Advanced drawing skills by blixer

DRAWING SKILLS
Advanced
A COURSE IN ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE
B A R R I N G T O N B A R B E R
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Barrington Barber
AdvancedDRAWING SKILLS
a course in artistic excellence
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Contents
Introduction 7
Drawing from the Masters 15
The Experience of Drawing 47
Form and Shape 79
Assessing What Works 111
Studying Life from Nature 127
Extremes of Expression 165
Styles and Techniques 177
Art Appreciation 205
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200 Years Of Know-
How
Nicolas-Jacques Conté was born at Sées (Normandy)
in 1755. He rapidly became enthusiastic about
painting and at 20 years of age went to study in Paris,
where he would paint portraits of the French royal
family among other works. He was very close to the
major scientists of his day and met the Montgolfier
brothers, inventors of the hot-air balloon in 1783,
when he carried out experiments on the hot-air
balloons, since he was still divided between painting
and the sciences.
The French Revolution forced him to change his
profession in 1789. He thus became a talented inventor
in many fields. He conducted varied research activities,
some of which concerned crayons and black lead.
Indeed, genuine crayons became scarce. Being a
painter lacking the vital professional tools, Conté found
this situation unacceptable.
In 1794, Conté invented the lead pencil, also known
as the graphite pencil. The Conté company profited
from this invention and was able to develop an excep-
tional industrial know-how in the field of drawing,
writing and pastel.
In January 1795 he submitted the patent no.32 and
set up a pencil factory. A self educated painter, chemist,
physician, hot-air balloon pilot and inventor, Nicolas-
Jacques Conté passed away in Paris in 1805.
Today, the pioneering spirit of Nicolas-Jacques
remains within the Conté À Paris company. Their
products for sketching and drawing are renowned
for quality by artists around the world.
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Introduction
To get the most out of this book, you will need to be familiar with the basic drawing
practices I introduced in The Fundamentals of Drawing. If you have used that book,
or feel you know enough without referring to it, welcome to the next interesting
stage of drawing. Although we use the term ‘advanced’ in the title, the book is aimed
not at professionals but at still-aspiring artists who have done a lot of work and want
to develop their skills further.
If you are still using the exercises in the last book as practice tools, that’s very
commendable. In this book, I aim to encourage you to look more deeply into the art
of drawing and to bring a more investigative approach to what you do. Such an
approach teaches us not to be put off by difficulties, because they can be overcome
with a little persistence and a lot of practice. If you are now drawing quite well and
have proved your ability to yourself, it is quite easy to improve, even if the further
steps you must take appear to be difficult at first.
So, the first lesson of this book echoes recurring themes of the last: practise
regularly, and don’t mind making mistakes in the process. Mistakes are not bad so
long as you correct them as soon as you see them. You will find that assessing your
ability will help to make you more objective about your work. However, this new
knowledge won’t happen overnight, so be patient. And remember: the time you
spend altering your drawings to improve them is never lost – that is how you will
improve your skills.
Making contact with other people who are also trying to become better artists
will help your progress, too. Drawing is not a private exercise but a public one, so do
show your work to other people. It may not be to everybody’s liking and you may
have to swallow criticisms that dent your pride. If this happens, look at your own
work again with a more objective eye and see if those criticisms are justified. Of
course, not all criticism is correct. But usually we know when it is, and when it is we
should act on it. Your best critics will be other students of art because they speak
from their own experience. If you know any professional artists, talk to them about
their work. You will find their advice useful. Go to art shows and galleries as often as
you can and see what the competition is up to. The experience will help to push your
work further in the right direction. Notice your own weaknesses, try to correct them,
but don’t ignore your strengths. And while you build on success, try to eliminate the
gaps in your knowledge and expertise. Above all, don’t give up. Steady hard work
often accomplishes more than talent.
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WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER
In the following sections we will be looking at all sorts of drawing; some you will be familiar with,
and some will be new to you. Many of my examples are close copies of the work of first-rate
artists, who provide a wealth of ideas and methods that can be learnt from. Some of the drawings
are my own and hopefully they will also teach you something. In considering the drawings of
master artists and how they were done, I have tried to relate them to our experience of drawing
and suggest ways of improving your abilities.
Topics such as anatomy and perspective are looked at in some detail, as is the difficulty of
drawing movement. Detailed on the facing page are the major themes running through the book
and how they can help you develop your drawing skills. Included in this Introduction also, just as
a taster, are examples of drawings that exemplify the major topics we shall explore.
INTRODUCTION
Line and style: The loose and yet taut line
evident in the copy of Matisse’s odalisque
(below) can take years to perfect, but there
is no reason why you should not try to
produce something similar now – it will
enormously improve your drawing skills.
A vivid sense of style can make even a
line drawing stand out. The simple, refined
but original design of this cut out bronze
figure from the Hellenic period (right) is
first class. Once we have seen drawing of
this calibre we can begin to emulate it.
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What You Will Discover
Major Themes:
• Form and how to produce an effect of dimension, with shapes conditioned by light and shade
and other dimensional devices – see pages 79–109.
• Devices and approaches that may help us to improve the accuracy of our drawing (see pages
48–77). We’ll also consider how to analyse the mass of information thrown at our retina.
• Ways of portraying an emotional state or mood in a picture – see pages 111–125. This is done
by the design, the choice of subject matter, or by the techniques and drawing medium. All work
and all are valid.
• Studying from nature – see pages 127–163. In this and other sections you will ﬁnd exercises in
drawing and analysis, to understand how to see a subject more clearly and how to represent
what you see.
• Caricature – see pages 165–75. Although this is not a major part of art it does encapsulate the
sharp vision that an artist needs in order to see past the obvious. There is a lot beyond our
daily perception.
• The work of artists who found ways of seeing the world anew – see pages 15–45. In their hands
what might seem an ordinary situation suddenly becomes full of promise and life.
• The importance of drawing what you can see. Not to draw what can’t be seen might seem
obvious, but it is a very precise discipline for the artist with lots of ideas in his head who
sometimes attempts to invent without substance. It’s easier – and the end result more
convincing – to train yourself to see more, perceive more clearly and draw exactly what is seen.
Anyway, try it out. You might be surprised.
Different approaches: Careful
reﬁned pencil drawing (left), a
copy of a Michelangelo; and an
immediate and unpremeditated
drawing in pen, line and wash,
original by Guercino.
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HOW YOU WILL LEARN
It is hoped you will have a great time with the suggestions in this book. Having taught art now for
a long time – and practised it even longer – I can say with confidence that if you want to learn to
draw well there is nothing to stop you.
Some of the styles and techniques will suit you instantly whereas with others you may find
yourself having to work hard. Don’t worry if you don’t instantly get on with some of them. See
them as a challenge to your obvious intelligence; if you want to draw, you must be very intelligent,
no matter what your academic record. You will discover that just trying a new technique will bring
improvement in the other methods you use. Seemingly difficult exercises firm up our talent. When
you succeed at them, give yourself a pat on the back, because it means you are really getting
interested. That, ultimately, is what counts, and what improves levels of skill.
Above all, remember that your own will and desire to draw and the normal use of your senses
are all that are required to start the deeper investigation into the visual world that this book hopes
to encourage. Art is a marvellous part of life, and drawing is the real basis for painting and
sculpture. The more deeply you engage in the arts, the more you are adding to the cultural value
of our society.
INTRODUCTION
Different effects with chalk: Both of these
drawings are in the classical manner, but
notice how different they look. In the copy of
the Vouet (left) the carefully modulated toning
makes us very aware of the aesthetic value.
In the copy of the Caracci (right) you can
see that it was drawn quickly. Most of the
tonal lines go in the same direction and
the figure looks solid and convincingly
muscular.
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How You Will Learn
Different effects with brush and ink: These two landscapes give very different effects although a
very similar technique was used for both.
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DRAWING YOUR WORLD
Before we begin, I would like you to bear in mind a few points that I hope will stay with you
beyond the period it takes you to absorb the contents of this book. It concerns methods of
practice and good habits.
One invaluable practice is to draw regularly from life. That is, drawing the objects, people,
landscapes and details around you. These have an energy and atmosphere that only personal
engagement with them can capture. Photographs or other representations are inadequate
substitutes and should only be used as a last resort as reference (see top caption on opposite page).
Always have a sketch-book or two and use them as often as possible. Constant sketching will
sharpen your drawing skills and keep them honed. Collect plenty of materials and tools – pencils,
pens, rubbers, sharpeners, ink, paper of all sorts – and invest in a portfolio to keep all your
drawings in.
INTRODUCTION
These quick sketches of
different parts of
buildings are the result
of drawing often and
at any time. There is
always the possibility
of making a sketch of
something seen out of
a window. It’s very
good practice, too.
Keep a sketch-pad with you
always – you never know
when you’ll stumble across a
scene that you want to put
down on paper.
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Drawing Your World
Don’t throw away your drawings for at least a year after you’ve ﬁnished them. At that distance
you can be more objective about their merits or failings, and have a clear idea of which ones work
and which ones don’t. In the white-hot creative moment you don’t actually know whether what
you’ve done is any good or not. You are too attached to your end result. Later on you’ll be more
detached and be clearer in your judgement.
Build a portfolio of work and sometimes mount your drawings. Then, if anyone wants to see
your work, you will have something to show them. Don’t be afraid of letting people see what you
have done. In my experience, people always ﬁnd drawings interesting. Have fun with what you are
doing, and enjoy your investigations of the visual world.
When drawing from life is not
possible, use your own
photographs of objects or scenes
of interest. This is better than
relying on other people’s shots,
because invariably your visual
record will remind you of what it
was about that image you
wanted to capture.
One of the most important
lessons I hope you will take from
this book is the value of
simplicity. Successful drawing
does not demand a sophisticated
or complex approach. Look at
this sketch. Its quality derives
from a simple approach to
shapes and the assimilation of
their graphic effects into one
picture. I had to make an effort
to keep those shapes basic and
simple. Always try to do the same
in your drawings.
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Drawing from the Masters
The point of this section is not to encourage you to blindly
copy the methods of Raphael or Leonardo or any of the other
great masters whose works we’ll be looking at. The most
important aspect of drawing of this quality is the acute
observation that it requires. Great artists observe the world
around them with great accuracy. I have deliberately not
provided captions for the images reproduced here, because I
want you to regard this section as an exercise in looking.
From these examples I want you to begin to understand
how to put technique at the service of your observations by
varying the length and pressure of your strokes. Eventually,
after a lot of practice, you will find that you can judge exactly
how heavy, light, long or short your strokes should be to
achieve a specific effect. Hopefully, you’ll also find that you
can get quite fast at it.
One of the great bonuses of studying drawing and
painting is that our vision refines and we begin to drop the
prejudices and preconceptions that normally accompany our
view of the world – attributes that are abundantly in evidence
in the work of the artists whose methods we look at in this
section.
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ANCIENT GREEK ART
These Greek vase drawings, some of the earliest known (dating from c. 510 BC), are so
sophisticated and elegant they might have been drawn by a modern-day Picasso or Matisse, except
that Matisse would not have been as exact and Picasso would probably not have been as
anatomically correct. The simple incised line appears to have been done easily and quickly and yet
must have been the result of years of practice. Yet more remarkable is that these drawings were
not done on ﬂat paper but on the curving surface of a vase or crater. The economy of line is a
lesson to all aspiring artists.
DRAWING FROM THE MASTERS
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AncientGreekArt
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LEONARDO DA VINCI (1459–1519)
When we look at a Leonardo drawing we see the immense talent of an artist who could not only
see more clearly than most of us, but also had the technical ability to express it on paper. We see
the ease of the strokes of silverpoint or chalk outlining the various parts of the design, some
sharply deﬁned and others soft and in multiple marks that give the impression of the surface
moving around the shape and disappearing from view.
Leonardo regulates light and shade by means of his famous sfumato method (Italian for
‘evaporated’), a technique by which an effect of depth and volume is achieved by the use of dark,
misty tones. The careful grading of the dark, smudgy marks helps us to see how the graduations
of tone give the appearance of three dimensions.
The effect of dimension is also shown with very closely drawn lines that appear as a surface,
and are so smoothly, evenly drawn that our eyes are convinced. There is elegance in the way he
puts in enough tone but never too much. To arrive at this level of expertise requires endless
practice. However it is worth persevering with practising techniques because they enable you to
produce what you want with greater ease. Techniques need to be mastered and then forgotten.
All this will take time.
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LeonardodaVinci
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RAPHAEL (RAFFAELO SANZIO) (1483–1520)
The perfection of Raphael’s drawings must have seemed quite extraordinary to his
contemporaries, even though they had already seen the works of Filippo Lippi, Botticelli,
Michelangelo and Leonardo. His exquisitely flowing lines show his mastery as a draughtsman;
notice the apparent ease with which he outlines the forms of his Madonna and Child, and how few
lines he needs to show form, movement and even the emotional quality of the figures he draws.
His loosely drawn lines describe a lot more than we notice at first glance. It is well worth trying to
copy his simplicity, even though your attempts may fall far short of the original. The originals are
unrepeatable, and it is only by studying them at first hand you will begin to understand exactly how
his handling of line and tone is achieved.
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Raphael
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MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI (1475–1564)
Michelangelo is arguably the most influential figure in the history of art. Study his drawings and
then look at the work of his contemporaries and the artists who followed him and you will see
how great was his influence. The copies shown here incorporate the original techniques he
introduced. In the pen and ink drawing the style is very free and the shapes very basic, suggesting
figures in motion; the ink drawing with traces of chalk is still pretty sketchy but more considered,
allowing the viewer to discern character and type of costume. The final example is a very exact
drawing, the careful sfumato in black chalk giving a clear definition of the arrangement of the
flexing muscles under the skin. Michelangelo’s deep knowledge of anatomy enabled him to
produce an almost tactile effect in his life drawing. He shows clearly that there are no real hollows
in the human form, merely dips between the mounds of muscles. This is worth noting by any
student drawing from life and will give more conviction to your drawing.
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Michelangelo
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PETER PAUL RUBENS (1577–1640)
Now let us look at the beautiful
delicately drawn chalk drawings of
Rubens who, like Titian, was referred to
as a prince of painters. Before he
produced his rich, flowing paintings,
full of bravura and baroque asymmetry,
he would make many informative
sketches to clarify his composition.
These sketches are soft and realistic,
with the faintest of marks in some areas
and precise modelling in others.
The rather gentle touch of the
chalk belies the powerful composition
of the figures. When completed the
paintings were full and rich in form. His
understanding of when to add
emphasis and when to allow the
slightest marks to do the work is
masterly.
Rubens was one of the first
landscape painters, although he did
this type of work only for his own
satisfaction. His drawings of landscapes
and plants are as carefully worked out
and detailed as those of any Victorian
topographical artist.
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Peter Paul Rubens/Holbein the Younger
HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER (1497/8–1543)
Holbein left behind some extraordinarily subtle portrait drawings of various courtiers whom he
painted during his time as court painter to Henry VIII. These works are now in the Queen’s
Collection (most of them at Windsor, but some are in the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace),
and are worth studying for their brilliant subtle modelling. These subjects have no wrinkles to
hang their character on, and their portraits are like those of children, with very little to show
other than the shape of the head, the eyes, nostrils, mouth and hair. Holbein has achieved this
quality by drastically reducing the modelling of the form and putting in just enough information
to make the eye accept his untouched areas as the surfaces of the face. We tend to see what we
expect to see. A good artist uses this to his advantage. So, less is more.
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REMBRANDT (HARMENSZ VAN RIJN) (1606–69)
The drawings of Rembrandt probably embody all the qualities that any modern artist would wish
to possess. His quick sketches are dashing, evocative and capture a ﬂeeting action or emotion
with enormous skill. His more careful drawings are like architecture, with every part of the
structure clear and working one hundred per cent. Notice how his line varies with intention,
sometimes putting in the least possible and at other times leaving nothing to chance. What
tremendous skill!
To emulate Rembrandt we have to carefully consider how he has constructed his drawings.
In some of his drawings the loose trailing line, with apparently vague markings to build up the
form, are in fact the result of very clear and accurate observation. The dashing marks in some of
his other, quicker sketches show exactly what is most necessary to get across the form and
movement of the subject. Lots of practice is needed to achieve this level of draughtsmanship.
