Day 4 of week 8 of The Art & Science of Drawing discusses organic form shading, while day 5, the final lesson of the course, is about dynamic shading.
Day 4: Organic Form
Organic forms:
- fruits, vegetables, figure, etc
- much more complexity than with man-made objects
- however, they often have a much larger margin of error
- viewer will accept easier changes done to the original
- small alteration / modifications from the original are difficult to detect without seeing the original
Organic Form Subject: A Butternut Squash
Simplifying Volumes & Values: Macro & Micro Analysis
- before shading, analyze the shadow patterns, both at macro and micro level
- always start with the big picture (the macro level)
- you can do a macro/micro shadow study before doing the final drawing
Demo
- start by drawing the form and the inner segments
- use basic forms to simplify the drawing
- use line quality and overlapped lines
- draw the basic lines of termination
- do not try to capture the exact shape of the line of termination at this stage
- draw it lightly and approximate it to capture the macro details
- lay a light wash of value in the shadow section of the line of termination
- draw the cast shadow and lay a darker wash than before
- do a second pass at the line of termination adding complexity as seen on the subject
- use line quality to capture the complexity
- draw it darker, closer to the final value
- start darkening the cast shadow
- darken the core shadow
- also correct the line of termination, if needed
- add a new layer of complexity to the line of termination
- start adding the mid-tones and highlights
- continue refining and adding complexity as much as you consider it is needed
The Assignment
- find and draw an organic form using the shading process you’ve seen in the demo
- use an object more complex than an orange but less complex than an pineapple (use a subject that challenges, but doesn’t overwhelms you)
Day 5: Dynamic Shading
- the scope of the lesson is to inspire shading in dynamic, unpredicted and expressive ways
- as you start learning to draw and shade, it is important to follow a well thought and conscious process
- as you progress and develop your skills, you should start experimenting with dynamic and expressive mark making
- as long as you follow the laws of perspective and general shading, you can use any kind of mark-making
Hatching & Cross-Hatching
- hatching
- made with parallel and equally spaced lines
- brent recommended technique:
- use writing/tripod grip
- draw only on the down-stroke
- practice exercise: draw a line over and over again, without moving your hand
- practice exercise: extend your fingers and then draw them toward your palm
- practice exercise: start drawing one line over the other; when you’re confident, start drawing your fingers toward your palm, while still drawing parallel lines
- the length of the lines is not import as much as the lines being parallel and equally spaced
- at times, you might need to use your entire arm instead of drawing the fingers toward your palm (in order to cover larger areas)
- you can increase the speed your arm changes position to make the lines more spaced, thus creating the illusion of a lighter value
- cross-hatching
- start by hatching
- add a second hatch, only slightly angled from the first (try something between 20 and 40 degrees)
- common problem: the two sets of hatching are close to being perpendicular (90 degrees)
- you can use overhand grip for a coarser and lighter hatching or cross-hatching
- once you master the hatching and the cross-hatching, try your own variations
Closing Thoughts
- drawing is both an art and a science
- you must practice until the rules becomes second nature
- however, brent considers that a drawing isn’t art until it transcends the rules
- a drawing that just follows the rules is nothing more than a technical exercise
- how you draw, the way you put your line marking on the paper says more about you as an artist than the subject you choose to draw
Final Course Assignment
- find subjects that fascinate you & draw them in ways that excite you
