We had to do a human figure that had a pose, so why not be a dynamic pose. I remembered that the fighting style of monks included very over-the-top poses, so I chose to do my project on that. I wasn't sure which pose to do really, but I eventually picked the basic upward kick. My second "backup" plan was a volleyball player, but at the time the monk was what I wanted to base my project on. I chose colored pencil because I'd already done so many black and white pieces and I wanted to have more of a variation in styles.
The monk in the foreground is off centered because I was planning on making it thin and long, but I decide to fill the whole page instead. The emphasis is clearly on the monk in the foreground from the bright color of his pants in contrast to the bland greens in the background. Proportion is off and the monk's legs look longer than normal. The harmony of all the mountains and their slightly different shades of green is flowy almost. I chose to have the monk shirtless to work on the chest so it wasn't all orange clothes. The cultural reference of the piece is in the monk's clothes and the temple in the background.
I was trying to convey a sense of motion in the piece. The top left corner is where most people start looking, like a book (unless they're drawn to the middle). They go down the leg, see the body, then go down to the foot. The stairs go up to the temple. Then it goes up and around again. It's not the strongest form of movement, but it's there.
I don't like this piece. The proportion of the legs is really throwing the whole thing off. The coloring was rushed. The paper seemed rough so the coloring wan't smooth. The volleyball player is now seeming like it would have been a better option, but I did what I could.
