LINE: Contour

Thursday the class made contour line drawings using graphite pencils as well as ink pens. Contour lines describe the interior and exterior volumes of a form. "Accenting" the line with darker, lighter and broken areas will increase the sense of volume. Accents may address changes in structure, color, texture, light and weight.

Georgia Bourdens

Georgia's drawing of hammers skillfully illustrates all of the qualities mentioned above. The lines are fluid, confident and exhibit a "sense of touch" or 3-dimensionality. In addition, the placement and direction of the hammers has created a sense of falling as well as a spiraling rhythm.

Luke Mello

Luke's drawing exhibits boldly accented areas and confident line quality as well. Furthermore, there is a pleasing balance in the placement of the objects.

Harrison Nixon

Harrison's drawing exhibits a very dynamic and interesting compositional arrangement. The large, overlapping forms are complemented with large open negative areas whereas the small, doodle-like elements on the right side are closer. This arrangement suggests depth with the larger forms advancing and the smaller forms receding.

LINE: Contour

On Monday, we covered the syllabus and materials list. Wednesday night we started discussing the element Line, in particular Contour Line drawing. Contours apply to the outside edges (exterior volumes) and inside edges (interior volumes).

Amelia Ketzer Dean

Amelia's drawing is balanced by the placement of similar shapes that rotate in space and change scale. The line quality is fluid and confident. Notice the interior accents on the smallest door knob located in the center of the composition. The hard contours are drawn more strongly whereas the transparent and shiny volumes of the crystal are drawn with lighter, broken lines. Generally speaking, Contours drawings, although minimal and selective with the amount of information, are very resolved and should display a sense of volume and three-dimensionality.

LINE: Contour vs. Gesture

Kate Donovan

Friday morning began with blind contour studies of small maple leaves. The page was completed with slow contour studies of organic forms and tools. The objective was to build "eye-hand" coordination and fluid, confident line quality. Notice how the layering of objects creates a sense of depth in the composition. At the same time, negative areas are strengthened by closing them in when  the edges of objects are allowed to touch.

Gianna Davy

Friday afternoon began with cross-contour studies of gourds.Notice the character of the line as it moves across the surface  addressing the topography of the gourd. As the planes recede or turn away from us the lines get closer together creating a darker value.

Susan Lazzareschi

Next, we made continuous-line drawings addressing structure. Notice how the gourd has been divided forming a cage-like rendering of the volumes. The accenting on the right under the "chin" of the gourd and at the base add tension and a greater sense of weight.

Christian Curtis

Then we made scribble gesture drawings. Each drawing has its own sense of texture depending on the rhythm and movement of the lines. Scribble gesture drawings should have a sense of mass as well as light.

Isabella Miranda

We finished the day with a series of mass gesture drawings, starting with one gourd and then small groups. The mass technique captures the "mass" of the object and the light through broad, tonal sweeps. Notice the way the volumes advance and recede with the placement of darker or lighter values. In general, dark values will add weight to a form and cause "planes" to recede. The neck of the gourd is pinched and further away than the belly of the gourd so it makes sense to darker this area. The head and belly are advancing areas so lighter tones are applied.

LINE:Contour vs. Gesture

Allison Brooke

Friday morning began with a discussion on Contour Line Drawings. The main points to reflect on are 1. Contour is a slow, single, incisive line that defines interior as well as exterior volumes 2. Dark lines advance, light lines recede 3. "Accents" in line quality add volume and may identify changes in structure, weight, value, texture and color. The hammer head in Allison's drawing above is especially well drawn. Observe the subtleties in line quality addressing the hard and soft contours.
Katherine's drawing below is a Cross-Contour study. Notice how she has accented the right side, bottom and neck area of the gourd establishing weight, shadow and negative areas. Cross-Contour drawings emphasize the contours across a form and imply the exterior contours.

Katherine Brown

After the lunch break, we discussed Gesture Drawings. Now Gesture (being quick and spontaneous) and Contour Drawings (slow and methodical) are opposites in technique but they both build "eye-hand" coordination and are therefore equally important and should be practiced often.

Kyle Sullivan

Kyle's drawing above is an example of the Scribble Gesture technique. The tangled and layered accumulation of lines captures the mass and volume of an object as well as value. Notice how the line quality also exhibits a textural quality like a "prickly" cactus or thistle.

Emily Sanfilippo

Emily's drawing employs both Line Gesture and Mass Gesture techniques. Line provides structure and the Mass technique adds mass and volume as well as value. Notice how she has also addressed the negative areas around the gourd creating a background and establishing depth within the whole composition.

Ian Cook

We ended class on Friday with drawings emphasizing the negative areas. The goal in these drawings is to "suggest" the presence of the gourd rather than "spoon-feeding" the viewer. By focusing on the negative areas, planes slide into one another bridging the gap between positive and negative areas. Notice how the similarity in value and accenting establishes a rhythm that moves the "eye" around the composition.

MON. 1/23 LINE: Contour Studies

Amanda Price (Art 7B)

The Monday/ Wed. class completed their contour studies last night. The drawing above illustrates the ability of line to identify interior and exterior volumes as well as changes in color and texture. Notice the faint line work within the objects isolating changes in the surface appearance. Furthermore, the composition exhibits a strong zig-zag movement starting in the upper left corner zagging its way down to the bottom right corner. See the post from 1/19 for more on contour.

THURS. 1/19 LINE: Contour

Frank Vallin

For our first drawing session students made Contour studies of tools and random machined parts. The Contour approach employs a single, incisive line that defines interior volumes as well as exterior volumes. This is not "outlining" which only defines exterior volumes as seen in silhouettes. Contour drawing strengthens "eye-hand" coordination.  The aim is to be drawing exactly what you are seeing at that moment.  Don't let your eye move faster than your hand. Line as an element can define structure, color, texture, weight and light. Note in the drawing above that line not only defines and encloses the form but also addresses the changes in textures as in the hammer handle. IMPORTANT: Contour drawings have no tonal areas (i.e. no shading).

HOMEWORK #1: CONTOUR LINE DRAWING

The Contour Line Drawing assignment should be completed on 18 x 24 in. drawing paper (not newsprint) using a soft pencil (3B -6B). Choose a complex subject that will fill the page such as a tool, bicycle, engine, car, houseplant, etc.)  If a single object will not fill the page you may use multiple objects similar to the in-class project.  Pay attention to composition.  Remember objects may be more interesting cropped rather than revealing the entire shape.  Employ accenting and line weight variations. In the drawing above, note the accenting specifically around the edges of the chair and flower petals. 

6/16 Contour Line Drawing

After the slide lecture on Line, the class made a series of drawings of tools in Contour Line.  Contour is a slow, single, incisive line that defines interior volumes as well as exterior volumes.  It is different from "outlining" because outlines only define exterior volumes like a silhouette.

Contour Line Studies

 

Drawings by Chris Clark and Kaitlin Roll

Contour Line "Drill"

Just about anything is a good subject for contour line studies. Tools, plants and flowers, shoes, fabric, bicycles, cars, toys, fruits and vegetables, portraits, hands and feet, etc.