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Exploring the five development stages of drawing;
1. Drawing with Lines 2. Working from lines to Shapes 3. Building light and volume through shading 4. Rendering textures 5. Positioning Composition
1, Drawing with lines:
The lines arguably the most essential component of drawing. in fact, it's possible to create beautiful drawings with no visible lines. We include lines as the primary way to get a drawing started. Keep in mind, we may need let go of the idea of everything having an 'outline'. Where is the 'outline' of an apple or a lobster? We should remember tone support line! Real objects are not surrounded by visible outlines.
An apple with tone : the tone used to describe fullness of the apple as we are not distracted by hand outlines.
Sometimes it is convenient to start a line drawing of a complex object; you need to break the object down into its simplest parts so you can focus on its outlines. If you practice in looking for edges, you can adjust your vision to block out details of a complex object and you see only its lines.
Mapping Tones:
1. With a 4B pencil draw the basics apple outline without generalizing too much.
2. Draw in the outlines of the main shapes you find. The image key shows the tones, (1st is the lightest, 5 th is the darkest.)
3. Cover the shape with one simple tone, leaving the white of the paper for the highlight.
4. Building up the tones, working through to the darkest one.
5. Use cross-hatching to follow the apple's shape curving your lines around it to reinforce the form.
2. Working from lines to Shapes:
Breaking objects into shapes is useful skill for constructing a drawing as it is more than a symbolic way of representing the world. When you need to break all objects down into simple geometric shapes you need a little bit flexibility to see the geometric shapes that make up an a given object.
The figures below shows a photograph of a street. In figure two, you can see the basic shapes that make up that scene.
To decide what shape to draw, some of the shapes that make up the objects in the photo are geometrically exact, for example, the buildings are square, the windows are in rectangular shape. Draw the basic horizontal rectangle that holds all the houses together. Draw a large rectangle first then subdivide it into smaller rectangles to represent individual houses. Then subdivide those rectangles to create the windows and doors of each house.
Always make a habit of paying extra attention to the essential shapes that make up whatever it is you are drawing. With practice, you will keep your eyes to notice automatically the shapes that make up objects, but you will need to reduce three-dimensional objects into flat shapes. Just begin with a light line drawing of the simple shapes that make up the object. That way, you can ease your lines later by working with tones and shading. No matter how complicated a particular drawing subject is, the key to rendering it successfully with your pencil can break it down into its basic shapes.
3. Building light and volume through shading
In drawing terms, volume is the illusion of three-dimensional shape. It is what turns a square into a cube, a triangle into a cone. To give your subject volume you need to use perspective and shading.Drawing an object with perspective and shading allows you to represent its real structure on paper. Using perspective in your drawings will give a sense of realistic and visually correct dimension.
Using perspective to create depth: Perspective drawing is basically the way objects and spaces appear from a particular point of view within a two-dimensional surface. By paying attention to and accurately portraying perspective in your drawings,you give your subject matter a sense of depth.
How to get some perspective in your drawings? Things that are far away look smaller than things that are nearby. Now, extend this idea that things are very far away must be completely invisible. This basic idea is called "vanishing point".
Every three-dimensional object has at least one vanishing point.
The vanishing point is where the highway disappears into the distance, where the two sides of it come together at the horizon.
Shading refers to rendering the different values (various shades of grey) in a drawing. To draw an object realistically in black and white you need to render the colours, light, and shadows into shades of gray.
Before start drawing a particular object, look for the light and shadows in and around that object, they determine where you need to outline the light and dark shading to create the right contrast. (the difference between light and dark values).
Accurate contrast is the primary component of shading that makes your image look realistic. Shading is a wonderful way to address topography of any object. You can render the shades of light and shadows of an object into shapes of gray shading in your sketches. If you get the shapes of shadows and light in the right places and in the right amounts, your sketches will have same qualities as real life.
4. Rendering textures
Textures add a definite degree of realism to a subject. Draw about the trunk of a tree, a snake skin, the fur of a dog or the wool in a sweater.
To render these textures in a drawing, follow these basic steps:
1. Look for the shadows in and around the object you are drawing. For example, imagine a snake skin, notice that Smooth scales are shiny and usually rounder which have a rough look and are sharper.
2. Choose an appropriate shading technique. An appropriate shading technique is one that allows you to accurately represent the texture of the object you are drawing. In case of the snake example, it helps you to choose a shading technique that allows you to register all the surface changes of the sneak's body crosshatching.
5. Positioning Composition
How to compose your drawing is the biggest visual impact on your subject. Composition is the balance of putting things together in your drawings. When you're first starting to draw, you maybe too much getting your subject down on paper. The essential part of seeing lines and shapes, adding value and texture may consume so much of your energy and time. You end up placing your drawing subject in random places on the paper. The key words in definition of composition are balanced and agreeable.
Unfortunately, your drawings won't look whole until you figure out how to make a good use of the space that highlights the most important qualities of your subject.