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Rembrandt/Tiepolo
GIOVANNI BATTISTA TIEPOLO
(1692–1770)
Tiepolo is noted for his painted walls and,
particularly, ceilings. Although difﬁcult to
emulate, his methods of drawing are
worth studying. Loose, scrawling lines are
accompanied by splashes of wash to give
them solidity. What appear to be little
more than scribbles add up to wonderful
examples of a master draughtsman’s ﬁrst
thoughts on a painting. Compare his
drawings closely with his elegant
paintings and you will see premonitions
of the latter in the former.
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JEAN-ANTOINE WATTEAU (1684–1721)
One of the most superb draughtsmen among the French artists of the 18th century, Watteau
painted remarkable scenes of bourgeois and aristocratic life. His expertise is evident in the
elegant and apparently easily drawn figures he drew from life. When we look at them, it seems
that somehow we can already draw like this or perhaps that we never shall.
Like all great artists he learnt his craft well. We too can learn to imitate his brilliantly simple,
flowing lines and the loose but accurate handling of tonal areas. Notice how he gives just enough
information to infer a lot more than is actually drawn. His understanding of natural, relaxed
movement is beautifully seen. You get the feeling that these are real people. He manages to catch
them at just the right point, where the movement is balanced but dynamic. He must have had
models posing for him, yet somehow he infers the next movement, as though the figures were
sketched quickly, caught in transition. Many of his drawings were used to produce paintings from.
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Watteau
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JEAN-AUGUSTE-DOMINIQUE INGRES (1780–1867)
Ingres was, like Raphael, noted for his draughtsmanship. His drawings are perfect even when
unfinished, having a precision about them which is unusual. He is thought to have made
extensive use of the camera lucida (see page 51), which is probably correct, but nevertheless the
final result is exceptional by any standards.
The incisive elegance of his line and the beautifully modulated tonal shading produce
drawings that are as convincing as photographs. Unlike Watteau’s, his figures never appear to be
moving, but are held still and poised in an endless moment.
The student who would like to emulate this type of drawing could very well draw from
photographs to start with, and when this practice has begun to produce a consistently convincing
effect, then try using a live model. The model would have to be prepared to sit for a lengthy period,
however, because this type of drawing can’t be hurried. The elegance of Ingres was achieved by
slow, careful drawing of outlines and shapes and subtle shading.
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Ingres
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EUGENE DELACROIX (1798–1863)
The great Romantic French painter Delacroix could draw brilliantly. He believed that his work
should show the essential characteristics of the subject matter he was portraying. This meant that
the elemental power and vigour of the scene, people or objects should be transmitted to the
viewer in the most immediate way possible. His vigorous, lively drawings are more concerned
with capturing life than including minuscule details for the sake of it. He would only include as
much detail as was necessary to convince the viewer of the verisimilitude of his subject. As you
can see from these examples, his loose powerful lines pulsate with life.
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Delacroix
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DRAWINGFROMTHEMASTERS
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Turner
JOSEPH MALLORD WILLIAM TURNER (1775–1851)
Turner started his career as a topographical painter and draughtsman and made his living
producing precise and recognizable drawings of places of interest. He learnt to draw everything
in the landscape, including all the information that gives the onlooker back the memory of the
place he has seen. This ability stayed with him, even after he began to paint looser and more
imaginative and elemental landscapes. Although the detail is not so evident in these canvases,
which the Impressionists considered the source of their investigations into the breaking up of the
surface of the picture, the underlying knowledge of place and appearance remains and
contributes to their great power.
The outline drawing of the abbey (shown left) is an early piece, and amply illustrates the
topographic exactitude for which the artist was famous in his early years. The second example is
much more a painter’s sketch, offering large areas of tone and ﬂowing lines to suggest the effect
of a coastal landscape.
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EDGAR DEGAS (1834–1917)
Degas was taught by a pupil of Ingres, and studied drawing in Italy and France until he was the
most expert draughtsman of all the Impressionists. His loose ﬂowing lines, often repeated several
times to get the exact feel, look simple but are inordinately difﬁcult to master. The skill evident
in his paintings and drawings came out of continuous practice. He declared that his epitaph
should be: ‘He greatly loved drawing’. He would often trace and retrace his own drawings in
order to get the movement and grace he was after. Hard work and constant efforts to improve his
methods honed his natural talent.
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Degas/Renoir
PIERRE AUGUSTE RENOIR (1841–1919)
Renoir could be called the man who loved women. His pictures of young women, dressed or
undressed, are some of the sweetest drawings of the female form ever produced. He always has
the painter’s eye and sacriﬁces any detail to the main effect of the picture. When he does produce
a detail, it is extremely telling and sets the tone for the rest of the picture. His drawings and
paintings of late 19th century Paris are imbued with an extremely happy atmosphere which has
captured the imagination of artists ever since.
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GEORGES SEURAT (1859–91)
Seurat’s style of drawing is very different from what we have seen so far; mainly because he was so
interested in producing a mass or area of shape that he reduced many of his drawings to tone alone.
In these pictures there are no real lines but large areas of graduated tone rendered in charcoal,
conté or thick pencil on faintly grainy textured paper. Their beauty is that they convey both
substance and atmosphere while leaving a lot to the viewer’s imagination. The careful grading of
tone is instructive, as is how one mass can be made to work against a lighter area.
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Seurat/Cézanne
PAUL CÉZANNE (1839–1906)
Cézanne attempted to produce drawings and paintings that were true to the reality of form as he
saw it. He is the structural master-draughtsman without parallel in this section. All artists since his
time owe him a debt of gratitude. His great contribution to art was to produce a body of work
that saw the world from more than one viewpoint. The Cubists were inspired by his example to
try to draw the objective world from many angles – whether or not they succeeded is arguable.
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HENRI MATISSE (1869–1954)
Even without the aid of bright, rich colours Matisse could invest his work with great sensuality.
His drawings are marvellously understated yet graphic thanks to the ﬂuidity of line. Awkwardness
is evident in some of them, but even with these you never doubt that they express exactly what
he wanted. There are no extraneous marks to diffuse the image and confuse the eye. As he got
older and suffered from arthritis in his hands, Matisse resorted to drawing with charcoal on the
end of a long stick. Despite this handicap, the large, simple images he produced by this method
possess great power.
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Matisse
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PABLO PICASSO (1881–1973)
Picasso dominated the art world for the greater part of the 20th century. He took every type of
artistic tradition and reinvented it, demonstrating that a master-artist can break all the rules and
still produce work that strikes a chord with the casual observer. The image below, for example,
is an interesting hybrid among the other examples shown here: two pieces of toned paper cut out
for the neck and face with the features and hair drawn in with pencil.
Although he distorted conventional shapes almost out of recognition, the ﬁnal result was
imbued with the essence of the subject he was illustrating. He experimented in all mediums, but
in his drawings we can see the amazing dexterity with which he confounded our preconceptions
and gave us a new way of seeing art. His sketchbooks reveal his wide range of abilities and are an
inspiration to all artists.
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Picasso
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HENRY CARR (1894–1970)
The English illustrator and painter Henry Carr was an excellent draughtsman, as these portraits
show. He produced some of the most attractive portraits of his time because of his ability to adapt
his medium and style to the qualities of the person he was drawing. The subtlety of the marks he
makes to arrive at his ﬁnal drawing varies, but the result is always sensitive and expressive. A
noted teacher, his book on portraiture is well worth studying.
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Carr
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The Experience of Drawing
As you have learnt from the previous section, there is no
substitute for observation in drawing. When you look long
and hard at anything that you wish to draw, ask yourself the
question, ‘What am I seeing?’ Don’t just give yourself answers
like ‘a landscape’, ‘a teapot’, ‘a human being’, etc, because
such answers close down your observation. Look instead at
colour, shape, form, texture, outline and movement. These
apply to everything visual and help you to analyse your
impressions, which can assist your seeing. However, keep
looking, even when you think you know what you’re looking
at. Nothing stays the same for more than a few seconds; the
light changes, for example, giving you a new version of what
you’re looking at, even if it’s only a still form. The exciting
thing about all this is that you never get bored. There is
infinite variety, even in familiar scenes that we see every day.
When you start to draw from life it is always difficult
to see how to make the three-dimensional image in front of
you fit onto the paper without it looking awkward, stiff,
inaccurate or flat. There is no avoiding this exercise, however,
if you want to find out whether you have real drawing ability.
In this section we’ll be looking at a range of subjects
as they really are: agglomerations of shapes. As well as the
shapes of the things themselves, you will notice the shapes
between things. There are no spaces in drawing or painting,
just other areas of tone. You will find with the subjects you
choose that the shapes butt up tightly to one another. Look at
the whole image with interest and without preconception.
Try to notice everything and don’t regard one part of the
whole as superior to the rest. It is not.
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ANALYZING SHAPES
Ordinarily when you look at a scene, object or person, your eyes will first register the shapes in an
objective way and then your mind will supply information that enables you to recognize what you
are seeing. The names, concepts or labels the mind supplies are not helpful to you as an artist,
however, and you need to ignore them if you are to see objectively the shapes that are actually
there.
One way of getting a more objective view is to analyse the shapes you are looking at in terms
of their geometry. For example, a circular object seen at any angle forms an ellipse, and if you
know how to draw an ellipse correctly you will get a good image of the object. Anything spherical
is just a circle with toning to fool the eye into believing in the object’s sphericality.
The spaces between objects are often triangles or rectangles. Objects within a group can be
seen as being at different angles to each other: a leg may be propped up at an angle of 45 degrees
from the upright torso, and the lower leg may be at right-angles to the thigh.
This sort of visual analysis is very useful for you, the observer, to undertake and will help the
accuracy of your drawing. Once you recognize the angles you are drawing, you will find it difficult
to draw them badly.
THE EXPERIENCE OF DRAWING
Observing a subject in almost
geometric terms helps to
simplify our approach to
drawing. Look at this very
simple picture. Both figures
can be contained in a
triangle. To the right of the
little girl the space can be cut
off along her right side so that
she and her father’s legs fit
into a parallelogram. The
space under her left arm,
extending to her father’s foot,
makes another triangle.
Measuring Proportions
Another useful form of analysis is to employ some common unit of measurement to get the
proportions of different objects in your drawing right. For example, the shape and size of a door
or window can give you a basic unit of measurement with which to measure the other units in a
composition. In figure drawing, the head is a useful unit for measuring the human body. If you use
a form of analysis, just remember that the unit has to remain constant throughout the
composition, otherwise the proportion will not be right.
Rule of thumb is one of the most common units of measurement (see opposite page). The
logic of this method is that your arm will not grow any longer during the time it takes to complete
your drawing, so no matter how many measurements you take, your measuring device will remain
at the same distance from your eye. Remember, though, that if you move your position you will
have to start again because every proportion may alter.
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Analyzing Shapes
Using rule of thumb
Here the rule of thumb measurement is used to
gauge the proportions of a ﬁgure. The arm is
outstretched and the pencil held upright in line
with the drawing board. The measurement
taken (of the head, in this instance) is called
‘sight-size’.
Once the measurement is taken it can be
transferred to the paper. As long as you
measure everything in your scene in this way,
staying the same distance from the model and
keeping the pencil at arm’s length when
measuring, the method will give you a fairly
accurate range of proportions.
This method is of limited value to
beginners, however: the drawing will not be
large and beginners really need to draw large
in order to correct their mistakes more easily.
Experienced artists will be able to translate the
proportions into larger measurements when
drawing larger than sight-size.
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TECHNICAL AIDS
Photographs and slides can be used by artists to render a scene accurately. What they can not give is
a personal and thus richer view of a subject. This can only be achieved if the artist takes the time to
go to the actual scene and look for himself.
The old masters used tools such as the camera obscura and camera lucida – literally, ‘dark
room’ and ‘light room’ – to ensure the accuracy of their perspective and proportion. Another device
used by artists of old to help this sort of technical analysis was a draughtsman’s net or grid. This was
a screen with crossed strings or wires creating a net or grid of exactly measured squares through
which the artist could look at a scene. As long as the artist ensured that his eye was always in the same
position each time he looked through the screen, and as long as a similar grid was drawn on his sheet
of paper, the main composition could be laid out and each part related correctly.
These methods are not ends in themselves, however, and although they provide the main
outlines of a composition, they cannot give the subtle distinctions that make a work of art attractive.
To capture these, the artist has to use his own eye and judgement.
The draughtsman’s net or grid is a construct
for use in the Renaissance manner. Usually
artists make them themselves or have them
made by a framemaker. The squares can be
either marked directly onto the glass or
indicated by stretching thin cords or wires
across a frame. The glass is then set in a
stand through which the object is viewed.
Patience is required to transfer the image
of a subject viewed in this way onto paper: it
is very easy to keep moving your head and
thus changing your view in relation to both
the frame and the subject. The trick is to
make sure that the mark on the object and
the mark on the grid where two lines meet
are correctly aligned each time you look.
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Technical Aids
In a camera lucida or lucidograph a prism
is used to transfer the image of a scene onto
paper or board. This enables the artist to
draw around the basic shape to get the
proportions correct before he looks normally
at the object.
The technique was well adapted for use in
small areas of drawing and was probably
favoured by illustrators and painters for
portraits or still lifes. The lucidograph was
used extensively by Ingres and possibly
Chardin and Fantin Latour; David Hockney
was encouraged to try it in his work after he
detected the method in the drawings of Ingres.
Canaletto and Vermeer are just two of the artists who used the camera obscura in their work. It
has the same effect as the camera lucida, although achieving it by different means. Used by
painters for landscapes, cityscapes and interior scenes, the device was a tent or small room with
a pin-hole or lens in one side which cast an image of the object onto a glass screen or sheet of
paper, which could then be traced. It was an excellent device for architectural forms as long as
one ignored the outer limits of the image, which tended to be distorted.
A slide-projector can give a similar effect to a
lucidograph, although of course it allows you
to use a much larger format and any kind of
scene that can be photographed. It has been
used extensively by artists who want to
reproduce master paintings or enlarge their
own work. Its only drawback is the difﬁculty
of keeping your shadow out of the way.
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PROPORTIONS IN DETAIL
It is easy enough after some practice to remember the basic proportions of the human face seen
from the front and the human body seen standing erect in full view. You will find other subjects
much more variable, however. For them you will need to use a system to help you ensure that the
different parts of your composition are in proportion to each other. This is particularly true when
there is a lot of perspective depth in a scene, requiring you to show the relationship between the
objects closer to you and the objects further away. Even in landscapes, where a certain amount of
cheating (politely called ‘artistic licence’) is allowable because of the tremendous variation in
proportions depending on your viewpoint, it is necessary to have some method of organizing the
proportions of trees to houses to people and to far-away objects on the horizon. Even more
important than ordering these variables is an accurate assessment of the angle of objects to your
eye-level.
When the eye-level is low, smaller, closer objects dominate the view much more than when
the eye-level is high. Trees on the skyline can look bigger or nearer when they are silhouetted
against the light, because they have more definition. If there is a large object in the centre of your
composition, it will tend to grab the eye. There is even a proportional effect in colour and tone. A
very bright or very dark object standing in sharp contrast to the background grabs the attention,
and even if this object is quite small it will appear larger than it is. The effect is that quite small
objects of strong tone or colour will give an appearance of being larger than they are.
A bright, light object
standing out against a
dark-toned background
will dominate a scene
despite its small size.
A well-defined dark silhouette on the
skyline set against a light sky will
dominate a scene and appear closer
than it really is.
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Proportions in Detail/Foreshortening
FORESHORTENING
When drawing objects or people seen from one end and looking along the length of the object or
figure, the parts of the object nearer to your eye will appear much larger when compared to those
at the further end. Many beginners find this truth quite difficult to grasp. The belief that the head
cannot possibly be as large as the legs tends to influence them into disregarding the evidence of
their own eyes and amending their drawing to fit their misconception. However, it is easy enough
to make a simple measurement to help convince the mind of what the eye actually sees. Try it for
yourself after you have studied the next drawing.
