Art Assignment: Eyes

Materials Used: Artistic Pencil, Artistic Eraser, Card Stock Paper and a Coin

Procedure:

1. Sketch the outline of the Eyes. Try to make it look like an almond in shape. Make sure the space between them is equivalent to one eye outline.

2. Use your coin and draw circles inside your outline. Leave some space between the bottom of the circle and the bottom of the eye outline. 

3. Next, draw the eye pupil. Make sure it is more or less in the middle of your circle. Draw the pupil in each of the two eyes.

4. Color in the pupil using your artistic pencil or a black pencil crayon for a more realistic feel. 

5. Draw the highlight point beside each of your circles. It should look something like this. 

6. Next draw the eyelashes of your eyes on each of the two eyes. Make sure they look realistic. Draw the eyelashes on both the top and bottom of your eye. Here is an example if you are having trouble. (On the bottom draw them thin at first and then thicker as you go along)

7. Now, draw the eyelid. The eyelid should be a partial semi-circle on top of the eyelashes. It is your choice on how much space you want between the eyelash and eye lid, but I recommend quite a bit of space. It should look similar to this.

8. Next, comes the hardest part shading in the iris. Colour the pupil completely black.

9. Shade the edges of the iris completely black, just like you shaded in the iris. 

10. For the edges of the pupil colour them in a slightly lighter shade than the edges of the iris and the edges of the pupil.

11. Extend the colour of the edge of the pupil a little deeper into the actual eye

12. Shade the remaining part, a very light shade of black or grey. No part except the highlight area should be left completely white. (The whole process of shading will take time. It is okay if it takes you much longer to complete this part compared to the others) After completing the shading this about how your iris should look like.

13. If you wish, you can darken the area between the end of the eyelashes and the almond shape. it will give a feel that the eye is wearing quite a bit of mascara. 

Your Final Result should look some thing like this(Don't worry if it's a little better)

Below is a very informative and easy to follow along tutorial on how to draw ONE eye. It shouldn't be too hard to replicate that one eye, if you are drawing a pair. 

For a more detailed and visual tutorial check out markcrilley's video on How to Draw a Realistic Eye on YouTube. (Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ9Hpp8JygI) 

Ted Talk Video

Chosen Video: How I stopped the Taliban from shutting down my school.
Link: http://www.ted.com/talks/sakena_yacoobi_how_i_stopped_the_taliban_from_shutting_down_my_school#t-172634
Presenter: Sakena Yacoobi
Presenter Bio: Sakena Yacoobi was born in Herati, Afghanistan. She immigrated 
to the United States in the 1970s. The reason she came to America is so she could study
deeper into the medical field. Afghanistan was very sexist and male-oriented at the time, 
which prevented her from remaining there. But fortunately, Sakena's father did not believe
in those stereotypes. Right now she runs a very successful afghan women learning
institute named Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL). She is very well known for work defending
her belief that everyone should be educated, no matter what gender. This has earned her
international recognition, which led to a 2005 Nobel peace prize nomination. 
Summary of Ted Talk
   Sakena opens up with a summary of her past. She was a very smart student who sought to
pursue jobs in the medical field. She even got accepted into medical school in Afghanistan. 
But unfortunately they didn't have female dormitories. Her non-sexist father then opted to 
send her to America to fulfill her dream.
   While she was in America, Russia declared war on Afghanistan. She managed to bring her
family safely to America. But still, her heart was in Afghanistan. She found out there was a 
refugee camp where all the Afghans were located. She decided to give this Pakistani camp a 
visit. 
   In the refugee camp, she was shocked to see over 7.5 million people. most were woman 
and children. All the men were at war or had been killed. She wanted to know what she
could do to help these people. She thought the greatest gift was education and health. 
This was not an easy task. With outside assistance she set up 15 schools, with 25,000 kids
going to school.
    After the fall of the Taliban, she went back to Afghanistan and opened up many new 
schools and woman learning centers. Her business was very successful. She was very 
satisfied with what she was able to accomplish, and rightfully so. A certain situation even 
her realize men deserved the same opportunities, she presented to women. She set up
similar programs for men, and started to strongly support gender equality, but not only for 
women.
Why You Should Watch It
   I think you should watch this video for a multitude of reasons. The first being, realizing
how thankful we are to be living in a peaceful country with equal rights for every gender, race,
religion etc. For some people, these rights did not come so easily. They had to fight, scratch 
and claw to earn those basic human rights. We living in the great country of Canada do not
realize how fortunate we are to be residing here instead of a war-inflicted country. We should 
also be thankful for living in a peaceful where country, where war rarely ever takes place. 
   Another lesson to be learned is that you can and should learn to fight for your rights. If you 
feel that you are being abused or neglected, use your voice and speak up. Change will only
come if you put in a substantial amount of effort. That is what Mrs. Yacoobi did here, and
I wholeheartedly condemn her for that.
   Wanting Change doesn't automatically mean demanding change. Change is only achieved
if you put in the effort necessary the desired change to occur. Sakena did everything in her
power to achieve her goal. She could of stayed in the safety and comfort of the United States, 
But she chose to go back to Afghanistan and leave her well-paying job, and go and instill the
values and morals of education in women. And she was very successful with her approach. 
   In conclusion, I think that this is one of the most powerful and meaningful Ted Talks I have
ever listened to. There are many different morals which can be learned and achieved by 
watching this, but I think there is one very blatant in describing her story: Every journey starts
with only ONE step. 

