Basic Drawing (FAA 112) Skeletal Notes (General Overview)

LECTURE NOTES FOR FAA MTU 100L STUDENTS

DATE: 080424

1. Basic lines

2. Basic shapes

3. Shading (hatching, cross-hatching and stippling

4. Adding cast shadow to your drawing

5. Using grid lines to master proportion. Example: portrait drawing.

6. Perspective: showing an object's in an illusion of 3-dimension.

7. Build up more complex objects using multiple shapes. Composition.

8. Using faint lines to internalize shapes before drawing over with bold lines. Technique.

9. Outline every sketch first, then add details at the end. Skill development.

EXERCISES EXPECTED

1) Friend's portrait

2) Objects Composition

3) Bridge drawing (perspective)

4) Life drawing
WHAT IS DRAWING?

Drawing means the art of representing an object in lines. It is the art of using lines to define the shapes
of objects including man and animal. It is also a way of training the eyes and of promoting visual and
muscular co-ordination. With this definition, anybody therefore, can draw but to do good drawing, one
should cultivate the habit of observing and this again can only be achieved through practice. After our
art lessons in the school, we should cultivate the habit of observing objects and drawing them. This is
the reading of art.

Observation is really very important in drawing. By this you are expected not only to just glance at an
object but also to look at it carefully and at length. Let your mind feel its shape and size and examine
surfaces that are hidden from the eyes. Watch how the light falls on it. Observe the shadows, the shade
and the reflected light. Look for contrasts. Mentally, select the significant lines. See the object in relation
to other objects. See it from various angles. If you can really spend time doing this, you are training
yourself in the best possible way, better than you would have learnt in the classroom.

STILL LIFE DRAWING

Bear in mind that in every drawing, you are going to deal with semi-circles, curves and lines. The lines
are horizontal, vertical and angular. You are also going to be faced with such geometric/abstract forms
as circles, spheres (ovoids), triangles, cubes and rectangles, cylinders, cones and pyramids.

Generally speaking, most of the objects are based on these forms. They are only distorted in one way or
the other as nature or man creates them. A constant practice on the drawing of the curves, semi-circles.
the lines and the abstract shapes will help in training you to be familiar with [Link] shapes should
be drawn without the aid of rulers.

Still life drawing requires a special technique with certain principles. The objects drawn should be easily
recognized. That is, the drawing should resemble the objects drawn. For example, if you are asked to
draw a Cup, one should know at a glance that it is a Cup.
The still life drawing should be a composition. By composition, is

meant the action of putting together or combining or arranging the parts of a picture. Various objects
can be arranged to form the composition. Almost any combination of objects can be made into a picture
büt if you put objects which belong to the same group or theme like objects that relate, to say breakfast,
a loaf of bread, a Cup of bournvita or ovaltine, butter, eggs, tea cup and saucer and spoon together with
a knife, will be by far better. Experiment with the direction of light how light has fallen on the objects so
as: to be in a position where you can produce a good picture.

Think of how perspective, which is the art of true representation on a flat plane of the appearance of an
object from a specific view point, affects the objects. In this case, you are advised not to get

too close to the objects, lest you run into perspective difficulties.

While you are mentally selecting the important lines of the objects before drawing, see also how they
will fit into the space of the paper so that a balanced composition is made on it. In this regard, make
sure that the open space at the top and the bottom of the left side of the picture is approximately the
same as that of the top and bottom of the right side.

FIGURE DRAWING

A figure drawing is a drawing of the human form in any of its various shapes and postures, using any of
the drawing media. The term can also refer to the act of producing such a drawing. The degree of
representation may range from highly detailed, anatomically correct renderings to loose and expressive
sketches. A life drawing is a drawing of the human figure, traditionally nude, from observation of a live
model. Creating life drawings, or life studies, in a life class, has been a large element in the traditional
training of artists in the Western world since the Renaissance.

