LINE: GESTURAL TECHNIQUES

Mariah Green

After the slide lecture, the class made drawings in the cross-contour technique (ex. above). Notice that the contours arc across the front of the form and the outer contours or outline is implied.

Bonnie Lin

Next the class made drawings exploring the continuous line technique. The line technique addresses the structure of the form. Notice the "accents" in Bonnie's drawing and specifically their placement. She has placed them in a zig-zag orientation addressing key areas where the contour lines turn in space around the form. This is important because it introduces diagonals into the composition which are more dynamic that vertical and horizontals.

Luke Mello

Luke's drawing employs the scribble technique. The drawing above exhibits mass and light as well as texture.

Gabriel Rodriguez

Gabriel's drawing illustrates the mass technique. Mass captures the weight and volume of a form as well as the light. Notice the variations in tonality and the placement of similar values in the darker patches.

David Covarrubias

David's drawing illustrates the mass and line technique combined. Again, the line brings structure where mass adds form and light. Notice how he has balanced the dark and light areas diagonally across the composition.

LINE: Gesture

Last night we picked up the pace and started working with Gesture techniques. First we discussed Cross-contour drawing then Continuous line drawing and finally Gesture.

Amelia Ketzer Dean

Amelia's drawing is an example of the Cross-contour technique. There are no outside contours rendered. Instead the edge is implied by the ends of the horizontal, arcing lines. Notice the tension in the neck of the gourd where the lines are closer together. This is evident at the base of the gourd as well adding a sense of weight.

Techi Brant

Techi's drawing illustrates the Cross-contour technique (bottom) as well as the Continuous line technique. Notice how the line searches for the contour edges. As the charcoal makes a second or even third pass around the gourd the edge is slightly redirected, correcting the form. This creates a bird cage-like effect adding volume.

Techi Brant

The Scribble and Mass techniques were also discussed (see tabs above for more info). We ended the class by drawing bones with the technique that seemed most appropriate for addressing the form or which best suited the student's sensibility. Techi's drawing above is a combination of line technique (for structure) and mass technique (for mass and light). Notice the variations in line quality moving from dark to light and thick to thin. These "accents" in line are more suggestive and volumetric than if she had used one type of line. In addition, her use of tone adds weight, light and a sense of atmosphere. The bone appears to sit or integrate with the paper rather than merely float on the page.