The strange proportions of
foreshortening
Note the depth of the head (4 1
/2 units), which is
the same as the open hand, and the
foreshortened forearm and foreshortened
leg. At 8 units the torso is only just less than
twice the size of the head. The full length of
the body from shoulder to ankle (10 1
/2 units)
is just over twice the head. The upper arm is
the same length as the torso (8 units). The
distance from elbow to elbow (23) is longer
15
10 1
/2
23
8
8
4 1
/2
4 1
/2
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THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT EYE-LEVELS
These three drawings show how the effect of a picture is altered by the relationship of figures to
the horizon or eye-line. In the first two pictures the viewer is standing and in the last picture the
viewer is seated. This change in the relationship of the figures to the horizon-line has had quite an
effect on the composition, and has indeed changed its dynamic.
You can see in galleries of paintings how artists have used this dynamic, particularly the
Impressionists – look at examples of the work of Degas and Monet.
In the first picture the eye-level is considerably
higher than the people reclining on the beach.
The viewer has a sense of looking down on the
figures, which appear to be part of the overall
scene and are not at all dominant.
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The Effect of Different Eye-levels
Here the eye-level is much lower than that of
the two figures; even the girl bending down is
still head and shoulders above our eye-level.
The figures now appear much more
important and powerful in the composition.
The eye-level of these two standing figures is
the same as ours, making them appear more
active. We are standing, as are they. (Note
that the line of the horizon is at the same
level as their eyes.)
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ODD PROPORTIONS
The importance of relating proportions within the human figure correctly becomes very apparent
when you have a figure in which some parts are foreshortened and others are not. In this example
you’ll notice that the right leg and arm are pointing towards the viewer, whereas the left leg and
arm are not. As a result, the area taken up by the respective legs and arms is quite different in both
proportion and shape. The right arm is practically all hand and shoulder and doesn’t have the
length evident with the left arm. The right leg is almost a square shape and strikingly different from
the long rectangles of the left leg. The rectangles about the head and torso are also interestingly
compared with the different arms and legs.
Once you begin to see such proportional differences within a subject, you will find your
drawing of the whole becomes easier.
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Odd Proportions/Vive la Difference
VIVE LA DIFFERENCE
People are not alike in form, and few conform to the classical ideal. The examples shown here are
of the same height and vertical proportion but vastly different in width. If presented to the
inexperienced artist in a life class, both would be problematical, because beginners tend to draw
what they think people should look like, and will even out oddities to ﬁt their preconceptions.
Often they will slim down a fat model or fatten up a thin one. If they themselves are slim, they will
draw the model slimmer than they are. Conversely, if they are on the solid side, they will add ﬂesh
to the model. In effect they are drawing what they know, not what they see. This doesn’t result in
accurate draughtsmanship and has to be eliminated if progress is to be made. Remember:
horizontal proportions are measured in exactly the same way as vertical proportions.
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AREAS OF DARK AND LIGHT
In all three drawings shown here notice how the light areas outline the dark shapes and dark areas
outline the light shapes. You will find that some shapes run into each other to make a large shape
and this is often easier to draw than a multitude of smaller shapes.
Very large geometric
shapes, such as walls,
doors and windows, (left
and opposite page) can
provide a natural grid for
a picture, making it easier
to place other shapes, such
as figures or, in an
outdoor scene, trees.
In this drawing,
based on a Vermeer,
the simplified forms
of the figures show
clearly against the
large expanse of the
wall and floor. The
framed picture helps
to place the figures,
as does the table and
chair. The window,
the source of light, is
very dominant
against the dark
wall.
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AreasofDarkandLight
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ANGLES
Look at the angles in the figure shown below. As long as you can visualize a right-angle (90
degrees) and half a right-angle (45 degrees), and possibly a third (30 degrees) or two-thirds (60
degrees) of a right-angle, you should have no difficulty making sense of them. Let’s break them
down:
The wall in relation to the horizontal base on which the figure is resting is a right-angle (90
degrees) (A). But what about the rest of the angles shown?
(B) – the angle of the torso to the horizontal base.
(C) – the angle between the thigh and the horizontal base.
(D) – the angle between the thigh and the lower leg.
(E) – the angle between the lower leg and the horizontal base.
(F) – the angle of the head to the torso.
(G) – the angle of the head to the wall.
All these questions need to be answered. Just ask yourself – is it a full right-angle, or just less, or
just more? Is it nearer a third or nearer a half right-angle? Accurate answers to these questions will
help you to envisage the structure of the drawing on the page correctly.
A
B C
G
F
D
E
ANSWERS:
B. A bit more than 45 degrees, perhaps 60.
C. About 45 degrees.
D. A bit less than 90 degrees (almost a right-angle).
E. About 45 degrees.
F. About 120 degrees (one right-angle plus a third).
G. A bit less than 30 degrees.
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Angles/Relating Triangles and Rectangles
RELATING TRIANGLES AND RECTANGLES
The lines in the next drawing may look complex but they are in fact a way of simplifying a grouping
by pinpointing the extremities of the ﬁgures. Adopting this method will also help you to hold the
composition in your mind while you are drawing.
Let’s identify the triangular relationships in
this fairly natural composition: the father’s
head to his lower foot and to the mother’s
lower foot; also his head to his hands; the
boy’s head with his feet; the father’s knees
and feet; the mother’s skirt shape and the
relationship of head to elbow to knee. The
table and lamp form a ready-made triangle.
Triangles and Angles Simpliﬁed
You don’t have to be a great geometrician to understand systems based on angles and
triangles. When it comes to triangles, just note the relative sizes of their sides: in an
equilateral triangle all three sides are equal (and all angles are equal); in an isoceles triangle
one side is shorter than the other two; and in a parallelogram the opposite sides are equal
in length and parallel.
Angles are even simpler. An angle of 90 degrees looks like the corner of a square. Half
a right-angle is 45 degrees, and a third is 30 degrees. These are the only angles you’ll need
to be able to recognize. All the others can be related to them, and thought of in terms of
more or less than 30, 45 or 90 degrees.
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HUMAN ARCHITECTURE
Learning to relate the skeleton and muscular structure of the body to the outer appearance
becomes more important as you progress with ﬁgure drawing. You will need to study the structure
of the body in detail if you really want your drawings to look convincing. The drawing below gives
you some idea of the complexity of detail involved.
The Renaissance artists, of course, learnt about anatomy from dissected human and animal
bodies. However, for most of us books on anatomy are quite good enough to give the main
shapes, although a real skeleton (which quite a few artists and doctors have) will give more
detailed information.
Rhomboidius major and minor
Trapezius
Deltoid
Triceps
Latissimus dorsi
Obliquus externus abdominis
Gluteus medius
Gluteus maximus
Splenius copitis
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Human Architecture/The Head
THE HEAD
The head is defined mostly by
the shape of the skull
underneath its thin layer of
muscle, and to a lesser extent
by the eye-balls. The rather flat
groups of muscles on the skull
produce all our facial
expressions, so it is very useful
to have some idea of their
arrangement and function,
especially if you want to draw
portraits.
Muscles of the Head
A. Corrugator (pulls eyebrows
together)
B. Frontalis (moves forehead
and eyebrows)
C. Temporalis (helps move jaw
upwards)
D. Orbicularis oculis (closes
eye)
E. Compressor nasi (narrows
nostrils, pushes nose down)
F. Quadratus labii superioris
(raises upper lip)
G. Zygomaticus major
(upward traction of mouth)
H. Levator anguli oris (raises
angle of mouth)
I. Orbicularis oris (closes
mouth, purses lips)
J. Masseter (upward traction
of lower jaw)
K. Buccinator (lateral action
of mouth, expels fluid or air
from cheeks)
L. Risorius (lateral pulling on
angle of mouth)
M.Depressor anguli oris
(downward traction of
angle of mouth)
N. Depressor labii inferioris
(downward pulling of lower
lip)
O. Mentalis (moves skin on
chin)
FrontalBones of the Skull
Mandible
Nasal
A. B. C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
O. N. M. L. K.
Parietal
Temporal
Zygomatic
Occipital
Maxilla
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ELLIPSES
An ellipse is a circle seen from an oblique angle. Ellipses on the same level above or below the eye
level will be similar in proportion. Several circular objects on a circular base will have the same
proportions, as you will see if you look at the drawing below.
The lampshade, base of the
lamp-stand, table-top, and
top and bottom of the glass
are all ellipses related to the
same eye-level. The lower
ellipses are related to the
same eye level and as they
are all about the same level
they will be very similar in
proportions of width to height
although of different sizes.
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Ellipses/Using a Common Unit of Measurement
USING A COMMON UNIT OF MEASUREMENT
A large subject such as a street scene, in which proportions and perspective have to be taken into
account, can be difﬁcult to draw accurately unless you use some system of measurement.
For the urban scene shown below, I chose an element within the scene as my unit of
measurement (the lower shuttered window facing out of the drawing) and used it to check the
proportions of each area in the composition. As you can see, the tall part of the building facing us
is about six times the height of the shuttered window. The width of the whole building is twice the
height of the shuttered window in its taller part and additionally six times the height of the
shuttered window in its lower, one-storey part near the edge of the picture.
Just over 2 units 6 units
1 unit
2 units
6 units
just over
2 units
1 unit
1 unit
Keeping Measurement in Perspective
A unit of measurement enables us to maintain the accuracy of our drawing, but it is only
meant to provide a rough guide. Once you are used to drawing you will ﬁnd the eye an
extraordinarily accurate instrument for judging proportion and size. Sometimes we just
need to check to make sure we’ve got them right, and at such times units and the like
come into their own.
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PERSPECTIVE
There are many things to be borne in mind with perspective. The main point is that it is impossible
to put down exactly what we see in the two dimensions of drawing and painting. A certain amount
of adjustment and artistic licence has to be allowed. A flat map can’t replicate the world’s surface,
which is curved, and so will have to sacrifice either area shape or area proportion. When we look
at something ordinarily, our eyes scan the scene. However, when we look at a picture, our vision
is drawn as though from one point. This means that the outside edges of the cone of vision (as it’s
called) will not be easily drawn with any accurate relationship to the centre of vision. The artist,
therefore, has to limit his area of vision to one that can be taken in at one glance. The artist must
also be aware of his own eye-level or where the horizon really is, however much it is obscured by
hills, trees or buildings. The actual cone or field of vision is about 60 degrees, but the artist will
limit his picture to much less unless he is going to show distortion.
Eye-level or horizon
Pictureplane
Field or cone
of vision
Central line of vision
Ground line
Ground plane
Station point or
viewing point
Centre of vision
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Perspective/Relationships in the Picture Plane
RELATIONSHIPS IN THE PICTURE PLANE
In the example shown here we look at the relationships between the tree, post and flowers and
the horizon line. As you can see, the height of the tree in the picture appears not as high as the
post, although in reality the post is smaller than the tree. This is due to the effect of perspective,
the tree being further away than the post. There is also an area of ground between the bottom of
the tree and the flower. The horizon line is the same as the eye-level of the viewer.
Post and top of tree will appear level.
The height of the tree
in relation to the post.
Area of ground seen between
base of tree and flower.
Distance between bottom
of tree and bottom of post.
Distant
horizon or
eye-level of
viewer.
AERIAL PERSPECTIVE
When you are drawing scenes
that include a distant landscape
as well as close up elements,
you must give the eye an idea of
how much air or space there is
between the foreground,
middle ground and
background. In this drawing
these areas are clearly
delineated. The buildings and
lamp-posts close to the viewer
are sharply defined and have
texture and many tonal
qualities. The buildings further
away are less defined, with
fewer tonal variations. The cliffs
behind this built-up area are
very faint, with no detail or
texture and without much
variation in tone.
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PERSPECTIVE: ALBERTI’S SYSTEM
The Renaissance architect and scholar Leon Battista Alberti (1404–72) put together a system of
producing perspective methods for artists based on Filippo Brunelleschi’s (1377–1446)
discoveries in the science of optics. His system enabled a new generation of painters, sculptors
and architects to visualize the three dimensions of space and use them in their work.
With Alberti’s system the artist has to produce a ground plan of rectangles in perspective and
then build structures onto this base. In order to do this he has to work out a way of drawing up
the plan relating to the rays of vision and the eye-level or horizon so that measured divisions on
the plan can be transferred into an apparent open window onto the scene being depicted. The
viewpoint of artist and viewer is central and on the eye-level line, and this gives the picture
conviction in depth and dimension.
Using Alberti’s ground plan
Once you have produced the ground plan
grid, with the eye-level and vanishing point,
you can then decide the height of your object
or building – in the example shown right, it is
5 units of the ﬂoor grid. Using a compass,
describe two arcs to connect verticals drawn
from the four corners of the proposed
building to the edges of the top of the
structure; draw horizontal lines for the near
and far edges, and lines connected to the
vanishing point for the two side edges.
The projections of front and side
elevations shown here give a very simple
structure. Alberti’s system can be used to
determine the look of far more complex
structures than the one illustrated.
Rays of vision. Units of measurement on
ﬂoor or ground plane.
Picture plane (edge on).
Horizon line or eye-level.
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Checking line (to check the
integrity of the grid).
Transversals (horizontal lines
connecting rays of vision from
picture plane to perspective
construction).
Perspective: Alberti’s System
Producing Alberti’s ground plan
The ground line is measured in units that
are related to a vanishing point on the
horizon and can be seen as related to the
picture plane. A simple diagonal drawn
across the resulting chequered pavement can
be used to check the accuracy of the device.
Once the pavement effect has been
produced, any other constructions can be
placed in the space, convincing the viewer
that he is looking into a three-dimensional
space. This only works because of the
assumptions we make about size and
distance. If the lines of perspective are
disguised to look like real things, such as
pavements and walls, the eye accepts the
convention and ‘sees’ an image understood
as depth in the picture. Of course, all details
have to conform in order to convince.
Side Edge
SideEdge
SideEdge
Far Edge
Height=5Units
Height=5Units
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Unit Unit Unit Unit Unit
Quarter Circ
le
QuarterCircle
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PERSPECTIVE: FIELD OF VISION
The system we look at next is quite easy to construct. You don’t require training in mathematics
to get it right, just the ability to use a ruler, set square and compass precisely. Although the picture
does not have depth in actuality, the eye is satisfied that it does, because it sees an area of squares
which reduces geometrically as it recedes into the background.
Constructing an area of squares
Any square portions, such as paving slabs,
tiles or even a chequer-board of fields, can be
used to prove the illusion of depth in a
picture.
Take one slab or square size (A),
draw in diagonal lines and from the crossing
point of these diagonals mark a construction
line to the vanishing point. In order to get the
next rows of paving slabs related to the first
correctly and in perspective, draw a line
from the near corner (B) to the point where
the construction line to the vanishing point
cuts the far edge of the square. Continue it
until it cuts the next line to the vanishing
point (C) and then construct your next
horizontal edge to the next paving slab.
Repeat in each square until you reach the
point where the slabs should stop in the
distance. Having produced a row of
diminishing slabs, you can continue the
horizontal edges of the slabs in either
direction to produce the chequer-board of
the floor. Notice the impressive effect you get
when you fill in alternate squares.
A
C
B
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Perspective: Field of Vision
More About Chequer-Board
The sort of chequer-board floor or pavement you have been learning about has often
been used in paintings to help the illusion of depth. In early Renaissance pictures it was
thought to be amazingly realistic. These days we are a bit more used to seeing such
devices and so other effects have been brought into play to help us accept the illusion
of dimensionality. However, do experiment with the chequer-board ground – it’s very
simple and very effective. And don’t forget to incorporate the lessons you’ve learnt
about the relationship of figure to the horizon or eye-line: if you place figures or objects
on it, make sure that as they recede into the picture – standing on squares that are
further back – they diminish in size consistent with your eye level (see pages 54–55).
A
C
B
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MOVEMENT
Drawing movement is not as difficult as it might seem at first, although it does need quite a lot of
practice. You’ll find it helpful if you can feel the movement you are portraying in your own body,
because this will inform the movement you are trying to draw. The more you know about
movement the better. It’s a good idea to observe people’s movements to check out how each part
of the anatomy behaves in a range of poses and attitudes.
