THIS IS A DRAWING COURSE IN STAGES.
THE AIM IS TO MASTER EACH STAGE BEFORE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT STAGE.
WHEN ALL THE STAGES HAVE BEEN MASTERED YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DRAW ANYTHING.
STAGE 1. PROPORTION WITH STRAIGHT LINES
TO BE ABLE TO DRAW THE CURVES OF A FIGURE IS DIFFICULT, IF YOU USE CURVES, UNLESS YOU ARE VERY EXPERIENCED YOU WILL GET THE PROPORTIONS WRONG.
THE BEST WAY TO EXPLORE THE CHANGE OF DIRECTION OF A CURVE IS WITH STRAIGHT LINES. USE CHARCOAL, BE BOLD, DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE FINISHED DRAWING AT THIS STAGE, JUST TRY TO ACHIVE A GOOD PROPORTIONAL DRAWING USING STARIGHT LINES.
FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE DRAWING INCLUDE LITTLE MARKS OR DOTS ON THE INTERIOR OF THE FIGURE, DON’T JUST DRAW THE OUTSIDE EDGE, THESE MARKS WILL HELP TO MEASURE DISTANCE AND PROPORTION. MAKE THE MARKS WHERE YOU SEE BONE STRUCTURE SUCH AS COLLAR BONE, RIBBS, HIP, BELLY BUTTON AND SO ON.
STAGE 2. PLANES AND SHADOWS
WHEN YOU HAVE MASTERED THE FIRST STAGE, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS FOCUS ON THE SHADOWS AND LIGHT. DRAW A LINE DELINEATING OR SEPARATING THE LIGHT AREAS FROM THE DARK ONES.
STAGE 3. LIGHT AND TONE
NOW VERY LIGHTLY, AS LIGHT AS YOU CAN, SHADE THE DARK AREA, LEAVING ONLY THE LIGHT/WHITE PAPER.
AT THIS STAGE YOU MUST BE CAREFUL NOT TO CONFUSE AREAS THAT SEEM LIGHTER THAN THE DARKEST ONES AS DIRECT LIGHT, IF YOU SHADE LIGHTLY LATER WHEN YOU PUT DARK TONE IN THE LIGHT SHADE WILL LOOK QUITE LIGHT.
SO AT THIS STAGE YOU ONLY WANT TO HAVE THE DIRECT HIGH LIGHT LEFT AND THE REST OF THE FIGURE LIGHTLY SHADED.
STAGE 4. MEDIUM AND DARK TONE
NOW LOOK AT THE FIGURE AND DETERMINE WHICH AREAS ARE DARKER. SQUINT OR BLURING YOUR EYES WILL HELP YOU.
THEN PUT THEM IN WITH THE SAME MARKS AS BEFORE.
THEN LOOK AGAIN FOR THE MOST DEEP SHADOW AND LINES AND PUT THEM IN AT FULL STRENGTH.
STAGE 5. SENSITIVITY OF MARKS
THIS STAGE IS A BIG STEP AS TAKES A LITTLE PRACTICE, SO KEEP AT IT ULTIL YOU HAVE IT.
YOU BEGIN WITH STAGE 1 AND 2 THEN INSTEAD OF SHADING IN THE TONES, NOW TRY TO WITH SENSITIVITY TO EXPRESS THE VARIATION IN TONE. DARK AND LIGHT IN ONE PASS. MAKE THE SAME MARK AS BEFORE BUT WHARE YOU DETECT DIFFERENCE IN TONE EXPRESS IT BY PRESSING ON AND TAKING OFF PRESURE, RESPONDING TO WHAT YOU SEE.
KEEP DOING MANY DRAWINGS UNTIL YOU HAVE GOT THE HANG OF IT.
STAGE 6. ONE COLOUR
NOW COMBINE STAGES 1, 2 AND 5 USING ONE COLOUR AT A TIME. THIS WILL FAMILIARISE YOUWILL COLOUR AS AMORE SENSITIVE TOOL.
I SUGGEST CONTE PASTEL DRAWINGS STICKS, WHICH EVER COLOUR YOU USE, USE IT AS IF IT WERE A PIECE OF CHARCOAL, I.E. BLACK.
YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE CONTE STICK IS HARDER AND WILL MAKE A BETTER MARK AND WILL SHOW MORE SENSITIVITY.
STAGE 8. 4/5 COLOUR LIGHT SOURCE
WHEN WE GET TO THIS STAGE IT CAN BE DONE IN SO MANY WAYS IT’S ENDLESS AND DEPENDING ON WHICH SURFACE YOU ARE WORKING ON AND WHICH MEDIUM YOU USE IT IS INFINITE. SO SIMPLICITY IS BEST TO BEGIN WITH.