A figure drawing may be a composed work of art or a figure study done in preparation for a more
finished work, such as a painting.[1]: Ch. 8 Figure drawing is arguably the most difficult subject an artist
commonly encounters, and entire courses are dedicated to the subject. The human figure is one of the
most enduring themes in the visual arts, and the human figure can be the basis of portraiture,
illustration, sculpture, medical illustration, and other fields.
LIGHT, SHADE AND SHADOW

The basic forms so far drawn are flat on the paper when seen, even though perspective has been
applied to show the form and distance between the objects placed together. The illusion of bulk and
volume has not, however, been effectively created. To effect this, Chiaroscuro must be applied.
Chiaroscuro is the treatment of light, shade and of course shadow in our drawings and paintings to
create the illusion of a three-dimensional effect.

When an object is placed on the ground or on a platform, one

side of it will be exposed to light. That part of the object which

directly faces the light is regarded as light in drawing and may be

indicated by leaving it white if the paper is white, or blank in the

case of other paper.

The parts of the surface of the object which are away from the light are said to be shade. The degree of
this shade will, however, depend on the amount of light that reaches it.

Usually, the change from light to shade is not sudden or sharp. It is gradual and can easily be done with
pencil charcoal stick or ink

wash. They can also be expressed in pen and ink in the form of hatching. The shade side should not be
shaded dead-black. This is because from observation, the shade area is not devoid of light. There is
usually a little amount of light on the area caused by reflected light from the ground or the platform on
which the object is placed. This is not all. When the object is placed on the ground, a certain dark area is
formed on the ground or the platform on which it is placed, opposite the direction of light. The dark area
is known as cast shadow. That shadow should also be shown in our drawings to enable it to stand on the
ground.
VARIOUS METHODS OF SHADING

Tone: Tone is the variation between extreme light and extreme dark. In our drawing this is achieved by
shading of various kinds. There is no specific method that is regarded as the bėst form shading. What
matters is the effect you want to achieve. You can use dots, lines, blending, cross-hatching, wash,
random scribble or any other method you adopt, in so far as it is judiciously done.

SHADING BY VALUES

Using a rectangle divided into 10 squares, begin the shading from darkest to lightest.

"How to Shade Drawings: 11 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow" [Link]

Drawings

PERSPECTIVES IN DRAWING

Practical session on Perspective

Again, linear perspective is the art of showing the sizes of objects in space as they really appear to the
eye of the observer. The objects here include trees, houses, hedges, animals, human figures and still life.
Observe the set of cubes drawn to linear perspective.

FORESHORTENING

Foreshortening is an effect of perspective and viewpoint by which the shape and proportion of certain
objects and figures are altered and made shorter or smaller to the eyes. The figure drawing explains this
point clearly. You will notice that the two parts of one of the cubes that are moving towards the
vanishing point are smaller than the side that is directly in front of you. But in the real object - the cube
all the sides are equal. You will also notice that the other cubes that are moving away to the eye level
become smaller and smaller

Another good example of foreshortening is when an arm is

extended towards the spectator. (See figure 1) is a good example of this point.

Perspective as it applies to the drawing of a landscape: Most landscape drawings or imaginative

composition drawings done by students are not very correct simply because they cannot apply the
principles of perspective drawing. Every student should know that the drawing of a landscape follows
the perspective principles.

First, draw the picture plane, put the eye level and the vanishing

point in the centre and then put the angular guide lines in pencil as you can in the sample drawing. The
next stage is to fill in the objects: i.e. the trees, houses and figures as they appear to the eyes.

The position in which you are standing determines the view you

are to draw. If you are standing in the centre of a wide road and looking straight in front of you, you will
notice something similar to Figure drawings 2 and 3. That is, the road tends to meet at a point in the
eye-level and all other objects become smaller as they move

towards the vanishing point. Assuming you are still standing in the same road, you move to the left, you
will see that the objects near you by the left will be bigger. Again, if you are standing by the right side
the view changes,

that is, the objects will be bigger by the right side as they are near

you and as they appear to the eyes.

See some samples of perspective drawings:

[Link]