused while reworking the front of the hand I would only work on trying to correct one area of a form at at time.  I started reworking on the left side of the hand and reworked form by form until I made it over to the right side of the hand.  During this process I had to be extremely careful to make sure I was making decisions that were well investigated in order to prevent myself from making more mistakes.

Outlined areas of planes that appear to group together into similar values because the planes within the shapes face in similar directions.
During this reworking process I would first consider how the values of the shapes of the planes on a form grouped together with the values of the shapes of the planes on the forms surrounding it.   While I was trying to group the values of the large planes on my drawing I also made sure to be specific about the gradations, made by micro-planes turning towards or away from the light source, within those large planes in order to represent the subtle three-dimensional structure within each of the large planes.

   

A useful evaluation tool is to compare how the cast looks with one's eyes out of focus to how one's drawing looks with one's eyes in focus.¹  Looking at the cast with one's eyes slightly out of focus reduces the amount of contrast that one sees on the cast so one can better see the cast in a compressed value range that is more similar to the compressed value range on one's drawing.¹  This is helpful for  determining if the compressed value relationships that one sees on the cast , with eyes slightly out of focus, are similar to the value relationships that one sees on one's drawing with their eyes in focus.¹  Once the values of the planes on a form were better relating with the values of the planes on the surrounding forms I would focus on larger areas of connecting forms.

Two clear areas of connecting forms, outlined in brown, with a directional path across, outlined in red.

Of course all of the forms on a cast are connected but some forms clearly flow into each other along a distinct directional path; like waves following a directional current to flow into one another.  An area of connecting forms is evaluated by rolling over the forms in a directional path while looking back and forth from one's drawing to the cast at the same pace that one is pointing their pencil at the same place on their drawing that they are looking at on the cast.  This type of evaluation is as if one was a surfer riding a tide, evaluating if the waves of form on one's drawing feel like the waves of form that one sees on the cast.
These thought processes were very helpful for organizing areas of form on the front of the hand and I included these thought processes into my process to better evaluate a form before I moved on.  After I reworked the front of the hand I continued through the drawing until I finally reworked the drawing after all the forms on my drawing were included.  

Preparatory Studies
I received far less instruction while working on this cast drawing, as compared to my drawing of the ear cast and found that working through issues myself was very beneficial to the understanding that I gained.  A useful exercise that was helpful to me in trying to understand how I would approach modeling forms was to make preparatory studies in my sketchbook.
Preparatory study from my sketchbook
Before I approached modeling the finger and pole on my drawing I made a preparatory study of it in my sketchbook during time that I was away from school.  I did much thinking about the area of form that I would model each day and how I would approach modeling each form.  I included numbers on each of the strips for a form so that I could plan out how I would approach modeling each form.  Working on preparatory studies such as the one shown above felt very much like doing homework before taking a test.  I learned a lot from drawing the hand cast that should help me on the projects that I work on in the future.


Footnotes
¹ Jeremy Deck, personal communication, 2013-2014.