Drawing Lessons
Basic Drawing Terms & Skills:
1. Line
- line - a "dot" that moved along the paper.
A line establishes boundaries, separates areas and creates edges.
By its direction and weight, a line creates a sense of movement and volume.
- contour - outline of a figure, body or mass; surface of a curving form.
- edge - rim or border, the place where two things meet:
the background (negative space) meets surface of objects.
- shared edges - when folds of drapery/skin meet to form a wrinkle.
- contour line - a shared edge drawn as a single line.
- Parallel and cross-hatched marks simulate textures and create three-dimensionality.
2. Proportion & Relationships
- comparison - how 'this' compares to 'that' in size, angles, horizontal to vertical, width versus length, etc.
From certain views, a form may appear to be narrower that you know it to be.
Draw what you "see" not what you know.
- scale - progression of size, larger to smaller or vice versa.
The scale of an object or structure is determined by the size or scale of some other object or structure.
- proportion - size relationship: an apple is smaller than a 5-gallon bucket.
It also includes the relationship of the width of a particular object to its own height, one part to another. An example is the figure.
The edges of a sheet of paper are horizontal & vertical. To enlarge a drawing by the grid method, the larger sheet has to be proportional in length and width to the smaller sheet for the composition to fit correctly.
3. Value, Tone, Light & Shadow
- value - differences in tones of light & dark.
Light tones are "high" in value, dark tones are "low" in value.
Values create form, the shape of the image and a sense of volume or 3-dimensionality.
The use of different kinds of lines and dots, alone or in groups, and cross-hatching can also create tonal values & texture.
- value scale - a series of steps from pure white to black with thousands of grays in between.
- When light falls on objects, it results in the 5 tone values which should be incorporated into your drawings and value sketches.
- For more information on value and tone, see the Five Tone Values.
4. Positive Shapes & Negative Spaces
- positive shapes - object/s or person/s, distinct forms.
- negative spaces - the empty areas between distinct forms.
- composition - the way the contents of a drawing are arranged in a format or on the picture plane.
- format/picture plane - the space on the surface of your paper; the length & width of the bordering edges of a surface.
Positive shapes & negative spaces fit within the format.
The shape of the format controls the composition.
Imagine a tree in a square format; imagine it in a triangular format, then in a circle, etc.
Shapes & spaces fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.
Varying shapes, sizes and values create interesting compostions.
5. Perspective
- perspective - movement through space in a drawing or painting;
overlapping planes, scaled figures, carefully measured architectural space.
- linear perspective - things diminish in size the further away they are from the viewer
and vanish on the horizon (the viewer or artist's eye level.
Parallel lines converge at eye level.
- aerial/atmospheric perspective - the depiction of space by gradations of tones, shapes and colors.
Things become more and more muted and indistinct as they diminish into the distance of the atmosphere.
- For more information on aerial perspective, see Color and Landscape Painting.
© Copyright 2000-2010 Carol Santora
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