10/11/13 Basic Drawing

Today's Class-  Today we began our study of value, which will be a part of all our drawings through the rest of the semester.  I showed a few dozen slides of historical art, pointing out the ways that artists used value (light and dark) to imply three dimensional volume, form, and space, in two dimensional art, as well as to show weight, and to focus attention.   Then I had students do two charcoal drawings from a simple still life of white objects, concentrating on the effects of light and shadow.  Last week's final line drawings were returned graded.

How to make this up-  You will need to set up a still life.  Place a box on a table and drape with a white or very light colored cloth (such as a sheet or towel) and arrange 3 similar sized white or light colored objects on and around the the box.  Light the set up with a directional light (spot light, or bright sunlight coming through a window) to create strong patterns of light and shadow, as in the student example shown above.  You will do two drawings, one a value reduction drawing with vine charcoal, one a more traditional value drawing with compressed charcoal.  The specific directions and requirements for each can be found here.

These are class portfolio exercises that must be made up before the first half portfolio collection (10/25/13) to receive full credit.  However, I recommend doing them before then for practice, especially if you are new to charcoal.

Homework- Set up a still life as described in the "how to make this up" section above- draped box, 3 objects, all light colors, direct light source.  Draw the set up on a full page of your sketchbook using your softest pencil (such as a #4B or #6B), paying attention to shapes, perspective, spacing, and now matching values as closely as possible.  Then rearrange the three objects and draw the still life again.  Total of 2 sketchbook drawings.

For next class 10/18/13-  We will continue our study of value with charcoal, this time adding in local values.  Bring your 18" x 24" pad, both vine and compressed charcoal, spray fixative, and your kneaded eraser.