9/17/10 Basic Drawing

Today's Class- Today we started our study of line. We viewed some slides showing how line has been used in art from prehistoric times to the present. Then the class did some exercises in contour line drawing, with shoes as the subject.

How to make this up- Find a shoe, something with a full upper portion (not a sandal/flip flop). You will do the following drawings from your shoe using pencil line:

Exterior Contour- A single line that surrounds and describes the silhouette of the shoe. No interior structures should be shown. Four examples can be seen in the above photo, and in the bottom left of the photo below. Pay attention to shoe proportions (height to length, relative locations of details) and to the edge. We spent 30 minutes on this exercise, with students drawing between 1 and 6 shoes.

Cross Contour- The artist draws perceived lines that represent the volume of the shoe and movement over its surface. The lines provide clues as to the true 3 dimensional shape of the shoe. Use lines in multiple directions, and they may intersect with each other. There is one example in the above photo, and in the upper left of the photo below. Students spent 30 minutes drawing one shoe in cross contour.

Blind Contour- The shoe is drawn, looking only at the shoe, not at the paper. Let your eye follow a path around the exterior contour of the shoe, paying close attention to details of the edge, moving your pencil to match. See the upper right of the photo below for examples. The slower you draw, the better the result will be. Students spent 15 minutes on this exercise, drawing anywhere from 4 to 12 shoes.

Final Shoe- The last exercise was to draw one fully rendered shoe, including all details of structure and surface. Use cross contour to whatever extent you want. Line only, no shading. An example can be seen in the lower right of the photo below. Students spent 30 minutes drawing the one shoe.

This is a portfolio exercise, which must be made up by the midterm portfolio collection- 10/29/10.

Clockwise from bottom left- exterior

contour, cross contour, blind contour,

fully rendered final shoe

Homework- In your small sketchbook, draw ten line drawings of shoes, one per page. Include the following:

8 pages of exterior contour drawings (just the silhouette)

1 page cross contour drawing

1 page fully rendered shoe

Use whichever pencil(s) you want. Line only, no shading. You may use the same shoe that you did in class, a different shoe, or ten different shoes if you prefer.

For next class 9/24/10- Bring your 18" x 24" drawing pad, pencils, eraser, and sketchbook. I'll provide the subjects for more line related exercises.