WE WILL CHANGE TO BLACK PAPER NOW. NOW WE ARE PUTTING LIGHT DOWN EACH TIME BECAUSE THE BLACK PAPER WILL ALWAYS BE THE DARKEST LEFT BEHIND.
BEGIN THE DRAWING USING STAGES ONE AND TWO BUT USING BLACK CONTE ON BLACK PAPER.
THE COLOURS
PALE YELLOW, PALE GREEN, RED, VIOLET, POSSIBLY ORANGE. BECAUSE WE ARE USING COLOURED CHALKS THAT ARE READY MIXED WE ARE SIMPLIFYING WHAT WE SEE.
WHERE DIRECT LIGHT HITS THE FIGURE PUT PALE YELLOW, THE SHADOW CLOWE TO THIS IS RED. THE FURTHER AWAY FROM THE LIGHT SOURCE THE ON THE FIGURE THE RED BECOMES VIOLET AND THE YELLOW BECOMES GREEN OR BLUE. REMEMBER TO PRESS ON VERY LIGHTLY SO AS TO LEAVE LOTS OF LACK PAPER SHOWING THOURGH THEN WHERE THE LIGHT IS STRONGER TO BACK TAND PRESS ON HARDER TO BRING UP THE LIGHT VALUE. LOOK HARD TO SEE WHAT COLOUR IS DOING IN THE FIGURE.
STAGE 9. 4/5 COLOUR LIGHT SOURCE, SENSITIVITY OF MARK
KEEP PRACTICING THIS STAGE WHICH NOW USES ALL THE OTHER STAGES.
YOU ARE NOW USING COMPLEMENTARY COLOURS, WHICH ARE OPPOSITES, WHICH IS A PARALLEL TO HOW LIGHT WORKS IN NATURE. SHADOW IN NATURE IS THE OPPOSITE COLOUR TO THE LIGHT SOURCE. SO YELLOW IS OPPOSITE TO VIOLET AND RED OPPOSITE TO GREEN. BLUE AND GREEN ARE ALL COMPLETMENTARY CONTRASTS.
YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THESE ARE ALSO THE COLOURS YOU ARE NOW USING IN YOUR DRAWING.
STAGE 10 FULL COLOUR SENSITIVITY
WORKING THE SAME AS WITH STAGE 9, BUT NOW IF YOU HAVEN’T PRESED TOO HARD AND FILLED US THE PAPER WITH CHALK, THEN YOU WILL HAVE A LITTLE ROOM LEFT TO ADD SOME PINKS AND OTHER COLOURS THAT YOU CAN SEE IN THE BODY. USE YOUR EYES, BUT BASE IT ON THE STRUCTURE OF COLOUR THAT YOU HAVE BEGUN WITH. PRACTICE AND WITH EACH DRAWING YOU WILL GET CLOSER AND LEARN MORE.
OF COURSE IT IS MUCH EASIER TO LEARN IF I CAN TEACH DIRECTLY PERSON TO PERSON IN MY CLASS. PEOPLE LEARN QUICKLY WITH THE BENEFIT OF BEING SHOWN DEMONSTRATIONS AND EXAMPLES.
STAGE 7. TWO COLOUR HARMONY
SAME AS BEFORE, BUT USING TWO COLOURS IN HARMONY. AT THIS POINT WE BEGIN TO LEARN ABOUT COLOUR AND LIGHT.
COLOUR HARMONY.
THERE ARE BASICALLY TWO FORMS OF COLOUR REATIONSHIP IN NATURE/LIGHT; COLOUR CONTRAST AND COLOUR HARMONIES.
COLOUR HARMONIES ARE COLOURS THAT ARE GOOD AND EASY TOGETHER, THEY HARMONISE, THEY ARE SIMILAR, OR RELATED, CLOSE TOGETHER OR NEXT TO EACH OTHER IN TH SPECTRUM OR ON THE COLOUR WHEEL. BLUE AND GREEN, RED AND ORANGE, PINK AND YELLOW. THERE ARE MANY AND YOU CAN EXPERIMENT TO FIND OUT WHICH ONES WORK BEST. PALE BLUE AND DARK BLUE, VIOLET AND PINK, BUT ONE SHOULD ALWAYS BE COLDER AND DARKER THAN THE OTHER.
THIS IS WHERE WE BEGIN TO BE AWARE OF COLD AND WARM COLOURS AS WELL AS DARK TONES AND LIGHT.
ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE WORKING ON WHITE PAPER NO COLOUR CAN COMPETE WITH WHITE PAPER TO BE LIGHT, SO ALL COLOURS ARE SHADOWS.