Ted Talk Video

Chosen Video: Are athletes really getting faster, better, stronger?
Link: http://www.ted.com/talks/david_epstein_are_athletes_really_getting_faster_better_stronger
Author: David Epstein
Bio: David Epstein is an investigative reporter at ProPublica. He has also written a New York 
Times Bestselling book, titled:  The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance. This is directly related to this Ted Talk. He used to write as a senior writer for sports illustrated. He specializes in science issues in sports and investigative reporting. Mr. Epstein, is also famous for releasing the news that current Yankees' star Alex Rodriguez, tested positive for steroids in 2003. He graduated from Columbia University, and has a bachelor's degree in environmental science and astronomy, and a master's degree in environmental science and journalism. 

Summary of Ted Talk
   David Epstein talks about the increase in sporting achievements over the last few decades. But he thinks technology plays an important part in this rapid spike in records. He takes the example of the 100 meter dash. Jesse Owens won in 1936, when the Olympics took place in Nazi Germany. He compares Jesse Owens to Usain Bolt's 100 meter dash victory. Jesse Owens finished in 10.2 seconds, while Usain bolt finished in 9.77 seconds. When Bolt finished, Owens would still have 14 feet to go. He argues that we have not evolved into a different species in a century. He believes that all this change is due to the increased complexity of modern day technology combined with other deciding factors. 
Why You Should Watch it
   I think you should watch it because David Epstein really debunks common day myths in this Ted Talk. The three main points he mentioned were Technology; Training, mindset and drugs; and Gene pool and specified size. These three points help establish his opinion and further solidify where he stands in this argument. 
   In 1936, Jesse Owens ran on burned cinders. This material does not transfer your energy back to you, instead leaving you with less energy. But Jesse Owens ran on synthetic material, which transfers all your energy back to you, achieving maximum potential and speed. 
   Athletes' mindset about sports and competition has also changed dramatically. Sir Roger Bannister held the record for the fastest to run a mile. He used to train for 45 minutes at a time and drank rat poison and brandy, as his performance enhancing drugs. Nowadays, that is not a substantial record; college kids do it every year. The performance enhancing drugs have also improved dramatically. Athletes now use drugs that build muscle and provide short term boosts. An example would be steroids. This guy didn't even train for an hour at a time, while middle school volleyball teams probably have practices longer than that.  
   Different sports vary their ideal size. Basketball is a great example of desired size. Basketball player need to be abnormal. Not necessarily in a bad way. They need to have be Taller and stronger than your average Joe. They usually have huge hands, and shouldn't have much trouble at findings the rim from 3/4 court away. Basketball requires those sizes because, players need to muscle their way into he painted area, and even perimeter players need to have strength to make shots on a consistent bases. This wasn't always the case. In the mid 1900's the average body type was the best for all sports. Now the big athletes keep getting bigger and the smaller ones just got smaller. 
   In conclusion, I think you should watch this because this provides an insight into the reality of sports. It debunks many everyday myths created by people who have no knowledge on the subject. Humans are the same species they were 50 years ago, but now modern day technology has provided many influencing factors on the results of sports, and sporting achievements. In my opinion this a must watch for any sports fan or player.