Photographs of bodies in action are very useful, but limited in the range they offer. It is
noticeable that action shots tend to capture moments of impact or of greatest force. Rarely do you
find an action shot of the movements in-between. With a bit of careful observation, watching and
analyzing, you should be able to see how to fill in the positions between the extremes.
Here we see a man in the various stages of
throwing a javelin. The point at which he is
poised to throw and the moment when the
javelin is launched are the two extremes of
this process. However, you may find that
drawing the man in a position between these
extremes gives you a composition with more
drama and tension.
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Movement
Similarly here, the point between the head completing its turn from one side to the other offers
a different quality and perhaps a more revealing perspective on the subject.
In these examples the only really obvious movement is the hand lifting the cup to drink. The ﬁrst
drawing sets the scene; the second shows the intent; and the third completes the action. The loose
multiple line used in the second and third drawings helps to give the effect of movement.
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The most effective
drawings of people
falling accidentally
capture the sheer
unpredictability of the
situation. In this
example the arms and
legs are at all sorts of
odd angles and the
expression is a
mixture of tension,
fear and surprise. He
is wondering where
and how he’s going to
land. Deliberately I
made the line rather
uncertain to enhance
the effect of the
uncertainty in the
situation.
In this example, the odd angle of the viewer’s vision provides a contrast with the lines of the
water and side of the pool, creating tension although it’s obvious what is happening. This is
not drama in the making but a moment frozen in time. The slight strobe effect of the diving-
board also helps to give the impression that we are witnessing something ﬁrst-hand.
MOVEMENT: CONTROLLED AND UNCONTROLLED
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Movement: Controlled and Uncontrolled
I used a clip from a newspaper as my model
for this rugby player kicking a ball. My
version is slightly amended from the original
to accentuate the ‘fuzz’ of the out-of-focus
kicking foot. The speed of this movement
contrasts with the rest of the ﬁgure, which is
much more clearly deﬁned. The balance of
the position is very important, to accentuate
the force of the kick and the concentration of
the kicker on those distant goal-posts.
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ADDING TO YOUR VOCABULARY
A practising artist must be ready to draw at any
time. If you want to excel at drawing, sketching
has to become a discipline. Get into the habit
of seeing things with a view to drawing them.
This means, of course, that you’ll have to carry
a sketch-pad around with you, or something
that you can jot your impressions in. You’ll find
yourself making sketches of unrepeatable one-
offs that can’t be posed, as I did with some of
the sketches shown here.
A quick note, even if not very accurate, is all
you need to make a worthwhile addition to
your vocabulary of drawing. Often it is
impossible to finish the sketch, but this doesn’t
matter. Some of the most evocative drawings
any artist produces are quick, spontaneous
sketches that capture the fleeting movement,
attitude, angle of vision or view of a movement.
They are often the drawings you return to
again and again to use in compositions or to
remind yourself of an atmosphere or place.
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Adding to Your Vocabulary
Don’t Forget Your Sketch-Book
A pocket-sized book with hard covers and thinnish paper is
generally the best for most quick sketches, being simple to use
and forcing you to be economic with your lines, tones or
colours. A clutch pencil or lightweight plastic propelling
pencil with a fine lead is ideal; preferably carry more than one.
A fine line pigment liner is also very useful and teaches you to
draw with confidence no matter how clumsy the drawing.
Continual practice makes an enormous difference to
your drawing skill and helps you to experiment in ways to get
effects down fast and effectively. If you’re really serious you
should have half a dozen sketch-books of varying sizes and
papers, but hard-backed ones are usually easier to use
because they incorporate their own built-in drawing board. A
large A2 or A3 sketch-book can be easily supported on the
knees when sitting and give plenty of space to draw. Cover the
pages with many drawings, rather than having one on each
page, unless your drawing is so big that it leaves no room for
others.
When drawing scenes with large areas of building
it is useful to simplify the areas of light and shade
to make it more obvious how the light defines the
solidity of the buildings. In both these examples a
large area of shadow anchors the whole
composition and gives it depth and strength.
In the first drawing we are aware that the
open area with buildings around it is a square; in
the second we are in no doubt that the very dark
area is an arch through a solid building. In both
examples the light and shade help to convince.
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Form and Shape
What the eye sees is shape, colour, light and shade, and not
much else. However, the mind goes to work on the
experience, relates it to other experiences and translates the
shape and form into something we can recognize, such as a
man, woman, horse, dog, tree, house or whatever.
Shape is the outline visual impression we have of an
object. However, because we get used to seeing certain
objects in certain positions our minds develop visual
templates and we tend to see what we expect to see rather
than what is actually there. Shape changes constantly,
depending on our position in relation to it, and this can cause
us endless problems as viewers and artists.
Form is the three-dimensional appearance of an object
or body; in other words, the spatial area it inhabits. Form is
more difficult to draw than shape because of the problems of
representing three dimensions on a flat surface. To make our
representations realistic, we have to find ways of expressing
shapes coming towards the viewer or receding from the
viewpoint.
The artist has to experiment both in seeing and drawing
in order to come to an understanding of the language of
shape and form and how to manipulate it. This section is
intended to help you use your eyes more experimentally, to
look beyond your expectations and your normal process of
recognition.
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ARCHITECTURAL FORMS
To understand form in space we need to exercise our spatial awareness, and not simply analyse by
what we would expect to see as shaped by what we know from theory. When it comes to
architecture, which surrounds most of us most of the time, we need to start looking at it with our
spatial and visual senses honed to a more
perceptive state.
When we look at the shape of an
example of Gothic vaulting, or an example
of Islamic vaulting, we see that there is a
need for, and therefore a certain similarity
in, the techniques used to over-arch a
space. But the way these architectural
forms have been speciﬁcally designed
means that they could never be mistaken
for each other, even though they both
serve the same functional purpose.
This exercising of the visual sense is
very important for the artist, so when
looking at different forms of architecture,
try to forget about what you know, and rely
much more on visual stimulus to compare
one form with another. Apart from your
aesthetic appreciation, it will make drawing
architecture much easier.
FORM AND SHAPE
Gothic (above) and Islamic
(left) vaulting share some
similarities in terms of the
shapes used in their
creation, but you could not
mistake one type for the
other. Look at these two
examples, noting their
similarities and differences.
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Architectural Forms
Although form tends to follow function, this does not mean it is strait-jacketed by the relationship.
Many variations are possible, and this is where choice comes into play. We compare images by
being aware of the implications of a form. Our decision to use a form in a picture is based on an
assessment of suitability.
Aesthetic and social requirements for living
change over time and these can bring about great
differences in ‘look’. The medieval home (above)
was functional for its time, but does not share the
sharp, clean-cut lines of its modern counterpart.
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SHAPE RECOGNITION
Let’s look at a few shapes in silhouette. What clues to identity are carried in these simple outlines?
The American Mustang, the British Spitfire and the German Stuka are all World War Two low-wing
monoplane fighter aircraft. They are easy to tell apart and to identify because of the particular
details evident in their main frames. Similarly, the Harrier jump-jet and Sea King helicopter shown
on the facing page are not difficult to differentiate from other types of aircraft.
FORM AND SHAPE
Stuka
Spitfire
Mustang
All three of these
fighter aircraft were
produced about the
same time. Each
was intended to be
the best of its type.
The Mustang was
the most effective.
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Shape Recognition
Harrier
Sea King
Both of these types of
aircaft take off vertically
but possess different
means of achieving it.
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Our ability to recognize shapes is learned in childhood as we become aware of the wider world. Our
visual vocabulary grows according to the means at our disposal. All the silhouettes on this spread
arouse memories of my childhood, and the hours I spent poring over them in my picture books.
If we are to draw well, we must have the ability to connect shapes and yet differentiate
between them. If we are unable to do this, we will end up producing drawings that have as much
character as the images on street signs.
FORM AND SHAPE
The characteristic shape of a 16th-
century Spanish Morion helmet.
A World War Two
German Army helmet.
The continent of Africa as
seen from a spacecraft.
This is so familiar to us
from maps that one is
surprised by the accuracy
of those early map-makers,
who did not have the
beneﬁt of cameras or
spacecraft and yet gave us
the correct shape.
Both types of helmet
provided protection for the
head in battle but had
rather different weaponry
to contend with.
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Shape Recognition
The Santa Maria,
Columbus’s craft.
A Chinese junk.
These two ships have similar
functions but evolved in different
places with slightly different
technologies. The shape of each is
characteristic, and you would be
unlikely to mistake one for the other.
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FORM AND SHAPE
SYMBOLS AND ASSOCIATIONS
Some buildings become the signatures of places or
legends, because of the association made for them. If
we see a picture of the Eiffel Tower, we immediately
think ‘Paris’. When we see an image of the Taj Mahal,
even a sketchy drawing such as the one shown,
associations of India or the East come into our minds.
Similarly, Cervantes’ creation Don Quixote will
forever be associated with Spanish windmills.
There are many other examples of images
which are indelibly associated with places, things or
ideas. How many can you think of?
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Symbols and Associations
Instinctive recognition is an odd effect of partly seeing and partly expecting. When you are trying
to draw the shape of something, it becomes clear that it has characteristics that help to deﬁne its
role. Its shape enables it to do what it does.
The shape of the most aggressive predator in the ocean is very well-known to us from our
experience of ﬁlms and photographs. There is no mistaking its formidable shape, even in
silhouette. How is it that the outline of a white swan on a dark background is so peaceful, while
that black, shark shape is so full of sinister power? Because we know how these shapes affect the
viewer and the associations they attach to them.
As artists we can use this knowledge to convey messages in our pictures. This isn’t as easy as
it sounds if we wish to make our picture work properly. It demands an awareness of shapes and
their associations for viewers across broad and disparate areas of life.
Archetypal images of
opposites: danger and
serenity.
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FORM AND SHAPE
A diagrammatic form is often given in atlases
to represent the world. Why is it that this
particular arrangement of lines inside a circle
makes a fairly convincing version of a sphere
with its latitude and longitude lines? We don’t
really think it is a sphere, but nevertheless it
carries conviction as a diagram.
So is this a round fruit? No, of
course not. But the drawn effect of
light and shade is so familiar from
our study of photographs and ﬁlm
that we recognize the rotund
shape as a piece of fruit.
Let’s go a stage further. In this drawing of a
bleached out photograph of an onion the
reduced striations or lines make the same
point. We recognize this kind of pattern
and realize that what we are looking at is
intended to portray a spherical object
which sprouts. We can ‘see’ an onion.
Visual Conditioning
We have been educated to accept the representation of three-dimensional objects on a
ﬂat surface. This is not the case in all parts of the world. In some remote areas, for
example, people cannot recognize three-dimensional objects they are familiar with from
photographs.
CREATING FORM
Our fairly sophisticated recognition system has to be persuaded to interpret shapes as three-
dimensional form. One way of doing this is to produce an effect that will be read as form, although
in reality this may only comprise an arrangement of lines and marks. Let’s look at some examples.
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Creating Form
When we look at this hexagonal
divided into parallelograms of
light, dark and medium tones,
we want to interpret it as a cube
or block shape.
These rather scribbled lines and marks
can be seen as a leaping cat-like
creature and a human form engaged in
sporting activity. Of course they are not
really those things, but there are enough
clues to prompt our ever-ready memory
to remind us of forms we have seen. The
mind quickly ﬁlls in the details even
when a form is rudimentary.
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APPROACHES TO FORM
So what methods can we use to portray form convincingly so that the onlooker sees a solidity that
is in fact merely inferred? Well, on these pages we have the human figure – probably the most
subtle, difficult but most satisfying subject for drawing – and some details of the eye. These show
different ways of analyzing form. Every artist has to undertake his own investigations of form. They
involve methods of looking as well as methods of drawing, and through practising them you
educate the eye, hand and mind.
FORM AND SHAPE
Another approach is to
delineate the different surfaces
by drawing marks that are
similar to the facets you get on
a wooden sculpture. This gives
a very real impression of a solid
body occupying space.
We can draw lines around the
sections of a form to give us a
sort of computerized vision of
the dimensions of the shape –
as in this recumbent figure.
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Approaches to Form
In a close-up like this, every detail
of the form of the eye is shown. It is
a very good exercise to take
something as obvious as one of our
own features, and view it closely in
a mirror. Try this yourself: study
the form of your eye and then try to
draw its every wrinkle or hair or
reflection. Note how the lids appear
to curve around the smooth ball of
the eye itself and how the eyelashes
stick out across the lines of the
eyelid and the eye.
The Italian painter
Giorgio Morandi had a
particular vision of form
that is like no other. His
etchings of still-life
subjects have a dark
solidity about them, as
in this example. He
achieved this effect by
piling on fine lines of
cross-hatching which,
taken in combination,
create very substantial,
dramatic darks and
lights.
This could be the under-drawing
of the first picture: the
diagrammatic form of the main
part of the eye with indications of
its curves and edges.
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As we have already seen with the diagram of the globe on page 88, lines that are built into a
diagram can give us all the visual clues we need to an object’s shape. In the natural world these
lines are often provided for us. Where they do not occur naturally, artists have invented them to
help their exploration of form.
FORM AND SHAPE
The economy evident in the drawing below
is even more pronounced in this landscape.
Large areas of blank space are limited by
faint markings showing the main blocks of
buildings. A few heavier markings here and
there emphasize the shadows or intensity of
colour in the scene. This rather minimal way
of denoting solid masses in space gives a very
strong sense of the space between the
buildings in the foreground and those further
away. If you decide to show form in this way,
be careful not to put in too many lines or
heavier marks. Fewer marks seem to
produce greater awareness of form in the
viewer.
In this self-portrait the area of darkest tone
helps to give the impression of the important
areas of form, especially around the eyes and
nose. The large tonal areas down one side of
the forehead and beard help to connect the
main protuberances of the face with the
generally rounded shape of the head. With
great economy of drawing, Cézanne is able
to convince us that we are seeing a three-
dimensional head.
In the self-portrait and
the view of the village of
Estaque shown on this
page, Cézanne has
somehow managed to show
form in space; that is, give
an effect of solidity or depth
by his rather sparse shading
and markings of the shape.
He has not shown the
classical shade and light
relationship, but he hasn’t
entirely left them out either.
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Approaches to Form
These shells are
structured in such a
way as to provide their
own contour lines, the
striations or growth
lines indications of
their natural evolution.
Even without light and
shade, the clearly seen
lines proceeding
around the form of the
shell give us a good
idea of how the shell is
shaped. They offer a
useful exercise in
understanding shapes.
Cézanne tried to
discover the form of
objects by drawing
multiple lines around
their edges. He was
trying to give multiple
views of his objects,
such as you get when
you view something
from many slightly
different angles. In this
example his lines
suggest that you can
actually see round the
edges of the objects.
Cubism
The Cubists (artists such as Braque, Picasso, Léger and Ozenfant) took Cézanne’s analysis
one stage further by attempting to draw objects from contrasting viewpoints – from the
side, front, above, below, and so on. In the process they had to fragment their images to
be able to show these various approaches in one picture. This led to the typical cuboid sets
of images for which they were named. These artists were successful in changing how we
look at the world, although their methods are rarely employed now.
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FORM AND SHAPE
This example, also a copy of a Stück, is more
dramatically drawn. Although the edges are
soft there is a powerful fullness of form, with
chalky looking tonal marks indicating the
roundness of the body.
The most formidable task confronting any artist is how to draw
the three-dimensional human form convincingly in one way or
another. There are many ways of doing this. Over the next
couple of pages we consider three fairly obvious ones.
The work of Franz Stück is linear in style; the
bulk of the form is realized with very few
lines, allowing our mind to ﬁll in the empty
spaces with the fullness of the ﬂesh.
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Approaches to Form
Otto Greiner’s approach to form is
essentially that of the classical artist, as this
copy shows, with the light and shade
carefully and sensitively handled. It’s an
effective if slow and painstaking method,
but well worth mastering.
Notice how some lines on the
drawing follow the contours
around the form and
sometimes go across it.
Lines across the
contours.
Lines around
the contours.
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These copies of two heads by David Hockney show different methods of using tone to show form.
As a consequence of the different treatment, the effect he has achieved in each drawing is very
marked.
