Zip on over to http://bit.ly/drawAnIris (Iridescent Dreamscapes) for a very good tutorial on how to draw an iris.
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1.2.19 4D Your paper is two dimensional. It might seem a little silly to try to make a four dimensional representation on a two dimensional surface. But let's think about this. We are quite happy to depict a 3D object on the 2D surface of the paper - so there should be no fundamental reason why we cannot depict a 4D scene on paper. The fourth dimension I am thinking of is that of time. When we take a photograph, it freezes a tiny slice of time and compresses it onto a two dimensional surface. This can give stunning and dramatic effects but it has limitations. An object in motion will move during this tiny time-slice, and this will cause motion blur. A good photographer can take advantage of this by either panning the object to displace the motion blur onto the background, or keep the background fixed and let the moving subject blur. In this scene, we can see time. The young boy kisses his Mum tenderly, she responds, but his bigger brother anticipated this and reeled back in mock disgust. You can see the sequence, even though the picture is laid out in only two dimensions. The relative motion blur aids this as the older boy has moved into the light in the background which obscures part of his face. The results of camera blur are difficult to control. However, when it is successful, the result will give you a sense of time because of the motion blur. But motion blur is not the only way to represent time on a 2D surface. As an artist, you have no technical limitations of the camera. You can choose to draw or paint things in ways that which are not possible to photograph. You can depict hidden surfaces which might suggest what is about to be revealed to a person viewing the scene. You can depict movement and anticipation. Incidentally, movement can also be an important part of an abstract piece. It's harder to describe than movement in a realistic object, but nevertheless, movement can certainly be suggested with non-realistic shape and form. You can depict history though careful composition. For example, objects which have just hit the floor will appear broken, and the expression on a person's face could combine with this to suggest what has just happened. It is very difficult to describe this 4D effect, but to know that it is 'out there' is a great advantage. The next time you go to an art viewing, ask yourself, “Why does this painting seem static, and why does that painting seem alive?” The chances are that the more lively painting has somehow integrated the fourth dimension. It could be an expression on a person's face, or the arrangement of objects in the air. It might be through the play of light and focus.
Today, I've started preparations for an interview with a world-class portrait photographer. Watch this blog in the coming days or weeks as the interview builds. I hope to get an insight into how this person views the world, and what it is that inspires such deep rich images.
Art is not only about shape and form or value and hue. It is a method of communicating. Sometimes mysterious, sometimes shocking, and often controversial. Life The abstract here is full of symbolism. In it you will find Fibonacci, the golden ratio, metaphors for chaos, and the primordial cosmic soup. There are elements that depict spawing and growth, space and soil, tempest, void and... well perhaps you can find some more. How does it make you feel? 1.2.17 Shape
Shape is easy to define. A ball is round, a playing card is flat and square, and a cup has a more complex curved shape. In particular, shapes make up bigger pictures. One of the ideas that we will explore is how small abstract shapes, when fitted together, will produce a realistic whole. Much of our process will be to identify abstract shapes in the subject matter, and duplicate those in our drawing. It will serve you well to learn how to disconnect these shapes from the surrounding context because our mind tends to make us draw the wrong thing if we are too conscious of the overall picture when defining individual shapes. The best way to illustrate this is to find a very large poster-photo, then mask off all but a 1cm square. You will probably not be able to find a line or a recognisable object by looking only at 1cm at a time. You will, however, see abstract shapes, and smooth graduations from light to dark. The trained artist will see these shapes without the aid of a mask. The grid method of transfer is good training for reproducing abstract shapes. 1.2.18 Form Shape is a two-dimensional (2D) notion. Form is the 3D equivalent. When light plays on a two dimensional object, the reflected light is a simple graduation in tone or a simple flat tone throughout. But a 3D object reflects incident light through many angles. Your view point only collects the rays of light from one angle. This means that to represent form, you need to vary the tonal transitions accordingly. To do this, think about where the light comes from, the angle that it hits the object, and the angle that it leaves the object. Remember that the ray of light will leave the object at exactly the same angle that it hit. This is most obvious for a shiny surface. On a rough surface the texture causes fewer rays to reflect exactly to your viewpoint because the rough surface scatters the light in more directions. Consequently, smooth shiny surfaces have sharp well defined transitions, while rougher surfaces have less defined transitions. 1.2.15 Drawing
You can draw with a pencil, a pen, a stick of chalk or a piece of burnt wood, or with paint! It's not the medium which defines drawing - but more the way that marks are made on the paper. Drawing can be done in full colour too, so it's not just for monochrome works. You could also make an abstract drawing so it is not confined to the subject matter. The term seems to be hard to define, yet we all know the difference between a sketch, a drawing and a painting when we see it. A drawing tends to look quite precise and has an attention to detail. The marks made on the paper are controlled and the result has a defined feel to it. Some art critics might complain about a painting if it looks drawn rather than painted. 1.2.16 Rendering Rendering is the process of filling in a shape with correct shading and creating the impression of texture. The way that light and shade plays on the subject is reproduced in the rendering stage. Most of the content of this book is concerned with rendering. We need to learn how to duplicate shape and contour, but rendering will take the most time and the most practice. |
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spOOkspOOk's art is owned by Jeremy. He has practiced drawing and painting for about 40 years, and might get good at it one day. spOOk's art is focused on graphite portraits. Archives
October 2016
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