Practising Shape Into Form
Now practise turning shapes into the illusion of form, so the circle becomes a sphere, the triangle a cone, and the oblong a cylinder. We need to understand the properties of shape and form, and how artists use them to create a composition. Without a sense of form you will not be able to produce a finished piece of work. Pyramid shading using vertical lines.
How To Start
In the first example you will see that what we have drawn what appears to be a silhouette over the top of the flowers. Do this by starting at the paper's edge on the left hand side, as it is important to make your first connection with your drawing at this point. Start to progress the line towards the centre of the paper following what would be the line that would indicate the back edge of the table where it touches the wall. It is now important to try to assess how far that line goes into the...
Movement
The importance of movement through the picture plane cannot be over-emphasized. Shape and other pictorial elements help us to create movement. The artist can engage the eye of the viewer so that it moves across the picture plane, stop the eye at a certain point and then move it back into space, bring the eye forward again, and at the same time across the picture space, and then take the eye right out of the picture to the end of its journey. Most viewers are unaware of this visual encounter,...
R
Form of oblong parallel and perspective lines. Crosshatching. POSITIVE COMPOSITION Shape as an underlying compositional device is extremely important. In this example, after Malevich, shape is used to bring a sense of order, balance, rhythm, harmony, movement and space to the picture plane. We see the bones of the composition that any great picture has as its structure. We can compare this drawing to Gericault's Raft of the Medusa. Both have an underlying triangle that appears to pull the eye...
The Moving View
Before the 1900s artists would realise the world from one point or view. The viewer would be presented with that view and would understand the scene from that perspective. This was a traditional way of presenting our understanding of the world two dimensionally that had been used for centuries in a western cultural ideal. However, our attitudes began to change at the beginning of the 20th century, and other ways of seeing began to be explored. Our attitude to the one point view began to change....
The artist wanted THE INCISED LINE
The incised line is a line that seems to cut across the paper implying a sense of direction. It is made by using the charcoal on its side to make this precise line. This method of drawing not only picks up the dynamics of direction through the outline of the figure, but at the same time it informs us of the changing planes of the form within the figures.
Movement 1
In this next series of drawings, the medium of charcoal will be used to show an expression of movement. 1a 1b Place a number of drawings of different poses one over the other as seen in the illustration. Pose the model make the drawing of the model using outline as previously suggested. Pose the model again and make a further drawing over the first drawing, and repeat this process again. On the third drawing you will start to become lost and a sense of confusion will be what you are feeling....
Method
1 Draw the shape of an egg ovoid. Try to do this with a free, expansive movement, sensing the shape rather than using your eye to gauge it precisely. Repeat the shape several times, drawing over your original lines, as I have done here. Now draw an ellipse, as shown, to give the shape the appearance of form. 2 Create the basic form of the neck by adding a cylinder to the bottom of the egg form. 3 Draw in outline the back of the head. Now extend the ellipse to meet these lines, giving the form...
The Process
1 Transfer the basic sketch to an A1 piece of paper. We have established the basic composition, and the space of that composition is well organised on the piece of paper. 2 Take pieces of your frottage and establish where you would like to use them on your drawing. 3 Always start at the what appears to be the furthest point away in the picture when you decide to stick down your first pieces of frottage. This is usually the horizon or somewhere in the sky. For sticking, I would recommend any...
Making Marks
As with the pencil, before you start to work with it in earnest you should become familiar with the medium and what potential it has. Charcoal is a very natural medium and therefore it does not lend itself to very tight diagrammatic work - it is too messy for that. It fundamentally lends itself to a more fine art and expressive notion of drawing. So it is a more open and expansive type of material to use. The type of charcoal marks that are made in this section tend to imply texture and surface...
Ink Drawing Techniques
5 the windows in this instance have lots of dots that give the impression of a curtain behind the glass. When you are happy that this is correct, you can then start to work with the ink and pen. 6 in this illustration there is the trunk of a tree and the branches - a series of downward marks gives us the idea as to what type of tree it is. 7 the variety of lines tell us about this flower. At the base of the flower, a free flowing line indicates the type of leaf. The stem is a straight line that...
