Learning to see: Sketching

What is a line ? Line is a path of a point moves that moves through the space. Lines can be described in terms of width, direction, movement, length, curvature, and even colour.

Paul Klee(1879- 1940) used this technique as a starting point for his work. He called it 'taking a line for a walk' letting it show him where it wanted to go.

Learning to sketch like learning to see in a new way for the first time. It is a method of visual thinking on paper. It can be observational or invented. Sketches provide artists with method of representation that documents ideas, explore how something is made, what something look like, expressing emotions, showing the third dimension; perspective and changes in scale as well as decorating patterns.

Sketches also provide method of representation that isolates, recalls or enforce ideas. Like drawing sketches can reinforce intentions and meaning and narrative.

Always think about what what you want your drawing to say. Ask yourself what you want the narrative of drawing to be ; that is what story you want it to convey. Creating visual information is one way of directing how something is to be read, or interpreted. In Art field, there are so many ways you can establish visual language.

Meaning in Sketching :Simultaneously, we interpret an image based on the classic book of personal experiences. Generally, agreed upon ideas, expertise, and incredibly specific knowledge. An image might look like it real life corner part or not. It may communicate or conveying information or standing for symbolize thoughts or ideas It may resonate in a personal way, or as intended to influence thought, sentiment, and mood, behaviours, and beliefs, like, for instance, propaganda.

Denotation and Connotation are twin terms used when talking about meaning. Denotation refers to the direct or explicit meaning of a word or sign, or image. The term connotation is defined as a perceived association or a secondary meaning in addition to its primary meaning. We're accustomed to reading and interpreting images and our impressions are influenced by our own personal experiences, subcultures, pop culture's, political convictions, conventions, emotions and so forth.

Composition: Planning your drawings settings

The central focus of this article is the phrase if planning is called composition. Good composition is one of the most important parts of aspects of making images.

Composition with colours 1, 2.

Placing shapes: When you frame a picture or painting, it just becomes something more than just a sketch. The edges of the rectangle create a visual tension, which makes the placement of shapes within the rectangle imperative. Planning a drawing begins with the impulse to draw. If your inspiration to draw is inspired by a particular subject, this is great. After you find out what you want to draw, try to articulate what is your compelling about your subject. Before beginning a painting do a series of thumbnail sketches to investigate the subject’s design potential. Try tall, square, wide formats. You may be surprised to discover how one feels more right than others. When you know what brings you to something, you have a story to tell in your drawings. -Your story doesn't have to be arranged in details. - For instance; the story you want to say about maybe your pet is sun bedding in your back garden! the sun is so hot that you cannot breath!

The term composition, as it relates to drawing, refers to the purposeful arrangement of lines, shapes, values, textures, and sometimes colours within the borders of a drawing space. When a composition works, it captivates the viewers’ attention and provides clues to the meaning of the artwork. Let's mention about simple but effective strategies for creating strong compositions.

The Seven Elements of Composition:

Each component means something on its own, but real significance lies in his you put them together. Here are the major elements of great composition;

Focal point: A primary centre of interest or focus in a drawing.

Overlapping: The visual suggestion of depth made when one form overlaps another.

Negative Space (shape): The form around the main subject as the subject itself is the actual shape.

Lines: Lines in a drawing that guide the viewer through the different parts of the picture. Balance: A stable arrangement of visual weight within a composition.

Contrast: The difference between light and dark values that create shapes and pattern in your composition.

Proportion: The amount of space allocated to the various components of a drawing.

Emphasising the Focal Point

How to understand composition in art?

A drawing becomes much more interesting when it has a focal point: a particular area you want your viewers to focus the majority of their attention when they look at your drawing. For example the central focal point in a portrait aye the subject's eyes. Or in a landscape, it may be one specific tree. As a guide, mentally divide the rectangle area into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, and place your focal point one-third of the way ‘in’ and up from an edge. Think about what you want your drawing to say or choose a focal point that helps you express that message. Just remember you can choose more than one area of the focus point in your drawing if doing so makes sense for your subject matter and the story you want to tell about. In that case, you have a primary focal point and more secondary focal points.

