DRAWING & M M IMPINGTON, AND DRAWING AND W C SAWSTON 8TH OCT 2013

THIS WEEK WE WENT TO THE BEAUTIFUL CAMBRIDGE BOTANIC GARDEN TO PUT OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GAUGING PROPORTIONS AND TONE INTO PRACTICE, BY MEASURING FROM LIFE

WE FIRST CHOSE A PLANT THAT WE COULD IDENTIFY AS BEING PARTLY DARK, ( LEFT,) AND PARTLY LIGHT ( RIGHT & BOTTOM )

THEN THE OBJECT OF THE EXERCISE WAS TO MEASURE THE PERAMITERS OF THE 2 CACTI HEADS, AND PLACE THEM IN AN OBLONG FRAME, AND THEN DO A THUMBNAIL SKETCH, ( FIG 2 ) ABOVE, SIMPLY TO ASCERTAIN THE INTRINSIC TONAL VALUE OF EACH OBJECT IN BOX 1 AND 2.


YOU WILL NOTICE THAT ON MY HANDOUT FOR THE GUIDLINES ABOVE, I UNDERLINED NOT A DRAWING
FOR THE THUMBNAIL, IN ANTICIPATION OF MY BEGINNERS WISHING TO LAUNCH STRAIGHT INTO DRAWING A PICTURE WITHOUT FIRST DOING A PRELIMINARY THUMBNAIL TO ESTABLISH TONE.

BELOW IS AN EXAMPLE OF AN EFFECTIVE THUMBNAIL DRAWN BY A LEARNER WITH PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE OF MY TEACHING PRACTICES ( SEE SMALLER SIMPLIFIED VERSION ON THE TOP ROGHT OF HER PAGE ) THIS IDENTIFIES AN ABSTRACTED AND SIMPLIFIES VERSION OF WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT, IT IS ESSENTIAL AS ARTIST TO WORK THROUGH THESE EXERCISES IN ORDER TO TRAIN OUR BRAINS TO SEE IN THIS WAY, IN TERMS OF TONE AND COLOUR SHAPES.

 

A THUMBNAIL HELPED THEM TO BLOCK IN TONE ON THE OBJECT AS A WHOLE, AND TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE RELATIVE TONAL VALUES OF THE BIGGER PICTURE.

IF I HAD ALLOWED MY LEARNERS TO START SHADING IN WHEN A CAREFUL DRAWING HAD BEEN COMPLETED, THE TEMPTATION MIGHT HAVE BEEN TO SHADE THE LIGHT AND DARK OF EACH INDIVIDUAL PETAL AND TO LOSE TOUCH WITH THE OVERALL CONTRAST BETWEEN THE 2 CATI HEADS, WHICH IS WHY WE FIRST BLOCKED IN ONE DARKER THAN THE OTHER TO START WITH, SO WE COULD HAVE A RELATIVE SHADE TO ADD RELATIVE DARKS ONTO.
IT WAS PERHAPS NOT APPRECIATED HOW TRICKY THIS CAN BE TO RECOGNISE.

I DIRECTED SOME LEARNERS TO A MORE STRAIGHT FORWARD SUBJECT,  TO BLOCK IN THE LIGHTS AND DARKS BEFORE ADDING ANY DETAIL

IT HELPED TO SEE THE SUBJECT THROUGH THE VIEWFINDER OF MY CAMERA ON THE BLACK AND WHITE SETTING

HERE IS A VERY SUCCSSEFUL THUMBNAIL OF THE YELLOW POPPY HEAD, SHOWING A RANGE OF TONAL VALUES WITHOUT WASTING TIME ON DETAILED DRAWING

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF DARKES BEING BLOCKED IN INTO THE NEGATIVE SHAPES

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A THUMBNAIL CORRECTLY COMPLETED
AND THE DRAWING PARTIALLY FINISHED

HERE WE ARE LOOKING AT A CONVERSION FROM COLOUR TO TONE, TO SEE THE TONE MORE CLEARLY, SQUINT AT THE BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO, TO LOSE DEFINITION OF THE SUBJECT, AND SEE IF YOU CAN DRAW A SIMPLIFIED THUMBNAIL OF THE TONE SHAPES.

THIS STUDENT CHOSE A VERY DIFFICULT SUBJECT TO DRAW, BUT I BELIEVE HE PULLED IT OFF VERY WELL, IN CORRECTLY MEASURING THE TONE OF THE PLANT WITHIN THE CHANGING TONE OF THE BACKGROUND