Hard Pencil Marks
NB I have not given you examples of mark making with HB or 7H to 9H pencils. Diagonal lines with left and right emphases. Horizontal line achieved with the side of the point. 3H Dragging the side of the Spaced dragged dashes. pencil horizontally in rows of zigzag lines. Diagonals with horizontal and vertical lines. Diagonals with horizontal and vertical lines. Diagonal lines with left and right emphases. Horizontal line achieved with the side of the point. A combination of the previous marks. A...
The Charcoal Pencil 1
The Charcoal pencil is rather like an ordinary pencil, but it has the sensitivity of charcoal and yet at the same time a degree of control that a pencil has. 1 Diagonal shading used in a sketching technique. 4 Vertical and horizontal squiggly lines. 10 Vertical and horizontal lines moving from light to dark. 12 Right angle lines going from light to dark.
Onepoint Perspective
These are the basic rules that govern a one-point perspective drawing, and it is worth remembering that all lines that do not appertain to the horizontal or the vertical axis will go back to or terminate at the perspectival point that as been set up in this drawing. 1 Draw a square on your piece of paper just to the left or the right of the centre of your piece of paper. Make sure that this square runs parallel to the edges of the paper. 2 Now draw a horizontal line across the piece of paper...
Shape Into Form
Shape can very easily be transformed into form by the use of shading. We can see in the drawing after Picasso opposite, below that regular shapes have been given the illusion of three dimensions by using various well-known shading techniques. He has taken these shapes and turned them into representations of human forms. Not only has he given them form, he has given them a character, and a life. He has created the form by using different types of bracelet, crosshatch, and linear lines to build...
Twopoint Perspective
1 In two-point perspective the drawing theory is very much the same. The difference is that the box or cube is set in a different orientation to the picture plane - instead of drawing a square in a facing position or running parallel to the picture plane, as we did in step one for the one point perspective drawing. We instead draw a vertical line just to the left or right of centre. 2 Now put in the horizon line that, for the sake of this example, makes this line cut through the vertical line...
Superficial Muscle
This drawing of the whole figure see page 142 goes much further than the pure outline of the previous illustrations. In the previous illustrations, the form is only suggested by the convex outlines, but in this drawing the superficial muscle - i.e. the muscle that lies just below the surface of the skin - is not only implied but also drawn much more conclusively. In the next illustration see page 142 we can see that the artist Egon Schiele has used the line to express the opposite effect to...
The Oriental Brush And Round Head Brush
Oriental brushes are traditional brushes used in Chinese and Japanese drawing and calligraphy. The brush was traditionally used by holding it vertically to the paper and making the marks with free rhythmical strokes. The control in the mark, and the varied weight of mark, are achieved by varying the pressure on the brush. The amount of ink the brush is holding will also have an effect on the nature of the mark. As you can see some brush strokes are strong in definition and some are more...
How To Draw Isometric Drawings
Form of geometry to establish the angles. As with the example of the isometric drawing, I have established the 30 angle from using a 90 right angle. You can place a right angle to the vertical and then make an approximation as to the angle of your observation. When you feel confident that the angles of the lines you are about to draw are right, use a ruler to draw them to the point where they converge. At this point you will have established for that building or object one of its vanishing...
Sunflowers After Van Gogh
When analysing the drawing of sunflowers after Van Gogh I can see quite clearly how important the element of shape is to this piece of work. The negative shape, or the shape around the flowers in this composition is just as important as the flowers or the positive shape, and it is integral in holding the composition together. The negative shape underpins the composition and helps the sense of harmony, balance, proportion, and rhythm that gives the picture its wholeness. Through the negative...
