Project 2 Exercise 2: Observing shadow using blocks of tone

 

This exercise focuses on using blocks of tone to create shadows and objects in response to light. I tried to bring the depth of the tone and shadow that the lighting gives in as much daylight as possible but it was insufficient to get a good mixture of dark and light segments so I placed a lamp next to the objects to bring out the tones.

Using charcoal gives a great contrast of the dark and light elements which I think does bring out the strength of the shadows. I feel some of the shading that I have done on the pot on the right hand side is a little misleading. I perhaps layered too much shadow on the bottom rim of the pot without giving the right side of it much light to demonstrate the difference in exposure, both from the teapot and a from the light in the surrounding area. The teapot itself has some more definitive shading on it however I have noticed some marks have taken away what was essentially a smooth ceramic feel. I do believe the lighting has been captured quite well on the teapot with the direction of where the light source is coming from. I did seek to capture the light between the objects which is coming from the surrounding surface on the table mixed with the shade from the teapot.

This drawing as a whole shows some good aspects that respond well to light where others like the pot show areas that I need to focus on where an item can be in shadow and yet still have shades going across it. I will use this experience for my future tone and shading. I also think the shadows beneath the objects need to be more representative of the angle of the surface with relation to the light source.

Project 2 Exercise 1: Groups of Objects

This exercise was to focus on groups of objects as preparation for a still life later on in the project. I have included both the original image and an enhanced version for your discretion. The goal was to identify objects in and their arrangement, focusing on each object relation to one another in the space.

 

A couple of key things to note from the explanation of the exercise. First of all I took notice by what was said when choosing a surface and to be imaginative with it. Therefore I thought it would be interesting to do it on a scrunched up sheet of A2 to see what kind of image I could draw. Secondly was regarding the nature of the objects and that I should try to capture them as naturally as they would be. The example of them being spilled out of a shopping bag  was a good idea so that is what I chose to do.

I had to try and see through the objects and finish each one as though it were in the foreground. this I found difficult because I had to imagine where lines would begin and end and sometimes it would not match up perfectly with where other object lay. The plastic bag that I had used to have the objects spill out from was the most difficult part for me as I found it hard to grasp it’s depth on the paper. I must say the scrunched up A2 that I had decided to go with along with using the woodless charcoal pencil made it more difficult than I had thought. I found myself having to redraw lines until I was happy with the tone.

I think could do much better with my awareness of objects in their space and also how each object relates to one another.

Project 1 Exercise 1: Expressive Lines and Marks

For this exercise I created lines and marks on folded sheets of A2 paper. The aim was to create these marks while associating them with a particular feeling or emotion. From this I hoped to see what impression is left on the paper including things like the pressure of the medium, the strokes I have used, the number of marks left on the paper and so on.

I have enlarged and enhanced some of the more difficult to see images. You can still click on any of the images to enlarge them further

JOY

Top Left: Willow stick / Top Right: Charcoal Stick, medium weight / Bottom Left: 6B Graphite Stick / Bottom Right: Woodless Charcoal Pencil, soft

For this collection I generally used broader strokes. I found myself wanted to repeat continuously the sensation that I felt when creating lines across the surface. I found this particularly satisfying with the willow stick as you can see from the repeated marks made over and over in the same place. I found a sense of relief as well when the willow stick did not break from the shorter wisps I created toward the top of the drawing. Another occurrence I found myself doing was bowed shapes, curves and circles. Again I think this was just the wanted to repeat smooth lines over and over which I found to be quite joyous.

 

ANGER

Top Left: Charcoal Stick, medium / Top Right: 3B Pencil / Bottom Left: 4B Pencil / Bottom Right: Willow stick

 

A common theme with anger was making large erratic strokes across each page often over and over in the same area. I found that I applied more pressure when using pencil as I was aware I could do so without worrying about breaking the lead. As you can see on the top left segment with the charcoal stick, I attempted to see whether or not using it on it’s side would create a sufficient mark and stopped once I realised that anger for me is depicted with harsher more defined lines that appear anywhere on the paper.

 

CALM

Top Left: 2H Graphite Stick / Top Right: Willow Stick / Bottom Left: 2H Pencil / Bottom Right: Woodless Charcoal Pencil, medium

 

Calm was done with more simplicity than some of the other mark making I had done in this exercise. The bottom left image has been enhanced below so it is easier to see. The willow stick on the top right is just such a relaxing medium in the way it feels to draw lines across the page as the feedback is smooth and almost silken. I found myself making wave-like lines across the page and generally, being a lot slower when making any of the lines.

 

 

 

I did the same with the pencil here, using long slow curves to leave marks. Feeling calm meant I was in no rush to make these drawings and so this one took me significantly longer to do as each line had it’s own time given to it.