FORM AND SHAPE
The handling here is
comparatively sensitive,
elegant and very economical,
with just enough form showing
to enable the viewer to make
sense of the shape.
This self-portrait is a much more
rugged affair. The dominant tonal
area gives us a very generalized
feel of the shape of the head,
thereby sacriﬁcing individual
characteristics to achieve a more
dimensional effect.
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Approaches to Form
Whereas on a face all the surfaces move smoothly into each other, even on the craggiest visage, on
a building each surface is distinct from the next. Most buildings are rectilinear, cuboid or cylindical
and do not have ambiguous curves. The challenge of making a structure that remains upright and
lasts in time means that the edges of its surfaces are more sharply defined and the shapes much
simpler than those found in natural form. As a consequence it is much easier to show mass.
Here we have two examples of drawings of buildings in which the aim is to communicate
something of the materiality and form of these buildings. The first, of a tower by Christopher Wren,
follows the shapes almost as if the artist is constructing the building anew as his pencil describes it.
The approach taken for a famous London landmark, Battersea Power Station, is very different,
as befits a great monument to an industrial age.
This drawing captures the
elegant balancing forms of
classical architecture as
practised by Christopher
Wren, with spaces through the
form and much articulation
of the surfaces to create a
lightness in the stone structure
as well as visual interest.
A very powerful three-dimensional effect has been achieved
here by vividly portraying the massive simplicity of the
building’s design with sharply drawn shadows and large
light areas.
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FORM AND SHAPE
Euan Uglow's masterly way of producing a
figure is extremely accurate but time-consuming;
he has been known to spend years on just one
painting. Uglow built-up this nude figure from
hundreds of painstakingly measured marks on
canvas or paper to produce an effect of
monumentality. This geometric vigour is also
reflected in the carefully placed surfaces of tone
and colour, which build to a structured and
powerful view of the human form. Inevitably
this approach necessitates the sacrifice of some
elements of individuality.
These reclining figures are from Geoffrey
Elliott’s sketch-book of drawings of people on
a beach in Sussex. Like Uglow’s figures, they
are universal in form, but personal qualities
emerge despite the absence of obvious
emotional expression or movement.
UNIVERSALS IN FORM
Both Ewan Uglow and Geoffrey Elliott produce figures that represent universals in form. Neither
is trying to produce portraits in the accepted way. Uglow’s figures cannot be said to represent
unique, identifiable persons, and Elliott is obviously more interested in the general forms
inhabiting the landscape than trying to reproduce individuals on paper. Both approaches teach us
that to draw well you don’t have to produce an intimate portrait of the person you are drawing.
Good drawing can be purely an expression of aesthetics and an experience of form.
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Universals in Form/Simplifying Form
EXERCISES IN SIMPLIFYING FORM
An object’s real shape can be investigated by drawing it from many different angles. For this
exercise, we look at a boot, but it could be any object of your choosing. A model can be used for
the same exercise. Try drawing him or her from different viewpoints, sometimes standing,
sometimes sitting, etc. You will find this detailed investigation into shape very worthwhile.
Simplification is essential if we are to produce accurate drawings. This goes for anything we
choose to represent on paper. Lastly on this page, I have chosen a figure for you to practise.
Such simplification can greatly assist the
business of getting the proportions and the
position of the figure correct. Once you
have drawn the simple solid geometrical
shape, you can draw into it knowing that
this is your ground plan.
To begin, select an angle from which the object is clearly identifiable. When you have done
this, change its position, and continue changing it until you have seen and drawn the object
from many different angles – from above, below, on its side, from the front, the back. Continue
until you feel that you know how the shape works.
With a still figure it is a good idea to reduce it
to its simplest geometric shapes. For example, if
the figure is seated on a chair the arrangement
could be seen as a rectangular block with a tall
tower-like part projecting above.
Alternatively, a person sitting with knees up to
their chin and arms around their legs produces
a wedge-like shape.
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ELEMENTAL SHAPES
Elemental shapes are as expressive as they are defining, and offer many difficulties when it comes
to drawing them. Whatever you do, don’t retreat from the problems thrown up by your attempts.
All are resolvable if you put in a bit of effort.
A good way to start is by selecting various symbols of the elements and studying them
closely. Let’s take them in order of difficulty, starting with earth and water.
FORM AND SHAPE
Water is an even harder form to
understand than earth. First, try drawing
some still water spilt onto a reflective
surface, such as a mirror. Careful,
detailed study will be necessary to really
reveal its properties. Draw the outline edge
of the shape first, look at the tonal qualities
and then at the reflection in the water.
This is not difficult as long as you draw
everything you can see.
Moving water provides an even
harder challenge. You will need to spend
some time watching it and some time
simplifying what you see. Eventually,
though, you will begin to see the shapes it
makes. Sometimes photographs can help in
this respect. Don’t be too subtle in your
initial attempts.
Earth can be shown by grains of soil or
even a turf. Easier still is to choose a tree as
your symbol, one whose branches can
easily be seen. Winter is, of course, the best
time to get a clear view of the architecture
of deciduous varieties, which offer the most
interesting shapes.
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Elemental Shapes
Fire is a really tricky
subject. Start with a
candle flame before
you tackle the
flickering flames of a
big blaze. You can
use photographs for
reference, but unless
you look closely at a
real fire you won’t get
the feeling of
movement or be
aware of the variety
of shapes.
The early Japanese
and Chinese artists
had very good ways
of drawing flames.
How do you draw what can’t be seen? With
air, the most obvious way is through the
medium of clouds. Beautiful groups of water
vapour hanging in the air, forming loose
shapes, can describe air very effectively,
especially when you see a whole procession
of clouds stretching back to the horizon, as
here. Try to draw a similar skyscape.
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INDIVIDUAL EXPRESSION: PICASSO
It’s not just the physical forms in a drawing that can be emphasized by careful manipulation of
mark making. Pablo Picasso was a master at communicating the qualities that are not so obvious.
In these drawings copied from his sketchbooks, we see three different ways that marks
drawn can both correspond to form and put across more emotional messages than just the form’s
existence in space. They show how an innovative artist can bend the rules of form to recreate form
in a new way.
FORM AND SHAPE
Here the outline form is an
amazing example of a line
doing a lot of work to show
movement, emotion and
spatial dimension. The
particular distortions of the
forms convey a feeling of
substance in a vivid almost
rubbery way. The outline is not
formal but wiry and energetic
and gives a strong impression
of drama and emotion.
This formal head with an
enigmatic expression has the
appearance of an African
carved wooden mask. The
drawing derives its power
from the way Picasso has
handled the simple surface
shapes. There is no attempt
to produce the subtler
gradations of form. Both ﬂat
and curved surfaces have
simple modulations.
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Individual Expression: Picasso
In this drawing the extreme emotional power
is brought out by the clever distortion of the
physical shapes of the head without totally
losing the effect of human grief. The face seems
to be almost dissolving in tears while the hands
and teeth create immense tension or anguish.
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FORM AND SHAPE
Multiple lines of varying length seem to
describe the contours of this powerful self-
portrait in ink. The technique used is very
interesting. Instead of being built up with
successive layers of smooth, controlled
hatching, the features are drawn with hook-
like wiry lines. It’s almost as though the artist
has drawn directly onto his own face.
Each mark helps to describe the curve of the
surface of the facial features. The method is
effective because he has not tried to be
economical with his lines. The scribbly
looking marks used to carefully build up the
face give a sort of coarse texture, the effect of
which is to increase the feeling of
substantiality.
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Individual Expressio: Picasso
Here Picasso’s style is fairly
formal but the scratchy, blotty
ink technique seems the result
of quick drawing of a rather
poised subject with little
movement in the head itself.
The form is realized extremely
economically by the splatter of
marks, which give a
generalized feeling of solidity
without any detail. The artist’s
approach produces a rather
statuesque effect.
This head is distorted by its
emotional intensity but
reads very well as a
convincing, solid face and
head. Picasso sacriﬁced
accuracy of shape for
intensity of feeling and
expression. Despite this the
head doesn’t look unreal
and is convincing as a
portrayal of powerful
emotions in a human face.
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EXERCISES: REALIZING FORM
We now look at the sort of exercises that will help you to begin to see how to realize form with
some power. They are all difficult but extremely useful and very satisfying when you begin to make
them work. It will require repeated practice, of course, but if you want to be an effective artist there
is no avoiding hard work.
FORM AND SHAPE
A geometric pattern on a three-
dimensional shape is a
marvellous exercise for the
draughtsman, and shows how a
linear device on a surface can
describe the form of that surface.
This tartan-patterned biscuit
tin presents various problems.
First is drawing the outline with
its elliptical top and cylindrical
sides. Secondly is the pattern,
which proceeds round the
curved edge of the tin, but is
shown flat on the lid with some
perspective.
Draw your outline with the
basic pattern inscribed, as
shown. Even without the
addition of tone or detail, this
gives some idea of the roundness
of the sides and the flatness of the
top.
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Exercises: Realizing Form
With this cup and saucer the printed landscape is tricky but interesting. You have to get the
details of the printing exactly marked around the curve of the cup, otherwise the cup will look
ﬂat. One thing that makes it a bit easier is the fact that some of the details in the pattern are
not clear, and so a few mistakes won't necessarily make much difference. The main point to
observe is the way the picture reduces in width as it curves around the cup.
The general outline gives the basic shape and some indication of the scene around the
curved surfaces of both cup and saucer. But it is not until more detail is added with variations
in tone that the roundness of the cup becomes evident.
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Another testing exercise is to draw an elderly human face in detail, with all the lines, textures and
marks produced by old age. If this is too difficult with a human model (it does take rather a long
time and your model may get restless), try drawing from a detailed close-up photograph.
FORM AND SHAPE
My drawing of the famous pioneer of
photography Alfred Stieglitz was done from a
photograph taken by one of his pupils. The
detail in that original is brilliant and it is
quite a tour-de-force to produce it in pencil
or ink. When you try it, you’ll find that you
have to discipline yourself to produce every
mark, every little ripple of flesh and tuft of
hair with many small careful marks. Allow
yourself plenty of time for this exercise.
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Exercises: Realizing Form
Human anatomy is perhaps the ultimate test for the draughtsman. If you want to excel at portrait
drawing it’s worth trying to acquire a skull or the use of one from a medical person or another
older artist who might probably have access to one. Carefully draw it from different angles in great
detail. Don’t hurry, be precise, rub out any mistakes, re-draw ruthlessly and don’t be satisﬁed until
the drawing is almost photographic in detail.
The example shown is a skull that can be
taken apart, although in the complete view
the lines of division and the hooks that hold
the parts together have been left out. The
interior of the skull is a particularly tough
challenge because it is unfamiliar to most of
us. Keep the drawing precise and clean
looking, so that you have no difﬁculty in
seeing where you go wrong. This will make
your mistakes easier to correct.
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Assessing What Works
When we embark on designing and drawing a composition,
we instinctively look for the best way to express our
experience. If we are drawing directly from nature, we may
arrange our subject or our own viewpoint in order to get the
best possible view.
We may have to alter the lighting with artificial means or
move to a position where the light is more conducive to the
effect we wish to produce. The object we choose initially for a
still life may not be quite right and we may take some time
selecting exactly the right one, polishing it, putting it in
different positions and generally organizing the shapes to get
the best possible arrangement.
A landscape obviously can’t be moved around in fact but
most artists adjust parts of it to suit their composition. If a tree
is in the ‘wrong’ place it can be left out of the picture or
moved around on the canvas without too much difficulty.
When it comes to portraits, apart from getting the best
light, background and profile, you can also look at clothes,
hairstyle and accessories to make a difference to your
composition. The decision to draw just the head, or head and
shoulders, half length or full length can also greatly affect the
final result.
Every picture needs careful consideration to bring out
its full potential. Sometimes you’ll find yourself changing your
approach at least once to get a drawing right.
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EMPHASIS AND LOCATION
Over the next six pages we look at
compositional methods over a range of
genres from landscape to still life. The
examples included are in different styles
and in time extend from the Renaissance
to the 20th century. All of them contain
devices designed to draw you in and
ensure you understand the point of the
drawing. The diagrams are included to
indicate the narrative flow and show you
how the visual attention is attracted from
one part of a picture to another.
ASSESSING WHAT WORKS
In this straightforward narrative (a
copy of Taddeo Gaddi’s mural of the
Annunciation to the shepherds, in
Santa Croce, Florence), we see the
shepherds reacting to a bright light in
the middle of the picture, on a steeply
sloping hill with some trees at the top.
In the top right-hand corner there’s an
area of dark sky and an angel floating
out of a brightly-lit cloud, indicating to
the shepherds. Down at the bottom,
there’s a small flock of sheep with a
dog looking on. The position of the
angel swooping downwards and the
shepherds angled across the centre of
the picture give an unambiguous,
almost strip-cartoon version of the
story. The brightness of the angel tells
us of his importance, and the position
and actions of the shepherds mark
them out as central characters.
Everything else in the picture is just a
frame to convince you that this is
outdoors and a fitting context for the
shepherds.
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Emphasis and Location
This is a copy of a landscape by the 19th-
century American painter John Kensett.
Rocky wooded banks curve into the picture at
about centre-stage. To help the viewer, Kensett
has included a group of wildfowl just about
to take off from the water. The viewer’s
attention is immediately grabbed by this
movement, and by the detail of the
foreground rocks. The inward curve of the
water pulls your eyes to the distant mountain
peak, rearing up above the surrounding hills.
Even the cloudscape helps to frame the rather
distinctive mountain, which is on the centre-
line. Kensett uses these very precise devices to
get us to look at the whole landscape and
appreciate the singularity of its features.
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The view taken by Degas
here is quite extraordinary.
We see the upper part of the
girl, upside-down as she
bends to pick up a sponge.
The tub acts as a large,
stable base shape and the
towel and chair on the
ﬂoor lead us to the window
indicated in the
background. Just over half
the picture is taken up with
this unusual view of quite a
simple action and gives an
interesting dynamic to the
composition. It looks
almost as if we have caught
sight of this intimate act
through an open door. We
are close, but somehow
detached from the activity,
which helps to give the
picture a statuesque
quality.
Degas has found a very
effective way of creating
interest just by the
arrangement on the
canvas. Ordinary, but
extra-ordinary.
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Like Degas, the American painter Edward
Hopper was keen to depict everyday life as he
saw it. In this picture, there is no dramatic
situation, and not one ﬁgure, although the
open door suggests that someone may be
nearby. The composition is very still, despite
the waves on the near surface of the sea
glimpsed through the door.
It seems we are looking at a depiction of a
timeless summer’s day, as experienced in a
house by the sea, bright, still, and balanced by
the shadow and the light. Despite the
simplicity, there is a touch of expectancy, as
though someone will soon step into the space.
The composition is attention grabbing and
oddly peaceful at one and the same time.
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The Spaniard Juan Sánchez Cotán found an
effective, dramatic way to arrange and light
quite ordinary objects in this still life. The
dark background, the dangling fruit and
cabbage, the cut melon and aubergine on the
edge of the ledge produce an almost musical
sweep of shapes, all highlighted dramatically.
Would Cotán have seen fruit and vegetables
arranged like this in late 16th/early 17th
century Spain, or did he create this design
himself speciﬁcally for his painting? Either
way, the arrangement is very effective and a
brilliant way of injecting drama into quite
ordinary subject matter.
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We return to Degas to ﬁnish
this section. We are in a 19th-
century dance studio, with a
master continuing to instruct
his pupils as they rest. All the
attention is on the master with
his stick, which he uses to beat
out the rhythm. The perspective
takes you towards him. The
way the girls are arranged
further underlines his
importance. The beautiful
casual grouping of the frothy
dancers, starting with the
nearest and swinging around
the edge of the room to the
other side, neatly frames the
master's ﬁgure. He holds the
stage.
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SYMBOLS AND ASSOCIATIONS
The face is the most obvious barometer of human feeling. However, it is possible to show moods
or emotions in other ways – the position or movement of a body can be powerful indicators, for
example – and not just rely on the obvious. An even more interesting approach is to let nature be
a mirror, and transfer human emotions onto natural features. Consider the examples you will see
over the following pages.