Compressed Charcoal
Compressed charcoal is made from finely pulverised high-grade hard charcoal. It is compressed into round sticks and held together with vegetable glue. The soft brittle consistency of the compressed charcoal enables you to create very dense black velvet tones. The tonal value of the charcoal can also feel harsher when applied to the surface of the paper compared to the quality of the tone made with the natural charcoal, which appears much softer and airy. 1 A broad mark made by dragging the...
Graphite Landscape Drawing
This drawing is very similar to the drawing using continuous line and tone to form the model. Only it is a landscape sketch that is produced here in almost exactly the same way as the life drawing, using the same medium and the same methods. However, this is a sketch and a sketch is different to a drawing. A drawing is something that stands as a work of art in its own right whereas a sketch is meant as a piece of information for the artist to refer to at a later date as a piece of research. You...
Hard Pencil
Hard pencil marks have very little variation in the range of mark making. They only usually vary through a linear progression. Tone is usually made from a build up of crosshatch effects. Hard pencils are denoted by the letter H. As with soft pencils, they come in a range, comprising HB, H, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H, 7H, 8H and 9H the hardest . These pencils are mainly for use by designers, architects and people who produce precise technical diagrammatic drawings for which a fine, accurate line is...
Correction Fluid Text For Illustrations
1 Correction fluid comes in a small plastic bottle and the applicator which is like a small brush is attached to the top of the bottle. To use the fluid dip the brush into the bottle and then apply to the appropriate area. One usually uses this type of application to cover larger areas. 2 Correction pens are made of the same fluid but the applicator is in the fashion of a ballpoint pen. Therefore it is more suitable for correcting fine work, and can also be used to draw with, making a white...
Conte Crayon 1
Conte crayons come in oblong sticks and in a limited number of grades from soft to hard. The conte crayon is a very traditional material and is made similarly to compressed charcoal. It is a finely ground powder that is mixed with a binder and formed into long sticks. It is more solid than compressed charcoal, and this characteristic makes it very different to charcoal in that it is not as atmospheric in nature. Conte crayons lend themselves more easily to mark making and a technique called...
Line Texture Drawing
On this page there is more order to the marks. From the top left there are a series of different marks that have been made with the fibre pen. The first mark is an open squiggle of a line that has a sense of rhythm and movement to it. It is a flowing line but it has a certain speed to it. At the end of the row is a very similar type of line but it appears to be a faster line. Therefore, two lines that are similar in nature have a different idea or sense of time to them. In the middle of the two...
Creating The Illusion Of Form
As with some of the earlier examples in the previous sections I have here shown other methods using different pen, ink and brush techniques to create the illusion of form on a two dimensional surface. The first method I have used employs a flat head brush and a series of washes to give the illusion of a sphere. Firstly draw the sphere outline and horizon line at the back to create the composition. Draw also the shape of the shadow. Start by using the Indian ink in the most dark and opaque...
Textured Still Life
Next we look in detail at a very fine example of a textured still life drawing. You can see that there are many objects that have definite textural qualities to them, and they lie juxtaposed to each other to give a textural diversity to the group, which in turn makes the group composition visually very exciting. To make a drawing like this you need to select a number of textural objects, put them together in an interesting composition, and place the textures in such a way that they complement...
Flat Head Brushes
The flat head brush has been fundamentally designed to lay down washes but at the same time it is a very useful tool for making broader marks. Washes are areas of tone that are put down onto the paper. They can range from very light, thin and transparent to dark and opaque. Washes can be used to describe atmospheric effects, typically in landscape drawings. When used in this way, they are usually applied very freely. Sometimes they have a life of their own when they are spread on the paper. You...
Different Type Of Drawing
Shown in situation. Staying with example 2, we can see how the tiles on the lower part of the building are demonstrated by a series of horizontal lines that run parallel to each other. These are then broken up by a series of diagonal lines that follow and imitate the pitch of the roof. Finally, the doors and windows are filled in with vertical lines. The lines on the door give the impression of wood and the lines on the window give the impression of the reflection of the glass. 3 In these...
