1 February 2005
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Understanding and applying basic drawing skills -- perceiving negative space, contour and line drawing, light and shadow perception -- are paramount to your success as an artist. See this months newsletter -- right here :-)
1 February 2005
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Your February 1st
YouCanDraw.com Communiqué
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In this zine: Three modified
contour drawings by YouCanDraw.com
member Jessica W. from Quincy, MA
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Howdy all,
OK! Hope you all survived last weeks Midwest
and Northeast blizzards. What a great chance I had to buckle down and do a
little drawing myself :-) Today we're going to review some basics and
we're going to do that indirectly by reviewing
three drawings by Jessica W of Quincy, MA. (JW). Each picture is entitled "Modified
contour" and it's clear to me that's the technique JW was using to produce
these pictures. First I want to take a second to applaud Janet for being so willing to offer her pictures up for some comments. Let's
dive in...
In no particular order, there's three pictures:
the hand - close up, a potted plant, and a foot - all three very interesting
subjects to draw.
I have several criteria I use when I
evaluate a drawing - and you know what? You already know the criteria
:-). Yes, they're the 5 skills of drawing. I have a few more I have up
my sleeve, but you can always rely on the 5 skills to evaluate anything
you draw. Quick review of the 5 skills:
1) Line and contour
perception
2) Negative shapes
3) Angles, perspective and proportion
4) Light and shadow
5) the "gestalt, "I get it" skill
Click on any of the pictures to see a larger
version and jump down the
page to the more in-depth look.
1) JW's hand drawing
Back to top
I really like this picture! It's clear to
me JW was deep into her R-mode (right side of the brain) for most of
this picture. I mean, look at those nails: see that contour? There's
even a highlight there - accidental because of overlapping lines? or by
design? By design I think, no, I know. And check out the subtle curvature
both in that double line at the tip of the fingernails on that index
finger:
![](images/x2005-feb-zine-nail-1.jpg.pagespeed.ic.ftoWoR3Up2.jpg)
Areas of real accuracy
What I also find very pleasing to the eye
is the weightiness you feel by the contour on the the palm side of the
fingers (the fleshy side). Also note the very accurate line work
over the knuckles on the index finger (visible above just before the
finger runs off the page). The index finger overlaps the thumb nicely - doesn't
that make for an interesting picture? It's pointed out below - the different
areas of overlap that is. Back
to top
![](images/x2005-feb-zine-nail-12.jpg.pagespeed.ic.aolol2F2CN.jpg)
Areas of overlap
Also note how nicely the upper portion of
thumb (where it pops up above the index finger) aligns with the lower
part of the thumb (below the index finger). Also note the detail on the
piece of thumb above the index finger: clear evidence that JW was really
drawing what she was seeing. It's also apparent to me JW was focused
more intensely on the thumb and the tips of the two fingers. Very nice
work JW! Back to
top
Now let's not forget about the overall picture:
![](images/xmodcontour1a.jpg.pagespeed.ic.OER5aDna2B.jpg)
The Overall picture
Back to top
Overall, I like the composition: the hand
is placed on the paper in a left to right diagonal direction - much more
interesting than the "front and center" positioning in a lot
of early drawings. But I doubt JW was really even thinking about that because
it looks more like she was just plain enjoying her drawing
session.
It's not a requirement of pure contour or
modified
pure contour to get any kind of accurate proportion
- that's down the road several steps. And I only say that because there
seems to a little disproportion between the size of the fingertips
compared to the rest of the hand -- but without seeing the hand JW was
drawing I can't say that because this may exactly how the hand she drew
looks.
Either way, I'm not worried: the way she
popped into r-mode is so well demonstrated in those fingertips and
fingernails. And that's the purpose of these early lessons: learning to
access at will the part of the brain that is pure observer.
It's always a great warm-up exercise to
spend about 5-10 minutes exploring a highly detailed subject (like a
small section of your hand) and look for ever deepening layers of
detail, of contour, of shared edges. And then recording those details as
you see them: tiny increment by tiny increment. And that's exactly what pure
contour drawing is all about. This is awesome practice too when you
begin drawing the features - and especially in caricature: where it's
literally those tiny, minute and subtle details that make a picture
"sort of look like the person you're drawing" versus nailing a
likeness.
OK, next picture: the potted plant
Back to top
Right off the bat I'm struck by JW's sense
of composition: there's a nice diagonal; flow to the drawing -- and
again, in a modified contour drawing, composition isn't anything I'm
concerned about. But I think JW has an innate sense about it. The next
observation I have is the way light and dark pop off the page: very nice
shadowing JW. Very accurate.
![](images/xmodcontour2a.jpg.pagespeed.ic.OLzLtYeBAf.jpg)
Potted Plants By Jessica W. from
Quincy, MA
Back to top
![](images/xplant-diag.jpg.pagespeed.ic.58PLX7WwWM.jpg)
The dominant diagonal flow I'm referring
to
Here are those more noticeable
shadows:
![](images/xmodcontour-shadows.jpg.pagespeed.ic.9chxdXjolG.jpg)
Also note the overlapping of the large
leaf almost dead center in the drawing: again very accurate shadows and
a sense of depth. (Notice it's "figure 8" shape too). The
shadowing has a rhythm to it too - a rhythm you actually see in nature.
