4/26/12 Basic Drawing

Today's Class- Today we continued using conte crayons for value drawing, but this time we combined the red and black crayons together.  The idea was to simulate the effect of a chiaroscuro drawing, a style that dates back to the Renaissance where a drawing was done on a piece of colored paper, with the color acting as middle values, and drawing highlights with white and shadows with black.  Since we don't have colored paper, we are using the white of the paper, the red crayon for middle values, and the black crayon for deep shadows.  Above is an example of this technique from a previous semester.


How to make this up- For our subjects today, I set up some mannequins in the center of the room and had students choose one to draw for each drawing.  Examples of mannequin drawings, descriptions of the process, and specific instructions for the assignment can be found here.


Homework-  Find a shoe, and light it with a direct light source to create light and shadow over the surface.  Draw the shoe on a page of your sketchbook using the black and red crayons together, paying attention to shapes, proportions, and value, capturing as much detail as possible.  Change the position of the shoe, or substitute a different shoe, and do a second drawing.  Total- two shoe drawings.


For next class 5/3/12- We will be doing the Final Drawing of the semester.  I'll set up a still life, you will draw it using the medium of your choice from among the following: charcoal (vine or compressed), ink wash, or conte crayon (red, black, or both combined).  Bring your 18" x 24" paper, whatever material you wish to use for your drawing, and any other items related to your chosen medium (spray fixative, blending tools, etc)