Four Ways Of Holding The Charcoal
1 2 This demonstrates the two ways that are mostly preferred for sketching with charcoal. 3 Making a mark using the charcoal as demonstrated in number 3 we can make a very sharp cutting line. A line that feels as though it has been incised on the paper. We do this by taking a piece of charcoal that is about 2 long and place it flat on the paper. Holding it between your thumb and fingers pull the charcoal a long the paper support whilst applying pressure. You see that this mark has a character...
Markmaking With Graphite 1
Stabbing with the end of the graphite. Stabbing with the end of the graphite. Using a twisting movement with the graphite on its side.
Felt Tip Pens
Felt tip pens come in all different sizes and shaped tips like the fibre tip pens. These pens are best used for quick drawings and sketches and as with the other pens mentioned so far it is difficult to correct your mistakes. They also come in many different colours, and are often used as calligraphy pens for signs. There is an example of a felt tip drawing on page 185. Here we have a drawing that reflects the use of the different thickness of felt tip pens, and notice the openness and the...
Felt Tip Pen Project Drawing Of A Harbour
Start this drawing by drawing the composition first with pencil. That way, if you make any mistakes you can rectify them by rubbing them out. To establish the composition or the drawing on the paper, use your previous learning. For example, use the window mount to help you frame your picture. As you look through the window on the world move it about to establish a composition that you are happy with. Then draw what you see through the window on to your paper, placing and mapping the objects in...
Creating Form Using Tone
The tone used here relies on an observed directional light source, which is then exaggerated to create the effect. The shadow cast makes us believe the sphere has form. Without it the drawing would look flat. This cube has been constructed using three defined tonal variations - white, grey and black - to give the illusion of form. It is a constructed illusion, of course, and has not come about as a result of observed tonal changes. The lighting appears to be from the front in this example of...
Applying Mark Making
We are now going to do a series of studies and drawings based in mark making. These drawings are textural drawings, and are standard drawings for students of the arts. Having practised mark making we now need to apply that experience. Firstly, it is advised to make studies of objects that have obvious textural qualities. The drawings that you make of these objects should imply the textured surfaces. In the examples of the drawn objects, you can see that the textures is the main force of the...
Drapery
Another way of working with drapery, which gives a more static effect and is more or less the opposite to the previous approach, in that instead of movement we create a sense of form that has a weight and stillness to it. Artists would use this way of working to create an illusion of mass that would reflect the underlying form. Look at the example below and also refer to the works of Massacio, Cezanne, and some of the works of Picasso. Drape a large sheet over a simple form a chair so it...
The Pencil As A Measuring Device
We can analyse our observations in a number of ways to enable us to make a visual record of what we see. One of these ways involves using the pencil both as mark maker and measuring device. What you are doing in effect is building a grid on which to map out your drawing. This approach is appropriate for all types of observational drawing and for different subjects ranging from landscape and still life to figure drawing. I have chosen a figure for our example because the pencil is still the most...
Tonal Drawing Using Graphite Or Very Soft Pencil
This is a tonal portrait drawing based in observation and it is done using a very soft pencil - 8b. The first concerns of this drawing are to create a sense of the fundamental form by observing the nature of the effects of light. You will notice there is a very strong direct light that plays over the surface of the subject. Stepl establish the basic form of the head by drawing an ovoid or an egg shape. Draw two lines for the neck, and then two arced lines for the shoulders. This will give you...
Texture Studies From Nature
Here we have more excellent drawings from students who have applied their knowledge of texture to another subject - nature. Firstly, as we did with the previous drawings the students have focused in on single objects from nature. These drawings can quite easily be done in sketchbooks out in the field or brought back into the studio environment. This research is a way of storing information for future use, and indeed if you look in the sketch books of artists such as Leonardo da Vinci you will...
