Alright, SC Mountains Sketchers! Each of you stepped up to the challenge of sketching realistic form and pulled together stellar drawings last Thursday. We learned how positive/negative space can help you see contour edges and proportions. And as the evening progressed everyone relaxed and began to appreciate the spontaneity and usefulness of sketchy line work. Each of you began to show distinct sketching styles while searching for--and finding--accurate proportions. I noticed a lot more confidence while laying down the lines for your quick studies.
Be sure to check out Michele's abstract drawing in eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn. To view her work: Click here or on her drawing in the column to the right. Remember: If any of you have sketchbook drawings or other drawings you'd like to share, just give them to me at class and I'll post 'em up, too. (Here's the challenge Michele took: Click here)
Practice using positive and negative space while doing quick studies of objects in your sketchbook. Try some sketches while focusing on only the negative space shapes; then try the same object while looking at the positive space (the object).
See you, Thursday. --Rob
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Penny
Your practice in drawing with lines and shapes has really paid off!!! It was so cool watching you catch errors in proportions as you sketched fresh, accurate guidelines for corrections. (I didn't get the study sketches from you after class, so they're not posted here.) In your sketchbook, keep practicing sketching light guidelines for things, making quick corrections, then finishing with confident contour lines.
The egret and dragonfly are BIG-time breakthroughs for you in drawing realistically, Penny!!! You did an excellent job of using positive/negative space to sketch the contour edges forming the egret. Great detail work in the subtleties of the feathers and facial features, especially the beak!
I know that drawing the dragonfly was a challenge but your preliminary sketching yielded VERY accurate proportions. Excellent contour lines showing the edges of the legs and detailed, transparent wings. I'm really liking the lines you laid down for the contours of the legs. Nice work in drawing the 3D angle of its body and wings. Superb effort!
Michele
Awesome line work, Michele!!! Your drawings of the egret are wonderful examples how study sketches can be used to find accurate proportions. I love the 'sketchiness' of your lines as the proportions become more accurate with each drawing. Great use of positive/negative space to nail down the contour edges of the bird's form, especially the 's' curve of the neck. Really nice job of shading its body and legs. The highlights on the top of the head and feathers are a great touch.
You did a FANTASTIC job of drawing accurate proportions of the dragonfly!! Your study sketches helped you to find the angle and position of the wings. The contour lines showing the edges of the body, legs, and wings are superbly drawn. Using the kneaded eraser was a really nice touch for showing the transparency of the wings. Keeping a sketchbook will be very helpful in pushing your sketching techniques to new levels.
Allison
Exquisite egret, Allison!!! I really like the way you explored positive and negative space in your study sketch--loose, bold strokes indicate the surrounding negative space. Your spontaneous, quick-sketch lines did a great job of suggesting the texture of the feathers near the legs. Keep practicing this sketching technique in your sketchbook!
On your final egret drawing, you did a great job of sketching guidelines; then finishing with concise contour edges for its accurate form. The delicate gradations in the shading are very well drawn!! Wonderful how you carefully worked the pencil to define the subtleties in tones for the curved planes forming the feathers. The highlights on the wings and neck are awesome!
The spontaneity and progressive accuracy of your study sketches of the dragonfly are simply wonderful!! The control of your contour lines in your final drawing are very well drawn. Cool how you used heavier lines for the body and thinner lines for the transparent wings. Great eye for accuracy--you nailed the body and wings perfectly. Fantastic detail work. Keep practicing quick study sketches; I think you'll start to really like the results of of your quick takes as much, or more, than your tight renditions.
Matt
You're developing a keen eye for proportion and a fluent sketching hand!!! You gained more confidence in your looser lines as the proportions of the egret became more accurate with each new study sketch. I'm really liking the 'sketchiness' in your line work and how you strike a bold line when you find a curve or measurement that you like. Keep a sketchbook and practice capturing the essence of things with your quick line work. Your final egret combined VERY accurate proportions and marvelous textures of the feathers, beak, and legs! Excellent work in defining the areas where the neck and chest merge together, showing the 3D form of the bird.
Again, you made really good use of your study sketches... this dragonfly looks like it's ready to fly of the page, Matt!!! Brilliant line work showing the contour edges of the body and legs. The contours of the wings are especially well drawn. Its proportions are spot-on! And the details are very realistic. Nice drawing, man!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Week One: Lines, Shapes, Proportions, Composition
Okay, Santa Cruz Mountains Sketchers! It was so nice to meet all of you. I couldn't ask for a better group of sketchers! And the Art Center is the perfect facility for our sketch sessions. Everyone is off to a terrific start in drawing from observation and imagination.
All of you jumped in and learned to hold the pencil on its side (overhand grip) while moving your whole arm as you sketch. You focused on drawing with curved and angled lines, overlapping shapes to create depth, and using patterns to indicate texture. The emphasis of the first half of the evening was to get 'sketchy', see the relationships between shapes, and to draw accurate proportions.
Pencil warm-up by Allison
Then we cranked up the music, dropped into the zone and created a large-format abstract/surrealist drawing. Everyone really enjoyed using lines and shapes from the lesson drawings while experimenting with 2B, 4B, 6B pencils and 6B and 8B woodless graphite pencils.
If you have time this week...
