12/2/16 Basic Drawing

Today's Class- Today we introduced the last new medium of the semester, the Conte crayon.  These were first invented about 200 years ago, when a war had created a shortage of some other art materials.  Unlike the wax crayons you may be familiar with, in these the pigments are mixed with a clay base.  The sticks are harder than charcoal and allow the creation of hard edges.  They don't smear as easily as charcoal, which means that immediate spraying with a fixative is not necessary, but it also means that blending is more difficult.  (white paper tortillons work well, but bits of paper towels or erasers are sometimes used)  They come in a variety of colors, though earth colors are the most commonly found.  I had the class buy black and sanguine (blood color) and these are available in the college bookstore.  Below are some student examples from previous semesters-

How to make this up- On this first day, the class did two portfolio exercises.  For each I set up a basic still life, draped boxes and familiar objects, and had students use one color for each.  First black, as the results resemble the familiar charcoal, then the red to see the kind of value ranges that result.  For additional examples and more detailed instructions, click here.

Homework- Gather a typical set of utensils (fork, knife, spoon) and lay them on the table in front of you in a random pattern.  Draw them on a page in your sketchbook using just the black crayon, paying attention to size, shape, cast shadows, and reflections in the surfaces.  Then redraw it on a second page, using just the red crayon.  Rearrange the three utensils in a new pattern, then repeat the process- one black drawing and one red drawing.  Total of 4 drawings.

For next class 12/9/16- We continue with the conte crayons, this time combining red and black in a single drawing.  This allows the warm tones possible with the red crayon and the dark values of the black crayon to work together.  Bring your 18" x 24" pad, both black and red crayons, eraser, and any blending tool you may want to try.