Frottage
Frottage is a French term and it means to take an impression by rubbing. We have probably all done some frottage at some point or other. Have you ever taken a rubbing from a coin when you were little Then that was a work of frottage. Brass rubbing is another form of frottage. As a drawing technique and process we can expand and use frottage as a tool to express our ideas and it has been used by many artists particularly in the twentieth century for this very purpose. No less an artist than Max...
Tonking
Tonking is a well-established way of erasing or knocking back a charcoal drawing. It was devised, I am led to believe, by one Professor Sir Henry Tonks. 1 Sketch your drawing in very basically using line to establish the composition. Then apply the tone from your observation to the drawing. Do this in a very broad way giving the drawing a black and white appearance. 2 Take a soft cloth and beat back the drawing dispersing the tone, and at the same time knocking back the tonal density of the...
Planometric Projections
First introduced by Auguste Choisy at the end of the 19th century, and the favoured system of Le Corbusier and Theo van Doesburg, these projections were primarily produced for architects. This type of presentation gives a truer, three- dimensional illusory understanding of the space and form of a building produced from a plan in scale, and has become very popular among architects. creative roots and needs. The constructed perspective drawing is dominated by pure theory the observed perspective...
Fibre Tip Pens
There is a vast array of pens that can be used for many different reasons by artists. Fibre tip pens come in many different thickness' and different tip shapes. The fibre tip pen is a very direct medium and they are designed to make very general quick but accurate drawings that are free flowing. It is difficult to correct fibre tipped drawings so mistakes should be taken as a part of the process with this type of drawing. The tip of this type of pen can become worn quite quickly and the...
Compressed Charcoal Drawing Drapery
Historically drapery has been used for centuries by artists and studied by students and artists apprentices. One has to go no further than the drapery studies of Leonardo da Vinci to see it was an integral part of their research. There are three drapery projects that are a fundamental to widening our visual literacy, and compressed charcoal is the medium that is most appropriate for this. Many artists in the past would use drapery as compositional device to create an underlying structure for...
Negative Space And Chiaroscuro
Compressed charcoal is very useful for making strong lines and very dark dramatic tones. The next series of examples will highlight how to use the medium for this purpose. The drawings use the negative space way of working we encountered in the Pencils section see the examples after Van Gogh beginning on page 40. This well established method entails drawing the space around objects to establish the composition. The second stage of the drawing requires you to look analytically at the nature of...
Fixing Your Charcoal Drawing
Charcoal is, as we have mentioned, a very unstable material. Once applied to the surface of the paper or support it can easily be erased or smudged, especially accidentally. When you are satisfied that your charcoal drawing has reached a point where you feel it is finished, it is important that you stabilise the drawing immediately on to the support. This is what is termed fixing the drawing. Fixative is a solution that acts as a binder. It seals the charcoal or the pastel on to the support...
Experimental Mark Making With Ink
Try to approach this without any preconceived ideas about what the marks should look like, as there is no formula or recipe for this way of working. It is a way of making a personal vocabulary of marks that can be used as references for future drawings. I can explain how I made my examples but it is very important that you expand upon these and discover your own natural method of working. You can use any type of ink I used Indian ink. The implements used were chosen at random, just to give you...
The Window Mount Or Viewfinder
Using a window mount is a marvellous way of composing your picture and getting the objects in the scene proportionally and positionally correct. Cut the window to scale in relation to your paper. To do this and get accurate proportions in relation to your paper, follow these instructions. Step 1 Take the paper you are going to draw on and make a diagonal line from one corner to the other. Step 2 Decide how big you want your window aperture to be. For example, if you want the height of your...
Bleach Wash And Mark Making Drawing
This is a very striking way of working, in that it brings such a luminous effect to the drawing. Drawings using this medium rely strongly on the effects of light. For this exercise you will need a selection of brushes that you think are appropriate to the marks you need to make. You will also need to stretch some paper because in the first example we are going to cover the surface of the paper with ink. Indian ink will not do for this work as when it dries it becomes waterproof and therefore...
