LINE: Contour and Extended contour drawings

Here's an example of a contour from my sketchbook. You don't have to draw only single objects but rendering a space or room is a good challenge as well, as in the R. Crumb example shown in class. My drawing started on the right with the corner of the countertop. I progressed to the left rendering the end table. I bounced back and forth a bit when rendering the couch and the baby activity box thing in the bottom left corner.

ballpoint pen

This next drawing has contour studies in ballpoint pen layered below the India ink pen. I tend to draw on the same page in layers. I almost did with the drawing above but resisted so I could show an example of "true" contour.The drawing of the utensils (below) is mostly contour with a few areas of solid, flat tone added for clarity and balance. Feel free to try something like this in your homework as well.

Faber Castell Pitt pens and ballpoint (with some marker from my 5 yr. old)

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.

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.

FINAL PROJECT: The Jungle

Last night the class continued working on their final projects. The example of above (from a previous semester) skillfully illustrates the various textures as well as value patterns throughout an extremely well designed and balanced composition. The strength in this design lies within the placement and repetition of similar shapes in criss-crossing and diagonal paths. In addition, the mood and lighting is very complementary to the subject matter.

FINAL PROJECT: The Jungle

Last night the class began work on their final projects. The objective is to create a shallow space composition addressing the textures and values of their individual still life arrangements. The example above is from a previous semester.

TEXTURE: Detail Study

Margaux Fallon

Last night students turned in portfolios and worked on texture drawings. The majority of class made detail studies of textures. The objective was to draw the texture without revealing the outer contours or identity of the object. Margaux's drawing above illustrates the amoebic-like patterns of the inside of an abalone shell. Notice how the image is divided into four arcing sections with varying amounts of detail and mark-making. The values are rich and varied in size sustaining rhythms that are complementary to the arcing flow into the upper right-hand corner.

TEXTURE: Single Object

Meghann Lyon

Last night the class made drawings addressing the values and textures applied to a single object. Meghann's drawing above exhibits rich values and inventive textures created by stamping with the kneaded eraser as well as reductive drawing in general. Observe how the soft, flowing contours are rendered more with contrasting values and less with hard contour lines.

PORTFOLIOS ARE DUE TOMORROW WED. 3

see the list above