The head of Michelangelo’s
‘David’ in Florence symbolizes
the deﬁance of that city towards
the hostile autocracies by which
it was surrounded. A small but
rich and inventive state,
Florence was a free republic
whose citizens and guilds had a
voice in government.
Michelangelo’s statue of the
shepherd boy who kills the giant
warrior Goliath is a powerful
symbol of the independence of
that city and its determination
to protect its status.
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Symbols and Associations
A beautiful still lake with reﬂections and calm skies seen in morning or evening light gives the
feeling of serenity, especially with the small native boat being propelled smoothly, without
haste, across the surface of the water.
This image symbolizes serenity partly by situation and partly by technique. The artist
has made efforts to excise any disturbances from the picture.
A breaking wave used as a metaphor for exhilaration is not new. In this example the impact
might have been greater and the feeling of exhilaration emphasized if there was a ﬁgure of a
surfer under the wave.
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Francis Bacon’s figures at the base of his
‘Three Studies for a Crucifixion’ seem to
represent a raw, blind fury or perhaps even
revenge. Bacon himself identified the figures
as representations of the Furies who, in
classical myth, torment evil-doers before and
after death. Although not classical studies,
they seem to apply to classical myth.
EXTREMES OF EXPRESSIVITY
Here we look at three very different ways of being expressive. The face as a measure of emotional
expression is an obvious way to show the mood of a picture by association, but as you will see from
these drawings, there are faces and faces. The galloping horse and jockey is a more abstract
example of how to produce a visceral response.
Happiness Intensity
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Extremes of Expressivity
Satisfaction Despair
This image is an attempt to convey the idea of
speed. The racehorse and jockey are glimpsed
pounding down a course, dirt ﬂying up
behind. The idea is reinforced by how the
image is drawn: the rider with stirrups short,
behind raised out of the saddle, the horse’s
neck stretched, tail streaming, powerful legs
bunched up to take the next stride. The
economical use of lines also suggests that the
image is moving past us at speed.
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The gentle lyricism in Marc Chagall’s drawings could not be further from the feeling of unease,
almost revulsion, that we met in Francis Bacon’s work. Chagall used a charming, playful way of
drawing in much of his work. Most of his paintings have either lyrical or joyful associations in their
design, colour or the technique he employed. He chose to portray the magical quality of life and
touch our emotions in subtle ways.
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The picture of a poet reclining (above),
produces an air of gentle melancholy.
This is partly due to the rather odd
position of the ﬁgure, which is lying
along the base of the picture, and partly
due to the dark trees and almost ghostly
toy-like animal shapes grazing in the
background.
Chagall’s picture of the circus (opposite) has
an almost childlike sense of fun and
enjoyment, emphasized by the rather naive
handling of the drawing. Everybody seems to
be having a good time, even the clowns and
acrobats, but without becoming disorderly or
too exuberant.
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Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ is an
expressive and subjective picture that is now
read as a general statement about ourselves,
particularly the angst and despair
experienced by modern man.
The area depicted in the painting was
favoured by suicides, and was close to
slaughter-houses and a lunatic asylum where
Munch’s sister was incarcerated.
The artist wrote of the setting: ‘the clouds
were turning blood red. I sensed a scream
passing through nature.’
The original painting has a blood-red
sunset in steaks of red and yellow, with dark
blues and greens and blacks in the large dark
areas to the right. The swirling lines and skull-
like head with its unseeing eyes and open
mouth produce a very strong effect.
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‘The Kiss’, by Viennese artist Gustav Klimt,
shows the power of desire in a very graphic
manner. The heavily ornamented clothing,
while revealing very little of the flesh of the
lovers, increases the tactile quality in the
work. The firm grasp of the man’s hands on
the girl’s face and head, her hands clinging
to his neck and wrist, and her ecstatic
expression tell us of the force and intensity
of their sexual desire.
Expressing Yourself
All of the images we have looked at in this section try to convey to the viewer a feeling or
idea that is not being expressed in words. Indeed, in many of the examples, it would be very
difficult to express precisely or concisely the effect they have. One picture can be worth a
thousand words. It is not easy to get across a concept by visual means, but with a bit of
practice it is possible. Try to produce such an image yourself. You can use or adapt the
approaches or methods we’ve been looking at. When you’ve produced something, show it
to your friends and listen to their reactions. If your attempt is suggestive of the idea you
wanted to convey, they will quickly be able to confirm it.
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Studying Life from Nature
Throughout history artists have acquired their basic
vocabulary through detailed observation of the natural world.
Even if the final result in a work is abstracted or manipulated
extensively, it is informed by a study of nature.
If you want to make your work convincing, look at the
created world around you. Don’t view it exclusively through
the mediums of photography, television or video. Personal
experience will lend a power and knowledge to your work
that not only informs you as the artist but also the reviewers
of your work. This is very apparent when you look at the work
of an artist who has actually experienced at first hand the
things he draws. It is also pretty clear to the observant viewer
when an artist is only working from second-hand sources,
because their drawings tend to lack power.
To achieve realism in your drawings, start by observing
plants in detail; even if you live in an urban environment you
should be able to find a wide variety to study. You can then
move on to animals and human beings. Don’t worry about
posing them to begin with; just observing them will pay off if
you are reasonably systematic about recording what you see
so that it remains in your memory.
Observe, too, the effects of light falling on people and
objects and how the effects of distance and weather create
interesting changes in subject matter. Everything you see and
note can be used to advantage in your work. All you need is
the time and opportunity to take it all in.
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PLANTS AND FLOWERS
The essential structure of a plant is not difficult to see if you study it for a time. Take a group of
leaved plants: you soon notice how one type will have leaves in clusters that spring up at the points
of the leaves, whereas in another the leaves will hang down around a central point. Some plants
have stalks coming off the branches evenly at the same point, others have the stalks staggered
alternately down the length of the stem. Once you are familiar with a plant’s characteristic shape
and appearance, you will begin to notice it or similar properties in other plants. Observation will
lend verisimilitude to even your most casual sketches. Look at the examples of plants on this
spread, noting their similarities and differences.
STUDYING LIFE FROM NATURE
The Sedum has a beautiful spiralling
arrangement of leaves that curves up into a dish-
like form. Rain must fill up the hollow of the leaf
and run down the stalk to water the plant’s roots.
The leaves of the Hydrangea
come off the stem at opposite
sides to each other in a
symmetrical arrangment. Notice
how they curve upwards and
then how the curve is reversed,
with the upper surface bulging
out towards the tip.
The appearance of the Tulip is
very formal and upright, with
its closed cup-like flower and
long stiff stalk and leaves.
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The easiest way to study plants is by sketching
them as often as you can. Before you begin to
draw, look at the plant closely: at the bloom (if
there is one), and note how the leaves grow off
the stalk. Look at it from above, to see the
leaves radiating out from the centre; and from
the side to see the different appearance of the
leaf shapes as they project towards you, away
from you and to each side as they spiral round
the stem. Note the texture of the leaves, and
how it compares with that of other plants.
When your subject is a flower-head, draw
it from an angle, where you can see the pattern
of the petals around the centre of the blossom
or a profile view of them. Notice the texture of
the petals and how the centre of the flower
contrasts with the main part of the bloom.
When you draw the flower, include a leaf or
two to show the contrast in tone or texture
between the leaf and the petals.
The more you draw plants, the more details you will notice and the broader your vocabulary
will become. After you have been drawing plants for a while, try drawing one from memory. This
type of exercise helps to sustain the image that your senses have recorded and will help you to
memorize shapes and textures. You will find drawing from memory gives a simpler result than
drawing from life, because you tend to leave out unnecessary details. The ability to produce a
conventional shape easily without reference is a great asset. Once you have this ability, you will be
able to bring a greater sense of realism to your drawings.
Plants and Flowers
Here we have two blooms from the
same plant (a Clematis) at
different stages of its growth. The
difference is quite dramatic.
The Clematis captured as it is
just opening, with its smooth
looking petals hanging down. The fully open bloom, centre showing to the sun. By
this stage the edges of the petals are quite crinkly.
The blossom of the
Camellia looks so
fragile and contrasts
beautifully with the
solid, perfect shape of
the leaves.
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PLANTS: GROWTH PATTERNS
Nature offers so much variety, as you will discover once you start studying it in earnest. In the
examples shown on this spread you will ﬁnd three very different effects in as many examples.
Compare them, and note the differences you observe. You will ﬁnd these patterns of growth
fascinating as you investigate them more fully and extend your experience.
The blossom of the Cherry
clings closely to the dark
stiff, almost spiky branches.
The habit of the Stewartia is to
gracefully hold its leaves and small
blossoms away from the main branch.
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Plants: Growth Patterns
Exercising Eye and Hand
It cannot be over-emphasized that, in order to become a proﬁcient artist, you need to get
into the habit of drawing every day. If you do, very soon you will become adept at handling
almost any shape. Keep trying different objects, and be adventurous, trying more difﬁcult
subjects once you’ve got somewhere with easier ones.
The acorns and leaves of the
Oak jut out from their stalk.
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TREES: GROWTH PATTERNS
Drawing trees has always been a favourite pastime of artists even when a commission is not
involved. Trees are such splendid plants and often very beautiful but they are not that easy to draw
well.
Before you begin, consider the sketches on this page.
Have a look at the bigger trees in
your local park or, if you’re
lucky enough to live out of town,
in your local woods and
hedgerows. Notice the strength of
the root structure when it is
evident above ground, like great
gnarled hands clutching at the
earth. Next, look closely at the
bark on the main trunk and
branches, then at its texture.
Make sketches of what you see.
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Trees: Growth Patterns/Shapes
SHAPES
Getting a feel for the whole shape of the tree
you want to draw is important. Often the best
way to approach this is to draw in a vague
outline of the main shape first. Then you need
to divide this up into the various clumps of
leaves and give some indication of how the
main branches come off the trunk and stretch
out to the final limit of the shape.
Of course, if your subject is a deciduous
tree in winter the network of branches will
provide the real challenge. The branches are a
maze of shapes and success can only be
achieved if you manage to analyse the main
thrust of their growth and observe how the
smaller branches and twigs hive off from the
main structure. Luckily, trees don’t move
about too much, and so are excellent ‘sitters’.
These three types of deciduous tree present
very different shapes and textures. Discover
for yourself how different they are by finding
an example of each, observing each one
closely and then spending time drawing the
various shapes. Note the overall shapes and
the branch patterns – see accompanying
drawings.
Outline of Oak
showing branch
pattern.
Outline of Beech
showing branch
pattern.
Outline of Horse
Chestnut showing
branch pattern.
Oak
Beech
Horse Chestnut
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TREES: PATTERNS
Drawing branches can prove problematical for even experienced artists. The exercise below is
designed to get you used to drawing them. Don’t worry about rendering the foliage precisely, just
suggest it.
As you add more
branches, the depth and
space within the tree will
become apparent. Ignore
any leaves except as vague
rounded shapes; you can
add them afterwards, if
you want.
I drew this large tree in
spring when its leaves were
not completely out. It was an
ideal subject for
demonstrating the intricate
tracery of branches because
of its position on a wooded
slope, which meant that its
foliage was largely restricted
to the tops of the branches.
When you ﬁrst look at a
tree like this it is not at all
easy to see how to pick out
each branch. One useful
approach is to draw the
main stems without initially
worrying whether they cross
in front of or behind another
branch. Only when you draw
a branch that crosses the ﬁrst
one need you make a note of
whether it crosses behind or
in front.
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Trees: Patterns
When seen in silhouette every tree produces a distinctive web pattern. The point of this next
exercise is to try to put in as much detail as you can, including leaves (if there are any) and twigs.
To achieve this you have to draw the silhouette at a reasonable size; i.e. as large as possible on an
A4 sheet of paper.
One of the best varieties to choose for this exercise is a Hawthorn, or May, tree. Its twisting,
prickly branches and twigs make a really dense mesh, which can be very dramatic. Try drawing it
in ink, which will force you to take chances on seeing the shapes accurately immediately; you are
committing yourself by not being able to rub out. It won’t matter too much if you are slightly
inaccurate in detail as long as the main pattern is clear to you.
Winter is the best time to do this exercise, although the worst time to be drawing outdoors.
You could, at a pinch, carefully copy a good photograph of such a tree in silhouette, but this would
not be such a good test or teach you as much.
This silhouette is rather as you would see it
against the sunlight and makes an
extraordinary, intricate pattern. There is no
problem with the branches being behind or
in front of other branches, as there was in the
example on the previous page.
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The head looking downwards.
This allows a good view of the
top of the head, which tends to
dominate the area in view.
Notice how the eyes disappear
partly under the brow; how the
eyelashes stick out more
noticeably; how the nose tends
to hide the mouth and the chin
almost disappears.
The head leaning back. This angle gives
a clear view of underneath the chin and
the nose, both areas we rarely notice
ordinarily. Seen from this angle the
person is no longer instantly
recognizable, because the forehead has
disappeared and the hair is mostly
behind the head.
Notice the large area of neck
and chin, and the nostrils, which are
coming towards the viewer. See how the
nose sticks up out of the main shape of
the head. When seen at this angle the
ears seem to be in a very odd position,
and their placement can be quite tricky.
Notice that the eyes no longer dominate
the head.
LOOKING AT THE HEAD
When a person is presented as a subject, the obvious approach is to sit them down in a good light,
look at them straight on and begin to draw. However, the obvious does not always produce the
best or most accurate result. If you concentrate solely on getting a likeness of a subject, you miss
out on the most important and most interesting aspects of portrait drawing.
The aim of this next exercise is to encourage you to look at the head as a whole. There’s
much more to the head than mere features, as you will discover if you look at it from many
different angles, excluding the obvious one. Take a look at the two drawings shown below.
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Looking at the Head
Once you have looked at various heads of different people you will begin to classify them as whole
shapes or structures and not just as faces. This approach teaches that although there are many
different faces, many heads share a similar structure. The individual differences won’t seem half so
important once you realize that there are only a few types of heads and each of us has a type that
conforms to one of these.
If you want to fully investigate this phenomenon, get your models to pose with their heads
at as many different angles as possible, and explore the structure of what you see. You can use the
poses I have provided or create your own.
Mostly when we look at people our attention
is too easily captured by the appearance of
their eyes and mouth, because these are the
principal determiners of facial expression.
Once you ignore the facial expression, you
will begin to notice in more detail the shapes
of the features. When drawing the head, focus
your attention on the forehead, jaw,
cheekbones and nose. They give the face its
structure and thereby its character.
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FIGURE DRAWING: FACIAL FEATURES
The features are worth sketching many times from more than one angle until you begin to
understand exactly what happens with every part. You can do this quite easily by just moving your
point of view while the model remains still. However, sometimes the head needs to be tilted, the
eyes moved and the lips ﬂexed to get a better idea of the way these features change. Time spent
working on this now means that your drawing will take on a new conviction in the future and you
will begin to notice subtleties that were perhaps less obvious to you before.
When the eyes look down the upper eye-lid
takes on the shape of the eyeball it is covering
and the open part of the eye forms a sort of
crescent shape. The upper lid increases and
the lower one creases rather.
Eyes
You will quickly notice that
the eye looking up and the
eye looking down are vastly
different in expression.
The eye seen from below looking up, and
seen from above looking up, add extra
permutations to the variety of shapes.
See how the eye seen from the side gives
a much clearer view of the ball shape
and how the lens seems to sit on the
surface of the eyeball, the pupil
appearing to recede into the shape of the
lens.
Not many people can move their
ears, so they are less of a
problem than any other feature.
Their convolutions are
unfamiliar because rarely do we
look at them. Seen from the front
or back most ears are
inconspicuous. The shapes of
ears do vary, but have several
main shapes in common. Look
at these examples.
Ears
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Figure Drawing: Facial Features
Nose
The nose doesn’t have a great deal of expression although it can be wrinkled and the nostrils
flared. However, its shape often presents great difficulty to beginning students. Drawing the nose
from in front gives the artist a lot of work to describe the contours without making it look
monstrous.
When you have a fairly clear idea of the basic form of
the mouth, see what happens when it opens. First, try
drawing it slightly open from at least two views (front
and side) and then wider, and then wide open. Notice
what happens to the lips when the mouth is open, how
they stretch, and how creases appear in the cheeks
either side and below.