After you choose your main point, you can use many artistic devices and techniques to highlight that focal point.

Follow the tips to as you work to emphasize your focal points:

1. Always place your focal point off centre of your composition:

2. Make good use of secondary focal points: Secondary focal points like supporting characters, use as an anchors to help balance a composition, especially when the primary focal point takes up only a small amount of space. (Focal point hierarchy)

3. Use objects within your drawings space to point to your focal point. You can guide the eyes of the viewer to your focal point by arranging objects in such a way that they function like arrows. ‘Creating a functional eye path” for more about using other objects point to your focal point.

4. Define the focal point with more detail and a stronger contrast in values than other aspects of your drawing. To attract your viewer’s attention, you need to enhance the visual interest of your focal point compared to the rest of your drawing.

Overlapping for Unity and Depth Overlapping is to basic way to give your drawings the illusion of depth. Imagine how much depth you could suggest simply by lining up a row trees, each overlaps the next. Overlapping also helps bring unity to the different parts of a composition. When objects overlap the physical connection on the paper ties them together in the eyes of viewer, thus creating a link that the eyes follow across.

Taking Advantage of Negative Shapes In composition the term positive shapes made by the significant objects, while negative shapes refers to the shape made by the space surrounding it. The appearance of an object depends on the negative shape that surrounds it. In fact, if you change the appearance of the negative shape, the appearance of the objects changes, too. In addition, to defining the shapes of objects, you can use negative shapes in composition to tell stories about your subject matter.

Here are just a few examples of how you can tell stories with negative shapes.

1. You can use negative shapes to define relationship between objects. For example, if your viewer sees few or no negative shapes between two objects he likely perceives those objects as a group; whereas, if he sees a lot of negative shapes between two or more objects, your viewer is likely to perceive them as a group.

2. You can use negative shapes to call attention to similarities of shape. For example, if two objects complementary shapes are near each other in a drawing, the negative shapes between them will call attention to the relationship between them. Complementary shapes appear to fit together like a pieces of puzzle. For example an orange next to banana nestles into the curve of the banana. If you move either fruit to create a space between them, the negative shapes between them draw attention to the curved shapes of the fruit. The negative shapes between two objects draw attention to this similarity.

3. You can use negative shapes as a frame to call attention to the shape and orientation of an object For example, if an object has a tall, vertical shape and you frame it with a negative shape that has a tall, vertical shape, your reader will be more aware of the height of the object.

4. You can use negative shape of a large foreground object as a window for viewing other objects. For example, the negative shape formed by the branch of a tree may provide a doorway looking into the scene behind the trees.

How to Get Simple Perspective in your Drawings

Your brain has two sides; the right hemisphere (right brain) and the left hemisphere (left brain). Both sides of your brain play an equally important role in drawing.

Right- brain thinking is visual, perspective, intuitive, insightful, and creative.

Creative side: The right side of your brain is responsible doing the following;

• Seeing relationships and likenesses between shapes and spaces.

• Combining various visual elements to form a whole image.

• Seeing harmony and balance instinctively.

Analytical: The analytical left brain is responsible doing the following;

• Using mathematical logic to establish proportion.

• Planning a drawing according to the rules of composition.

• Analyzing the step by step procedures of composing a drawing.

In order to draw in a way that gives an effect of three dimensions you will need to learn a little about perspective. Perspective gives us an ability to assess the placing of objects and people in relation to one another.

Waking up the Right side of Your brain: For most people, the left brain gets plenty of exercise in everyday life when they make routine decisions (habitual pattern)

Circles in perspective:

1. Put a rectangle around your circle.

2. Find the centre of the rectangle, is simply a matter of drawing lines from corner to corner.

3. Extend the centre points upwards to find the tip of the gable roof.

Circle in 'Perspective':

The top and bottom lines would follow through to the vanishing point at eye level. The circle has become an ellipse, with the central point closer to the 'back' than the front.

Ellipses: Curved forms

From other angles, circles become ellipses, and you need to bear in mind those points in mind.