Here's a drawing challenge for you to do for Thursday (it's not mandatory): Getting Abstract
Scroll down to see your work, and don't forget to click on the images to enlarge for viewing. Feel free to add your comments to the drawings.
See you Thursday evening. --Rob
All of you jumped in and learned to hold the pencil on its side (overhand grip) while moving your whole arm as you sketch. You focused on drawing with curved and angled lines, overlapping shapes to create depth, and using patterns to indicate texture. The emphasis of the first half of the evening was to get 'sketchy', see the relationships between shapes, and to draw accurate proportions.
Pencil warm-up by Allison
Then we cranked up the music, dropped into the zone and created a large-format abstract/surrealist drawing. Everyone really enjoyed using lines and shapes from the lesson drawings while experimenting with 2B, 4B, 6B pencils and 6B and 8B woodless graphite pencils.
If you have time this week...
Here's a drawing challenge for you to do for Thursday (it's not mandatory): Getting Abstract
Scroll down to see your work, and don't forget to click on the images to enlarge for viewing. Feel free to add your comments to the drawings.
See you Thursday evening. --Rob
Matt
Alright, Matt!!! Holding the pencil on its side was a bit challenging but... Whoa!... once you got the hang of it you put together some excellent sketches. I really like how you sketched light guidelines for the shapes of things; then drew darker outlines to finish--keep practicing this. The proportions in your drawings are VERY accurately drawn; the crab got more accurate with each new sketch that you made.
And your abstract/surrealist composition turned out fantastic!!! You broke up the page wonderfully with a wide variety of lines and shapes. Looks like you really enjoyed the 6B graphite pencil!
Allison
Wonderful! Drawing! Allison! You're off to a GREAT start in drawing accurate proportions! You've got excellent control of your line work and a sharp eye for detail. I really like how you sketched freely with loose lines until you found accurate shapes; then you finished with darker outlines. The crab and puffer fish are nice examples of getting 'sketchy' with your lines. The gray tones for shading are a really nice touch.
Your abstract/surrealist mashup flowed together wonderfully! You've got a great sense for composition as you did a superb job of tying lines and shapes together.
Penny
EXCELLENT start in drawing with lines and shapes, Penny!!! So cool how you got into holding the pencil on its side and used your whole arm to sketch the puffer fish! You really started to gain control of your lines for the fish's body while sketching guidelines on top of one another. Sketching like this was a big breakthrough for you. Keep practicing sketching light guidelines; then finishing with darker outlines. The proportions in your sketches are very accurately drawn. And I really like your experimentation in using the side of your pencil point while drawing the lizard. Cool facial expressions. :-)
And you really got into the zone while composing your abstract/surrealist sketch!! Excellent how you drew large, sweeping curved lines and repeated oval shapes for a dynamic composition.
Michele
Wow! Michele! You jumped in, tilted that pencil on its side, and cranked out a lot of fantastic sketches! Great job of drawing accurate proportions on all your creatures, especially the lizard. I really like how you loosened your lines and drew on top of your mistakes while sketching the frog as you gained control of the sweeping curved lines of its legs. You've got an excellent eye for details.
You REALLY pulled your line work together for an awesome abstract/surrealist composition! I like how you used lighter and darker lines to break up the page. The lighter shapes appear to recede to the background, creating depth in your picture.
Drawing Challenge: Getting Abstract
If you have time for this challenge, use the techniques you learned last Thursday to create an abstract drawing. An abstract drawing doesn't represent things (people, objects, places, nature, etc.) in the real world. Instead, you'll combine lines, shapes, patterns, tones (shading), and textures to make a picture from your imagination.
Think of it as composing music. Use the repetition of lines and shapes to create rhythm in your composition on paper. Get bold with swirling movements of your arm like a conductor of an orchestra. Express your emotions and feelings through the lines that you draw.
Use all different kinds of lines (thick, thin, curved, angled, squiggly, etc.). Try overlapping shapes. Throw in a bunch of patterns and textures to make designs. The only rule: Don't draw any people, places, or things from the real world.
Ideas for Your Abstract Drawing
These paintings by the modern artists Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) show ideas for your abstract drawing using lines, shapes, and patterns. Enjoy drawing from your imagination.
Kandinsky was a very influential artist in Europe during the early 1900s and 20s. He believed that painting should let artists express their own inner lives in abstract, non-material ways. Just as musicians do not depend on the material world for their music, so artists should not depend on the material world for their art. His expressions with line, shapes, and color became the foundation of abstract art.
Think of it as composing music. Use the repetition of lines and shapes to create rhythm in your composition on paper. Get bold with swirling movements of your arm like a conductor of an orchestra. Express your emotions and feelings through the lines that you draw.
Use all different kinds of lines (thick, thin, curved, angled, squiggly, etc.). Try overlapping shapes. Throw in a bunch of patterns and textures to make designs. The only rule: Don't draw any people, places, or things from the real world.
Ideas for Your Abstract Drawing
These paintings by the modern artists Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) show ideas for your abstract drawing using lines, shapes, and patterns. Enjoy drawing from your imagination.
Kandinsky was a very influential artist in Europe during the early 1900s and 20s. He believed that painting should let artists express their own inner lives in abstract, non-material ways. Just as musicians do not depend on the material world for their music, so artists should not depend on the material world for their art. His expressions with line, shapes, and color became the foundation of abstract art.
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