Next, look at the mouth smiling; first with the
mouth shut, and then more open.
A clear dark shadow
on one side helps a lot
when drawing the
nose from the front.
If you want to reduce
the projection of the
nose, a full facing
light will tend to
flatten it in terms of
visible contours.
However, from the side it is clear how
it is shaped. The nostrils are a well
defined part of the nose and from the
front are the best part to concentrate
on to infer the shape of the rest of the
features.
Mouth
The mobility of the mouth ensures that next to the eyes it is the most expressive part of the face.
Although there are many different types of mouth, these can be reduced to a few types once you
begin to investigate them.
First of all, draw from the front,
followed by three-quarter views
from left and right, and then
from the side.
Next draw from slightly above and slightly below;
this gives you the basic shape of the mouth. Note
the edge of the lips; some parts project and give a
definite edge to the lip. On other parts the colour
of the lip is in the same plane as the surface of the
face.
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PERSPECTIVE VIEWS: LEGS
One of the most difficult problems with
drawing the human figure (or any other figure
for that matter) arises when the body or the
limbs of the figure being drawn are
foreshortened by perspective; an example
might be when a leg or arm is projecting
towards your viewpoint. Instead of the
expected shape of the limb you get an oddly
distorted proportion that the mind often wants
to correct. However, if you are going to draw
accurately, you have to discount what the mind
is telling you and observe directly, measuring if
necessary to make sure that these rather odd
proportions are adhered to. In this way, a limb
seen from the end on (see illustrations) will
carry real conviction.
When viewing the leg from the foot end, notice
how large the sole of foot looks in comparison
with the apparent length of the leg. The muscles
and the knee project outwards, their roundness
and angularity very pronounced, while their
length is reduced to almost nil. If you observe
the shapes produced by this view, you shouldn’t
have any problem. Don’t tell yourself that it
looks wrong, because it’s not; it’s just an
unusual point of view.
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Perspective Views
PERSPECTIVE VIEWS: ARMS
The same situation is evident with the arm as with the leg. In this case the size of the hand will
often appear outrageously large, practically obscuring the rest of the arm. Seen from this end-on
perspective, the bulge of any muscle or bone structure becomes a much more important feature
describing the shape of the arm. Instead of a long, slender shape which we recognize as ‘arm’, we
see a series of bumps, rounded shapes, closely stacked up against each other, so that the length
of the arm is minimal and the round section of the arm shape becomes what you see and draw.
The shape of the fingernail
provides another good clue to
seeing the finger as it really is.
The main part of the hand loses
its dominance in this position
but still needs to be observed
accurately.
It will help you make
visual sense of a
foreshortened hand if
you view the limb as
though it is one of a
group, with the fingers
coming off a body (the
palm). Take notice of
the shapes of the tips of
the fingers and the
knuckles particularly,
because these too will
be the dominant
features of the fingers
seen from end-on.
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HANDS
Hands are relatively easy to study, especially if you use your own as models. If you equip yourself
with a mirror you should be able to look at them from almost any angle. Of course, it will also be
necessary to look at the hands of an older or younger person and also one of the opposite sex.
You will find there are significant differences in shape depending on age and sex.
Always start off by observing the main structure of the hand,
based on the bones underneath, and then carefully observe
the hardness or softness of the flesh and skin.
The back of the hand gives the clearest indication of the
age of your model. Older hands have more protuberant
veins and looser, more wrinkled skin around the knuckles.
The hands of small children seem smooth all over.
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Hands/Differences in Musculature
DIFFERENCES IN MUSCULATURE
All human bodies have a tendency towards either a harder or softer muscularity, and both
characteristics can make quite a difference to the effect of your finished picture. Look at the
examples shown here.
A soft, undulating figure, where the differences between the jointing parts of the muscles are
not very obvious, gives a very smooth, rounded appearance to the form, and this has an effect
of calmness or weightiness. When the flesh is too heavy the weight tends to look more awkward
and so is less indicative of calm. Generally, though, softer bodies look more restful than harder
ones.
In a hard, muscular body
the distinction between the
muscles is clear and the
angularity of the form has a
much more active or even
aggressive quality. This
quality is accentuated if the
bone structure is also
prominent. Even in the
female figure, which tends to
be more restful in shape than
the male, when it is lean and
bony it has this rather active
or awkward look.
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FIGURES: COMPOSITION
When it comes to producing drawings of several figures
in a composition, the biggest problem, assuming you
have had enough experience of drawing live figures, is
the way that parts of one figure disappear behind parts
of another. Sometimes it is easy to get the composition
wrong and end up with an awkward-looking
arrangement.
In this simple group of two lovers embracing,
compositional success has been achieved by ensuring
that the figures combine in such a way that they
appear to melt together, with the limbs entwining in
a natural way.
When you are posing a picture it is important to
be alert to the position of a hand or leg looking
awkward. If this happens, try to find the position that
is most likely to show the warmth of feeling or the
beauty of the pose. In the example shown, notice how
the heads relate in such a way that they almost
obliterate us, the viewers, from the view.
This drawing of two Victorian wrestlers
is based on a painting by William Etty.
One figure is being forced down, but
the standing figure looks as though it
might be levered across from the lower
figure’s knee. The main point of this
picture is the forcefulness of the action
and whether the two figures seem to be
struggling against each other. Perhaps
Leonardo or Michelangelo would give
us more expression of the struggle, but
nevertheless this composition does
evoke the effort that these two strong
men are making. The link between the
two figures is central to the success of
the work.
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Figures: Composition
In this copy of a Caravaggio, the body of Christ is
being lifted into its tomb. This event is made
interesting and dramatic by the arrangement of
the figures and their relationship. The movement
of the figure carrying the dead body contrasts
starkly with the inert corpse. The limpness of the
legs of the dead man contrasts with the gnarled
knotty legs of the carrier. The shape made by the
man’s encircling arms and the bent over figure
with his arm under the shoulders and back of
Christ are quite complex. Even the strands of
grave cloth and the cloak of the younger carrier
help to define the activity.
I have omitted from my copy the group of
three mourning women which is in the original,
because they are not actively engaged in carrying
the body.
Two hands clasped give a similar
problem to entwined figures in a
larger composition. You’ll find them
easier to tackle if you try to see them
as if you were looking at a whole
figure.
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The complexity of the knee joint
becomes apparent when we see it
from within and begin to
understand how it works. Try
drawing it from different angles
to give you a full appreciation of
what is going on.
CLOSE UPS OF JOINTS
When studying the human skeleton or its bones and musculature, it is a good idea at some stage
to home in on one joint and draw it in exact detail. Concentrate on making it as anatomically
correct as you can, as though you were a draughtsman preparing a specimen for the medical
profession.
This sort of detailed study is very effective in making us see more when we come to draw the
human ﬁgure from life, and it can inform our drawing enormously. There is no substitute for this
approach if you want your drawings to carry conviction. The knowledge gained by it seems to go
through the hand into the mind, and when we draw it seems to come out again to inform the
viewer, even if he has never seen it himself in real life. This is why the works of the old master-
draughtsmen still carry so much power.
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Close Ups of Joints
The hip-joint, where the
pelvis and thigh bone rotate,
ball in cup, so to speak, has
extraordinary ﬂexibility, as
detailed study will reveal.
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CLOTHING AND MOVEMENT
Next we look at clothing and how the movement and actions of the wearer affect it. Of course, how
an item of clothing behaves will depend on the type of material of which it is made, so you need
to be aware of different properties and characteristics and how to render them realistically in
various situations.
This drawing (left) was made from a picture of
a dancer playing a part. The baggy cotton-like
material has a slightly bobbly texture and its
looseness in the sleeves and legs serves to
exaggerate his movements. Both the action and
costume reinforce the effect of ﬂoppy helplessness.
The clothing worn by this ﬁgure (right) hangs softly in
folds and suggests a lightweight material such as cotton.
The shape of the upper body is easily seen but the trousers
are thick enough to disguise the shape of the leg.
A very simple movement of a girl pulling on her jacket
produces all sorts of wrinkles and creases in a rather
stiff material. The creases at the bend of the arm are
relatively soft, however, which generally indicates an
expensive material. As the American Realist painter
Ben Shahn, remarked, ‘There is a big difference
between the wrinkles in a $200 suit and a $1,000 suit.’
(This was said in the 1950s, so the prices are relative.)
What he was remarking on was the fact that more
expensive materials fold and crease less markedly and
the creases often fall out afterwards, whereas a suit
made of cheaper materials has papery looking creases
that remain after the cloth was straightened.
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Clothing and Movement
A bit of clever posing by a fashion
photographer was responsible for the
original from which the drawing
below was made. The model was
actually photographed lying on the
floor with the dress spread out to
make it look as though she was
moving in a smooth-flowing dance.
The photograph was taken in the
1930s, before the benefits of high-
speed cameras and film, and
represents an imaginative way
round a technical problem. It
proves that you can cheat the eye.
The sturdy girl dancer
above is swirling a
length of thin, light
silken material. The
movement of the hair
and garment tell you
quite a bit about her
movements and the
materiality of the hair
and cloth.
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Here are three drawings of different types of clothing showing vastly different effects of folds and
creases, mainly due to the nature of the material used in each case.
A couture garment made of heavy
satin and tailored to keep the folds
loose and mainly vertical. The
movement is not extreme and so the
weight and smoothness of the
material ensure an elegant effect.
When you come to draw this
type of material be sure to get a
strong contrast between dark and
light to capture the bright reﬂective
quality of the garment.
These jeans, made of tough
hard-wearing cotton, crease
easily and characteristically,
and the creases remain even
when the cloth is moved.
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Clothing and Movement
The raincoat sleeve shown below is similar in character to
our ﬁrst example: a stifﬁsh material but one made to repel
water and so has a very smooth sheen. The folds are large,
the sleeve being loose enough to allow ease of movement.
Even in this drawing, they look as though they would
totally disappear when the arm was straightened.
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The shine on the top of the head shows up
strongly, despite the fact of the darkness of
the hair. There is also another slightly more
subdued shine lower down, across the back
of the head. The pleating over, and the plait
itself, pick up the shine and accentuate the
smooth even strands of hair holding
together, none out of place, effectively
producing an almost smooth surface to
each fold of plait.
HAIR
Here is another material associated with the body – hair. We look at two examples and the
technical problems involved when trying to draw them. This particular material comes in thin
strands that can either curl, tangle or smoothly lay against each other, and these characteristics
allow very different qualities to be shown in a drawing. You will ﬁnd all of these challenging but
fascinating to attempt.
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Hair
A lot of effort has gone into this hairstyle, with
every seemingly wayward strand beautifully
arranged. Contrived it may be, but it does
show to good effect how hair can wave and
corkscrew in ringlets. Notice the many
highlights on the bends of the curls and the
darker richer tones underneath. It’s not easy
to make this style look natural in a drawing,
but this is a good attempt.
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EARTH
When drawing the solid rocks that make up the surface of the world, it can be instructive to think
small and build up. Pick up a handful or soil or gravel and take it home with you for close scrutiny,
then try to draw it in some detail. You will find that those tiny pieces of irregular material are
essentially rocks in miniature. You can get a very clear idea of how to draw the earth in all its guises
by recognizing the essential similarities between earth materials and being prepared to take a
jump from almost zero to infinity.
If we attempt to draw a rocky outcrop or the
rocks by the sea or along the shore of a river,
it is really no different from drawing small
pieces of gravel, only with an enormous
change of scale. It is as though those pieces of
gravel have been super-enlarged. You will
find a similar random mixture of shapes,
though made more attractive to our eyes
because of the increase in size.
One more step is to visit a mountainous area and look
at the earth in its grandest, most monumental form. This
example has the added quality of being above the snow-
line and showing marvellously simplified icy structures
against contrasting dark rocks.
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Earth
Now look at a large cliff-face, with its cleavages and
striations of geological layering, some of it, no doubt,
partially hidden by plants, but nevertheless showing the
structure very clearly.
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WATER
The character and mood of water changes depending on how it is affected by movement and light.
Over the next few pages we look at water in various forms, which present very different problems
for artists and very different effects on viewers. To understand how you can capture the effect of
each of the forms shown here requires close ﬁrst-hand study, supported by photographic
evidence of what is happening,
followed by persistent efforts to draw
what you think you know.
Unless you were looking at a photograph, it
would be almost impossible to draw with any
detail the effect of an enormous wave
breaking towards you as you stood on a
shore. Leonardo made some very good
attempts at describing the movement of
waves in drawings, but they were more
diagrammatic in form.
A waterfall is an immensely
powerful form of water. Most of us
don’t see such grand works of
nature as this magniﬁcent
example. Of course, you would
need to study one as large as this
from a distance to make some
sense of it. This drawing is
successful largely because the
watery area is not overworked, but
has been left almost blank within
the enclosing rocks, trees and other
vegetation. The dark tones of the
vegetation throw forward the
negative shapes of the water,
making them look foaming and
fast moving.
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Water
This is water as most of us who live in an
urban environment see it, still and reflective.
Although the surface of a stretch of water
may look smooth, usually there is a breeze or
currents causing small shallow ripples. Seen
from an oblique angle these minute ripples
give a slightly broken effect along the edges of
any objects reflected in the water. When you
draw such a scene you need to gently blur or
break the edges of each large reflected tone to
simulate the rippling effect of the water.
In this very detailed
drawing of a stretch
of water rippling
gently, there appear to
be three different
tones for the smooth
elliptical shapes
breaking the surface.
This is not an easy
exercise but it will
teach you something
about what you
actually see when
looking at the surface
of water.
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WATER: CONTRASTING MOODS
The contrast in moods between the choppy sea depicted in the first drawing and the glassy
looking water in the second couldn’t be more extreme. Pay particular attention to the absence of
any reflecting light in the first example, and the fact that the second drawing comes across as all-
reflection.
In this view of a choppy inky sea, with
breaking crests of foam, the skyline is dark
and there is no bright reflection from the sky.
The shapes of the foaming crests of the wind-
blown waves are very important. They must
also be placed carefully so that you get an
effect of distance, with large shapes in the
foreground graduated to smaller and smaller
layers as you work your up the page towards
the horizon.
Observe how foam breaks; take
photographs and then invent your own
shapes, once you’ve seen the typical shapes
they make. No two crests of foam are alike, so
you can’t really go wrong. But, if you are
depicting a stormy sea, it is important to
make the water between the crests dark,
otherwise the effect might be of a bright, albeit
breezy, day.
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Water: Contrasting Moods
This whole drawing is made up of the sky
and its reflection in the river below. The lone
boat in the lower foreground helps to give a
sense of scale. Although the trees are
obviously quite tall in this view, everything is
subordinated to the space of the sky, defined
by the clouds, and the reflected space in the
water. The boat and a few ripples are there
to tell the viewer that it is water and not just
air. The effect of this vast space and mirror is
to generate awe in the viewer.
Practice with Water
Water is one of the most interesting of subjects for an artist to study and certainly adds a
lot to any composition. As you will have noticed, the different shapes it can make and the
myriad effects of its reflective and translucent qualities are quite amazing. Over the last
few pages we’ve looked at various ways of portraying water but by no means all of them.
The subject is limitless, and you will always manage to find some aspect of it that is a little
bit different. Go out and find as many examples as you can to draw.
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THE SKY: CONTRASTS
Air is invisible, of course, so cannot really be drawn, but it can be inferred by looking at and drawing
clouds and skyscapes. Whether fluffy, ragged, streaky or layered, clouds give a shape to the
movements of the elements in the sky and are the only visible evidence of air as a subject to draw.
Here we see dark, stormy clouds with little bits
of light breaking through in areas around the
dark grey. The difficulty is with the subtle
graduations of tone between the very heavy
dark clouds and the parts where the cloud
cover is thinner or partly broken and allows
a gleam of light into the scene. Look carefully
at the edges of the clouds, how sometimes they
are very rounded and fluffy and sometimes
torn and ragged in shape. If you get the
perspective correct, they should be shown as
layers across the sky, flatter and thinner
further off and as fuller more rolling masses
closer to. You can create a very interesting
effect of depth and space across the lower
surfaces of the cloudscape with bumps and
layers of cloud that reduce in depth as they
approach the horizon.
