Sketchbook Week 6: Shape of Value, Aerial Perspective and Space
Four Drawings
Subject: Landscape
Materials: 9"x11 3/4" Strathmore paper, 2H, HB, 3B, 6B, graphite pencils, View Catcher. NO ERASERS!
In observing a subject, we naturally shift our focus from the "big picture" to the small details; this is a necessity in helping understand the intricate aspects of a form. Unfortunately, it is easy to get "lost in the trees" of the subject and lose sight of the "forest" of which they are a part. Beginning with your study of gesture (the "big picture") in the first two weeks of the semester, you were thinking in terms of the spatial orientation of the subject to you and how that could be interpreted on the two dimensional surface of the picture plane. The next step of sighting angle relationships between parts helped you begin seeing relationship of the parts to the whole form of the subject. Remember how the examples of Alberto Giacommetti's and Henri De Toulouse Lautrec's drawings demonstrated extending the sight lines beyond the edges of the forms they were drawing.This helps in two critical ways with seeing: 1) it helps give you a range of flexibility in your decision process regarding placement of an edge on a particular diagonal. 2) it helps you think beyond the edge of a particular form to the part of it or another form in the composition. The goal for this assignment is to continue helping you develop your understanding of the dynamic relationship of the larger and smaller units of a form and the drawing as a whole. Additionally, this assignment is designed to help begin to see the relationship of value areas within a given complex context, such as landscape, and to help you see smaller details within larger value or atmospheric concerns.
The first step and drawing in this process will be to create a ten-step value scale that will help you become more sensitive to the layering of graphite in making a range of grays, which will be used as a reference in future projects. Number your drawings on the back of each sheet.
Drawing #1
1) 2H graphite pencil. Lightly draw a 1"x10" rectangle divided into 1" units on one of the 11" edges of your paper; avoiding heavy outlines around the squares will give the opportunity to create a gradation of values from black to white, which is the goal of this drawing. The tenth square is to be white. Beginning with the ninth square and using your 2H pencil lead on its side, lay in an even, very light gray in squares 9-1; avoid pressure on the tip of the pencil.
2) 2H graphite pencil. Beginning with the eighth square and continuing to use your 2H pencil on its side lay in an even light gray in squares 8-1; this gray should be one step darker in value than what you have in the second square.
3) HB graphite pencil. Beginning with the seventh square and using your HB pencil on its side, lay in an even gray in squares 7-1; this gray should be one step value darker than what you have in the third square.
4) HB graphite pencil. Beginning with the sixth square and continuing to use your HB pencil on its side, lay in an even gray in squares 6-1 that is one step darker in value than what you have in the fourth square.
5) 3B graphite pencil. Using your 3B pencil and beginning in the fifth square, lay in an even gray in squares 5-1 that is one step darker in value than what you have in the fifth square.
6) 3B graphite pencil. Continuing to use your 3B graphite pencil and beginning in the fourth square, lay in an even gray in squares 4-1 that is one step darker than what you have in the sixth square.
7) 6B graphite pencil. Using your 6B pencil and beginning in the third square, lay in an even gray in squares 3-1 that is one step darker in value than what you have in the seventh square.
8) 6B graphite pencil. Continuing to use your 6B pencil and beginning in the second square, lay in an even gray in squares 2-1 that is one step darker than what you have in the eighth square.
9) 6B graphite pencil. The final step is to fill in the first square with the 6B pencil that is the equivalent of a black; as before, this should be one step darker than what you have in the square that precedes it. Beginning with the first square, you should have a gradual gradation of values from black to white. 60-90 minutes.
Drawing #2
1) With landscape as the subject, use your View Catcher to find a part of environment that has a visually engaging interaction between the foreground, middle ground and back ground. You must work from life! You can use a view from a car or room window if there is inclement weather. Look for repetition and variation of shape, directional forces, etc. Remember, this is a learning process; select what first engages you and begin your visual inquiry with that part of the landscape view you have chosen. Use the first 2-3 minutes feeling the directional forces with your eyes and moving your hand across your paper in response to that; do not make any marks with the pencil at this stage! When you have established a feeling for the placement of your objects, you may begin lightly drawing the main directional forces and general proportions with your 2H pencil. Hold your pencil in the open manner as demonstrated in class. 10 minutes.
2) Use your HB pencil, held in the open manner, to quickly define all value areas that match steps 4-7 on your graphite value scale. 5 minutes.
3) Complete the drawing process with your 3B and 6B pencils as needed to clarify the value areas which match steps 1-3 on your value-scale. Again, hold the pencils in the open manner. 5 minutes.
Drawing #3
1) Follow steps 1-3 in Drawing #1 with a different landscape view; you may choose the same subject, but focus in more closely on a smaller section of it. Part of the space you have previously used can be included, but you are not to use exactly the same composition.
Drawing #4
1) Select your favorite from drawings #2 and #3. Begin another drawing based on that composition and give yourself more time to develop each step of the process. Use your 2H pencil to start: 15 minutes.
2) Following step 2, use your HB pencil to clarify the forms, including smaller details. 20 minutes.
3) Following step 3, use your 3B and 6B pencils to continue clarifying the forms and compositional emphasis. 25 minutes. You can shift back to using your 2H and HB pencils if you feel that you need some additional delicate areas of definition.