The Long Road drawing, before and after

It's been almost a month, and I just realized I never posted the final drawing for my IMC painting. Before I do, here's a reminder of the sketch I brought:

And here's the drawing I wound up taking to the board, after critiques from everyone:

There's a delicate balance to strike when doing the drawing for the IMC: if it's too rough, not only will the teachers not have much to work off of in their critique, but you get to spend it wallowing in the shame of bringing something that looks like that in front of Irene Gallo and Boris Vallejo and Scott Fischer (see: me, last year. scroll through this post for the 'drawing' I brought and the drawing I wound up with). If it's too refined, however, you get to enjoy watching hours of your careful work get ripped apart, as the instructors point out all of the things you did wrong/could have done better/didn't even think of doing.

I think this year I hit the correct balance. The composition and values are generally there (though I later wound up regretting not having done a more refined value study), and the gesture is conveyed along with just enough details to give the piece context for what I see in my head. Especially when combined with the color studies and initial thumbs, it communicated the direction I see myself going in, and it gave the instructors a clear idea of what I was trying to do - which meant they were able to give me equally clear suggestions on how to do it.