OCAD Studio: Rhythmic Drawing from Life Part 2

Drawing Project #2

Rhythmic Drawing from Life Part 2

Breaking Down Longer Lines and Finding Forms

Introduction:

This project will help you to approach your work in a more expressive manner. You will learn to produce an artistic interpretation of a simple subject, making use of flowing, expressive lines.

In part 2, you will learn how to use break down the longer flowing lines from part 1 into more complex rhythms and find large and medium forms within the subject.

Materials:

Your drawing from part 1
2B and B pencils or charcoal
Pencil sharpener or a knife and sandpaper block
Kneadable eraser
Hard Eraser
Drawing board (at least A3)
A simple still life subject (fruit with leaves, teapot, small curiosities etc. Preferably lit by a single dominant light source.

Process:

Step 1

Begin by adding more detail to the outside contour of your drawing, looking for the particular rhythms that break up the longer lines from part 1.

Step 2

Don’t make your lines too regular, always observe the specific difference in the length of the lines that make up the shapes in the subject. In nature, these rhythms are typically complex, which is what makes them so beautiful.

Step 3

As you work on the lines, you can also begin adding larger forms to the drawing by shading in the shadows and the portions of the subject which are generally darker. Make sure to leave a lot of white paper in the lighter sections, otherwise your drawing will start to look too grey.

Step 4

Once the outside contour is complete, you can start adding detail to the shapes inside the subject. At this point you can also start adding medium forms within the larger forms you have already established. Make sure to keep the values of your medium forms linked to the value of the larger forms (so that they look correct in context).

Step 5

You can keep refining the drawing for as long as you like, by adding more detail to your lines or progressively smaller forms and textures.

Check out the accompanying video lesson and exercise. Let me know if you have any questions.

Why not have a go at this and post your artwork for me to see. Maybe I or the community can offer support, encouragement and helpful feedback. – share your work on TWITTER and INSTAGRAM – POST using our hashtag #ONLINECOLLEGEART

Drawing Project #2

Rhythmic Drawing from Life Part 1

Finding flow-through lines and blocking in the shapes

Introduction

This project will help you to approach your work in a more expressive manner. You will learn to produce an artistic interpretation of a simple subject, making use of flowing, expressive lines.

In part 1, you will learn how to use flow-through lines to capture the general composition and proportions of your subject, before adding a simple set of shadow shapes.

This main purpose of this project is to observe the relationship between different aspects of your subject and seek out lines that flow from one part to another. These lines will form the basis of the drawing’s composition and the visual rhythms therein. This approach will serve you in good stead when you tackle more complex subject matter or arrangements of shapes and figures.

Materials

A3 drawing paper
2B and B pencils or charcoal
Pencil sharpener or a knife and sandpaper block
Kneadable eraser
Hard Eraser
Drawing board (at least A3)
A simple still life subject (fruit with leaves, teapot, small curiosities etc. Preferably lit by a single dominant light source.

Process

Step 1

Take time to observe your subject before drawing. Look for one or two major lines that flow through the entire subject. This line (or lines) will form the backbone of your composition. Lightly sketch them in with a few sweeping strokes.

Step 2

Add several more lines to define the approximate shape of the object. Try to make these lines flow as well, where possible.

Step 3

Begin connecting your initial lines with secondary flow-through lines. These may become apparent as you work so keep an eye out and don’t hesitate to alter the lines, as the purpose of this exercise is to find rhythms within your subjects, and these rhythms may take time to emerge.

Step 4

Once you’re happy with the overall impression your drawing gives, you can lightly erase any early lines that no longer form part of the drawing. Even though you will remove them, they will still be an underlying aspect of the drawing’s composition.

Step 5

You can now begin defining smaller forms with shorter connecting lines. Keep things loose as you work – you don’t need to make a finely detailed drawing at this stage.

Step 6

The final thing you need to do is define and lightly shade in any major shadow shapes. This will provide a great basis for you to work from in the second part of the project.

Tag: rhythmic