 

EXCITEMENT

Top Left: Woodless Charcoal Pencil / Top Right: Willow Stick / Bottom Left: Charcoal Stick, soft / Bottom Right: HB Pencil

The last one was the self chosen emotion, where I decided upon excitement as an emotion. With excitement comes a mixture of positive feelings but mostly, a wanting to leave an impression. The line marks are similar to what was left by anger however the pressure given when doing them was much less in this one. I did not feel as though I had to be quite so hard with any of the mediums here yet I wanted to make sure that my feelings were felt long after. The two images on the left felt like an explosion of marks, as though I had been looking forward to doing it for a long time. I must admit I did have to build myself up for this piece as I was curious whether it would be much different to the other pictures I had drawn and I am glad to say that I think it does the emotion I was feeling justice.

This is an enhanced image of the drawing on the bottom right of the paper.Similarly to the left images I had drawn circles with explosions of lines and marks to make the paper stand out more. The bottom right of this particular image does not feel as vibrant and perhaps I felt I had ran out of excitement by this point as it was the last image I drew and I wasn’t feeling it as much with the HB pencil as I was with the other mediums.

 

Overall I think the exercise was a success. One thing that may have affected a truly communicative drawing on each page was my thought into the medium I was using at the time. I was more curious by choosing a random one from my selection and seeing if I could truly relay that emotion to paper regardless of what medium I was using. Although if I pre-planned the medium that may affect the authenticity of the results afterward. In the future I would perhaps consider as well a different surface for each emotion for example one which a specific medium is difficult to apply and therefore it would frustrate me further giving a more genuine feel of anger on the page.

Temporary Drawings (Part 1, Warm-up Exercise)

For the very first exercise of the course I have been looking at a way to create ‘temporary drawings’.

The idea behind temporary drawings is very much how it sounds: images created with mediums that are not designed to leave a lasting impression on or within the surface it is drawn upon. Such examples can include using a stick to draw in the sand or drawing shapes on steamed up glass with your finger. For my exercise I have decided to use washing up liquid poured into a jug of water to create these drawings and have recorded a video of me doing it below.

Drawing Skills – Temporary Drawings from Alex Wallace on Vimeo.

The process has created a rather fluid, ribbon effect that slows down and speeds up with the movement of the water. I wanted to make sure the lines were visible in the water so I placed the jug in front of the window while it was sunny. The light has emphasised the yellow streams and because it was not just a single flat surface that they were projected on, the layering of the ribbons causes more darkened yellows to become apparent.

When creating the effect I made sure to move the bottle back and forth to create an image that would be far easier to see afterwards which I feel has paid off. The speed at which I would move the bottle has affected the movement in the water and even after I had stopped the momentum continued to swirl the pattern around the jug for a few seconds more before settling.

The images created remind me of caramel lattices, something that comes about in a somewhat messy way and can create something a little beautiful. Now I’m getting a bit sentimental over my washing up liquid drawing.

WELCOME

Hello and welcome to my drawing blog!

Here is where I will keep a record of my progress throughout my Drawing Skills course.

To begin with, here are a few sketches which I have done recently. By doing a little drawing each day, I hope to sharpen my skills and so what better way to do that than to draw some things on my desk, a scrunched up face and a foot!

    

(LEFT) An assortment of objects on my desk drawn wholly with a 2H pencil. I feel as though I have forced an orthographic perspective on the objects in order to align certain surfaces. I think I have caught the right amount lighting for each object in relation to each other object however using a 2H pencil has made it particularly difficult to add more contrast to the darker elements and has resulted in a very light image.

(MIDDLE) Just using a biro on this one. I started with the nose with no real intention on what it would end up like but it became a face which I believe is actually impossible to pull! When wincing, the side of your face that you are pulling in means both the eye and relative side of the mouth converge. Once I had finished the drawing I tried to pull this face myself realising that I could not scrunch my eye up on one side and snarl my mouth on the opposite. I do particularly enjoy drawing lines with a biro as there is a lot of definition that can be gained from it and shading can range from doing it lightly or heavily to add depth.

(RIGHT) Something that I knew I wouldn’t have to have move around a lot so I started drawing it (right up until the pins and needles set in). This was done with a B pencil throughout. The general shape and size I found to be the easiest part  however when trying to shade along the contours and crevices, I felt that there was some loss in detail as I wanted to make sure the major features were done to a good standard. Took about an hour to finish.

 

Well that is all for this post. I will next be onto the first exercise of the course shortly and will follow up with a post detailing my findings. Check out the Sketches tab on the top right for an archive of drawings that I will be doing and until next time, thanks for reading.

 

– Alex