I also very much like the the line work on the two leaves towards the
top of the center stalk as well as on the leaves at the bottom to (to
the left of the main stalk).
Also note the little piece of leaf
popping up from behind the nearer leaf: an example of overlapping just
like you saw done with JW's thumb above. Back
to top
![](images/xmodcontour-fine-line.jpg.pagespeed.ic.sB88b9IzPv.jpg)
For everybody: drawing plants,
leaves, figs, flowers, wild weeds, any kind of vegetation, treated as
material for pure or modified contour drawing exercises, is hard to
beat! Nature is full of so much fascinating materiel to draw. Take the pressure
off yourself to draw faces and human likenesses all the time and just
draw outdoor scenes. You'll be rejuvenated. (In fact you may learn a
thing or two about how to draw skin and wrinkles ...of all things.:-)
Drawing plants is also great negative
space practice. For instance, seeing those shapes formed between the
leaves and stalks -- seeing them as unique and separate shapes and
spaces can help you capture accurately the outline shapes of the leaves themselves.
![](images/xplant-negspace.jpg.pagespeed.ic.bs_tVASjtL.jpg)
Roughly highlighting a few of the negative
spaces
And lastly -- and I love this
picture -- JW's foot :-)
Back to top
![](images/xmodcontour3a.jpg.pagespeed.ic.sg1HYhLoyv.jpg)
What I like about this drawing again, is
the three-dimensional accuracy of it, that is, it's clear you're looking
at a foot and ankle and you're looking at them from an angle. What are
the actual "lead on paper" indicators of that? For me, it's
the shadow on the left side of the picture about where the Achilles
tendon disappears into the heal as well as the slight shadow under the
arch, (see below); and the lines that portray the shin and ankle
overlapping the foot that is:
![](images/xjw-foot-achilles-rdy.jpg.pagespeed.ic.r2bLYYQKn_.jpg)
There's also the slight shadow on the outside
of the foots cast the foot's instep. All these suggest the light source
is above the foot and coming a bit from our side (i.e. as if coming in
through your monitor into the picture). The shadow on the far left is
very hard and is a triangular shape. Remember, perceiving the edges of
shadow helps you reconstruct the overall shadow shape. Nice work
again Jess! Back to
top
![](images/xwheel.gif.pagespeed.ic.5IyU4twk0D.png)
The "non-foreshortened,
straight-on" view of a wheel
JW has also done an excellent job of
suggesting volume with simple draw lines. Where has she done this? I
think most noticeably on the toes and on the big toe in particular.
Notice how the lines curve ever tighter as you approach the edge of the
toe. This is exactly what you accomplish when you drawn any elliptical
shape -- ellipses often represent circles on their side. (Think of a
bike wheel: it's round when you look at it directly from the side but
becomes an ellipse as you turn the wheel, and the curvature ever
tightens as you approach the edge of the wheel.)
![](images/xforeshorten-tire-rdy.jpg.pagespeed.ic.4e7BsiA6C6.jpg)
Look up "foreshortening" in
the e-Sourcebooks search function
if you don't know what it means
Back to top
![](images/xjw-foot-toe-1.jpg.pagespeed.ic.g5Vjo9IiAV.jpg)
Big toe curves
Note in the picture above how the curve
accelerates (i.e. gets tighter and tighter) as you approach the edge of
the toe just like on the edge of the tire above. Capturing this
curvature is just a matter of drawing what you see -- and with time and
practice, the smoothness of all your lines will improve.
A couple last details here: I really like
the treatment of the toes and toenail on the big toe (in fact all the
toes -- the 4th toe even looks like it has a little
"onychomycosis": i.e. a fungal infection of the nail...but
that's just me reading in probably more than what's there...JW please
comment :-) It's clear to me JW spent most of her foot drawing session
steeped in her artist's brain.
![](images/xjw-foot-toe-12.jpg.pagespeed.ic.Wc-hwP3fv7.jpg)
Where JW got out of that frame of mind
becomes apparent in a few places where the lines look a little thrown on
- I do this too when I'm rushing or feel a little overwhelmed by the
subjects I'm drawing. There's a slight proportion problem (drawing a
foreshortened version is tough in the beginning!) And that's just plain
nit-picky of me, I love this foot! :-)
![](images/x1-toes-neg-space.jpg.pagespeed.ic.aYTfwOzGPJ.jpg)
Seeing the negative space between the
toes as
an aid to capturing accurately that space
Again I'm not worried at all. There's so
much proof all over your drawings JW you're getting well
into r-mode (artists brain, right side of the brain,
in-the-moment"...), and that's the only goal of these early
lessons.
Jessica (...W. from Quincy, MA), keep at
it! You're doing wonderfully. Thanks again for your willingness and
courage.
Warmly,
Jeff
PS - Even though I do less and less of
these kinds of evaluations, I will do them -- but for a fee. If you're
interested, please email me for more information. Back
to top
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