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The Sky: Contrasts
When the clouds allow more sun to shine
through, they look much less heavy and
threatening and often assume quite friendly
looking shapes. Essentially, though, it is the same
vapour as in the stormy sky but with more light,
enabling us to see its ephemeral nature.
The effect of beams of sunlight striking
through clouds has a remarkable effect in a
picture, and can give a feeling of life and beauty
to even a quite banal landscape.
A lot has been achieved here with very simple
means. The clouds are not complicated and
it is the sun’s rays (marked in with an
eraser) and the aircraft that do much of the
work, giving the illusion of height and also
limitless space above our view. The broken
light, the light and dark clouds and sunlight
glinting against the wings and fuselage of the
aircraft give the drawing atmosphere.
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THE SKY: USING SPACE
The spaces between clouds as well as the shapes of clouds themselves can alter the overall sense
we get of the subject matter in a drawing. The element of air gives us so many possibilities, we can
find many different ways of suggesting space and open views. Compare these examples.
This open flat landscape with pleasant soft-
looking clouds gives some indication of how
space in a landscape can be inferred. The
fluffy cumulus clouds floating gently across
the sky gather together before receding into
the vast horizon of the open prairie. The
sharp perspective of the long, straight road
and the car in the middle distance tell us how
to read the space. This is the great outdoors.
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The Sky: Using Space
Despite the presence of dark, dramatic
clouds in this scene at sunset the atmosphere
is not overtly gloomy or brooding. The bright
sun, half-hidden by the long ﬂat cloud,
radiates its light across the edges of the
clouds, which tell us that they are lying
between us and the sun. The deep space
between the dark layers of cloud gives a
slightly melancholic edge to the peacefulness.
Another vision of air and space is illustrated
here: a sky of ragged grey and white clouds,
and the sun catching distant buildings on the
horizon of the ﬂat, suburban heathland
below. Note particularly the low horizon,
clouds with dark, heavy bottoms and lighter
areas higher in the sky.
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Extremes of Expression
Artists in all ages have been interested in extremes of
expression and experimenting with the handling of grotesque
or humorous depictions of faces and bodies. In the medieval
period, they were almost exclusively to be found in sculpture
within and without chapels and cathedrals. Look at the
misericords, or brackets, on the underside of any seat in choir
stalls of this period and you will often find grotesque and
fantastic carvings. Similarly the stone gargoyles or spouts
which carry water clear of the sides of buildings were often
sculpted to resemble the heads of beasts or monsters.
When we get to the Renaissance period, celebrated
artists such as Leonardo were drawing grotesque faces and
heads, and in some instances taking them to fantastic
extremes. The development of printing techniques enabled
artists with a social or political message to take caricature
beyond the realms of pure fun. William Hogarth, who trained
as an engraver before he studied painting, campaigned
vigorously against a number of social ills through his work.
Later social caricaturists, such as Thomas Rowlandson and
James Gillray, went even further in their efforts to change
opinion. Their lampoons were reproduced extensively and
sold in the streets. Both men were very accomplished artists.
In the 19th century, with the quick delivery of
newspapers all over the country, caricature took off in a big
way. The satirical weekly newspaper Punch, which first
appeared in 1841, was packed full of unflattering depictions of
leading politicians and other visual comments on scandals,
political manoeuvrings and social injustice. In our own time
the production of cartoons on film has led to the extension of
the art to television.
Inexperienced artists try so hard to be technically
correct that often they turn out drawings that look wooden
and lack expression. Caricature is a great antidote, helping to
free us from an over-reliance on accuracy and to find a
genuine means of expression in our work.
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GROTESQUES TO FANTASY
Leonardo da Vinci has left us many extraordinary examples of caricature which are undoubtedly
not true to life but still recognizable. No one knows why the great man was so fascinated by this
type of drawing but perhaps it is not surprising he wanted to see how far he could go with it.
In the second half of the 16th century the Milanese painter Giuseppe Arcimbaldo took
caricature in a different direction, producing fantasy portrait heads in which the features were
composed of clusters of fruit and vegetables. Some later commentators considered him to be an
ancestor of the Surrealists.
Examples from both artists are seen here.
EXTREMES OF EXPRESSION
This second copy of a Leonardo is
more realistic apart from the
protruding jaw which is taken to
unnatural lengths. The ﬁrst face
looked rather stupid; this one looks
more intelligent and even kindly.
The features of this man
(original by Leonardo) are
greatly exaggerated and
can in no way be taken as
realistic – nose protuding,
mouth pushed up at the
centre and down at the
sides. The great lump of a
chin completes the
ludicrous effect, which
glazed eyes and rather
lumpy ears don’t diffuse.
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Grotesques to Fantasy
This extraordinary face by Arcimbaldo is
reputed to be of the Hapsburg Emperor
Rudolph II. Although made up of fruit and
vegetables it is easily readable as a particular
human face. The drawing is an amusing
conceit but one doesn’t know whether it was
meant to make fun of its subject or was just a
curious exercise in ingenuity.
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CARICATURE AS SATIRE
The work of the great caricaturists was born out of social and political turmoil. Hogarth,
Rowlandson and Gillray, three of Britain’s greatest exponents of caricature, came to the fore at a
time of unprecedented change. All three were valued more for their caricaturing skills than their
serious gifts, an oversight that was particularly hard on Hogarth, who was undoubtedly a major
artist.
In Spain, Francisco Goya was also railing against the injustices and follies he saw around him.
He chronicled the horrors of the occupation by Napoleon’s armies in both paint and ink. In his
smaller studies we get snapshots of the human condition in extremes of expression that ring true.
A money-lender
as seen through
the sharp eye of
Rowlandson.
In his series of drawings known as ‘Los Caprichos’, Goya
castigated a host of iniquities. Here it is the Catholic Church,
represented by two rather disreputable looking monks.
Hogarth’s view of the
journalist and
political agitator
John Wilkes.
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Caricature as Satire
No one was safe from the caricaturists’ pen, even the Duke of
Wellington, a great hero of the popular press thanks to his
victories in the Napoleonic Wars. The treatment of him in these
two contemporary examples, after he had swapped his uniform
for a frock coat and entered Parliament, is fairly good natured.
Political leaders at home came in for just as much
attack from the caricaturists as their foreign
counterparts.
In these two examples (above) it is a weasely-looking
William Pitt the Younger by Gillray. Fresh-faced in the
ﬁrst illustration (he was after all only 24 when he
became British Prime Minister for the ﬁrst time), he
seems to have matured a little in the second, with
clusters of freckles on the nose and cheek and the
makings of a moustache and beard.
At the end of the 18th century Napoleon
became a target for English caricaturists,
who, like their countrymen, feared what
might happen once he had overrun
mainland Europe. Initially portrayed by
them as a tiny monkey-like character
with a big hat, he evolved into a portly
villain with a scowl and a big chin.
Pitt’s great political rival,
Charles James Fox, by
Rowlandson.
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CARICATURE AS ART
In 19th-century France political comment was often mixed with an illustrative kind of art which
combined to make a rather strange brew. The result was certainly caricature but of a type that was
more finished and obviously polished. The Salon culture of the French art world would have been
horrified by less. The influence of the Impressionists would soon be felt, however, even in
caricature.
Honoré Daumier made many drawings
which hovered at the edges of caricature. The
first of the two examples of his work shown
here is from a French treatise on suffrage. The
second, taken from a journal, is of 19th
century France’s leading literary figure,
Victor Hugo, hence the immense brow.
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Caricature as Art
Jean-Louis Forain was a regular contributor to
journals as a caricaturist and graphic artist.
This example of his work shows a departure in
style from the satirical drawing usually seen in
France up to this time. Very few lines have been
used to depict the sleek, moustachioed
bourgeois gentleman in evening dress.
A contemporary of Forain, Arthur Rackman became popular for
his book illustrations, especially of children’s stories. Rackham’s
imaginative approach went down well not only with children, who
were sometimes almost frightened by them, but by their parents
who particularly admired his ﬁnely drawn grotesquerie.
An early
caricature by
Impressionist
Claude Monet
of his art
teacher.
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STEREOTYPING
All the well-known public figures of the last fifty years or so are
mostly remembered by us because we are familiar with
caricature images of them we have seen in newspapers and
magazines and on films and television.
As well as emphasizing perceived personal weaknesses or
humorous aspects of public figures, caricature can also be
used creatively to suggest solid virtues, such as those of
perhaps the two most famous national stereotypes of all time,
Uncle Sam and John Bull.
A century separates the
creation of Uncle Sam
(c. 1812) and John Bull
(c.1712), the one
epitomizing the US
government and the
other the average British
citizen.
The great dictators of the 20th century are rather better
known by their cartoon image than their real faces.
Hitler Mussolini Stalin
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Stereotyping/Modern Trends
MODERN TRENDS
The modern trend in caricature is to fix on one or two obvious physical characteristics and
subordinate everything else to the effect these create. Presenting an absolute minimum likeness
can only work, of course, if an audience is very familiar with the figures depicted. In the following
examples, aimed at a British market, note that the caricatures of the two lesser known figures,
Murdoch and Le Pen, are more carefully drawn than the others.
Australian media tycoon
Rupert Murdoch.
British Prime Minister Tony
Blair and his wife, Cherie.
Former US President Bill Clinton.
French right-wing politician Jean-
Marie Le Pen (after Gerald Scarfe).
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1. It is a good idea ﬁrst to draw the person you
wish to caricature several times, to get to know
the shapes of their features and how these relate
to each other.
2. I have slightly exaggerated his way of staring
intensely, his bony physiognomy, strong jaw.
I’ve also tried to suggest his height (6ft 4in).
3. Here I begin to produce something like a
caricature. Notice how I have made him grin,
although he wasn’t doing this when I drew him.
People who know him are familiar with his
broad, up-turning grin, intense stare, large
bony forehead, nose, cheekbones and jaw, and
these are the characteristics I have tried to bring
out.
BUILDING A CARICATURE
The process of turning a perfectly normal looking person into a cartoon ﬁgure to accentuate their
traits is the same whether the subject is familiar to millions of households or just one. It can be a
fun exercise. The subject I have chosen here is my eldest son. His features are perfectly normal,
but as I know quite a lot about him I can accentuate certain areas to bring out his personality to
the casual observer. Let’s begin the process.
2.
1.
3.
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Building a Caricature/Experimenting
EXPERIMENTING
I could have taken that final illustration further and gone on until all superfluous lines had been
deleted. You can do this more effectively if you know your subject well. You need knowledge to
be able to build into your caricature attitudes, movements and favourite expressions in order to
inject a bit of humour as well as get across a likeness with a minimum of detail.
Here are two examples for you to experiment with and see how far you can take the
exaggeration before the subject becomes unrecognizable. Try to capture the obvious features first
and then the general effect of the head or face.
Don’t try caricaturing your friends, unless you don’t mind losing them or they agree. If
you can’t get the subject you want to pose for you, try to obtain good photographs of them. These
won’t provide quite such good reference, but as long as you draw on your knowledge of the
person as well, they should be adequate.
IDENTIFYING FEATURES:
1. Round head
2. Fat chin
3. Grim mouth
4. Heavy, anxious
eyebrows
5. Little eyes with
bags
6. Blobby or broken
nose
7. Wrinkles and
unshaven chin
IDENTIFYING FEATURES:
1. Round-ended,
turned-up nose
2. Bright eye
3. Thick eyebrows
4. Big hair on top
5. Chin
6. Cheeky grin
Normal Exaggerated
Normal Exaggerated
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Styles and Techniques
To develop an individual style and method of working, you
have to experiment. This is quite easy, given the wide range of
materials and implements available. Next, we consider
different implements and papers and the effects that can be
achieved with them – for example, various types of pencil, as
well as pen and ink, line and wash, chalk, pastel and charcoal.
We also look at scraper-board, a technique not used very
much these days, and some rather interesting if labour-
intensive ways of making marks on paper.
In addition we look at some of the approaches to the art
of drawing taken by different artists at different times. Some
of these may seem alien or too different from the way of
working you are used to. Don’t be concerned if this is the
case. Experimentation gives us the opportunity to discover
new techniques and approaches, and to incorporate them in
our work. Do try your hand at all of them, and see if you can
invent a new style. The main point is to have some fun.
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IMPLEMENTS AND MATERIALS
The implements we draw with are important, as is the material we draw on. A keen artist will draw
with anything and make it work to his advantage. Artists have to draw, no matter the situation they
are in. If nothing else is available, they’ll use sticks in sand, coal on whitewashed walls, coloured mud
on flat rocks – anything to be able to draw. If you don’t have a wide range of equipment at your
disposal, don’t let that stop you. Use whatever is to hand. However, if at all possible, supply yourself
with the best materials you can afford. If you try as many new tools and materials as you can, you will
discover what suits you best. Here are some obvious basic implements.
STYLES AND TECHNIQUES
Pencil
The simplest and most universal tool of the artist is
the humble pencil, which is very versatile. It ranges
from very hard to very soft and black (H, HB, B, 2B,
etc.) and there are differing thickness. Depending on
the type you choose, pencil can be used very
precisely and also very loosely.
You should have at least three degrees of
blackness, such as an HB (average hardness and
blackness), 2B (soft and black) and 4B (very soft and
black).
For working on a toned surface, you might like to
try white carbon pencil.
Graphite
Graphite pencils are thicker than ordinary pencils
and come in an ordinary wooden casing or as solid
graphite sticks with a thin plastic covering. The
graphite in the plastic coating is thicker, more solid
and lasts longer, but the wooden casing probably
feels better. The solid stick is very versatile because of
the actual breadth of the drawing edge, enabling you
to draw a line a quarter of an inch thick, or even
thicker, and also very fine lines. Graphite also comes
in various grades, from hard to very soft and black.
Charcoal
Charcoal pencils in black and grey and white are
excellent when you need to produce dimensional
images on toned paper and are less messy to use than
sticks of charcoal and chalk. However, the sticks are
more versatile because you can use the long edge as
well as the point. Drawings in this type of media need
‘fixing’ to stop them getting rubbed off, but if
interleaved with pieces of paper they can be kept
without smudging. Work you wish to show for any
length of time should be fixed with spray-can fixative.
Chalk
This is a cheaper and longer-lasting alternative to
white conté or white pastel.
Pen
Push-pens or dip-pens come with a fine pointed nib,
either stiff or flexible, depending on what you wish to
achieve. Modern fine-pointed graphic pens are easier
to use and less messy but not so versatile, producing
a line of unvarying thickness. Try both types.
The ink for dip-pens is black ‘Indian ink’ or
drawing ink; this can be permanent or water-soluble.
Brush
A number 0 or number 2 nylon brush is satisfactory
for drawing. For applying washes of tone, a number 6
or number 10 brush either in sablette or sable or any
other material capable of producing a good point is
recommended.
Paper and board
Any decent smooth cartridge paper is suitable for
drawing. A rougher surface gives a more broken line
and greater texture. Try out as many different papers
as you can. For brushwork, use a modestly priced
watercolour paper to start with. Most line illustrators
use a smooth board but you may find this too smooth
and your pen sliding across it so easily that your line
is difficult to control.
Scraper-board has a layer of china-clay
which is thick enough to allow dry paint to be
scraped off but thin enough not to crack off. It comes
in black and white. White scraper-board is the more
versatile of the two, and allows the ink to be scraped
with a sharp point or edge when it is dry to produce
interesting textures or lines. The black version has a
thin layer of black ink printed evenly over the whole
surface which can be scraped away to produce a
reverse drawing resembling a woodcut or engraving.
Try them out. Cut your first piece of board into
smaller pieces so that you can experiment with a
range of different approaches. (The more unusual
techniques involving scraper-board are dealt with
later in this section.)
The tools you need to work effectively with
scraper-board can be obtained at any good art or craft
shop.
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Implements and Materials
Pencils
HB B 2B 4B
Conté charcoal
pencil
White carbon pencil
Graphite pencils
Fine line pen
Fine nib push pen
White chalk
Conté stick
Willow charcoal
No 5 sable brush
No 2 nylon brush
Scraper-board tool
Clutch pencil with
silver wire point
Drawing ink
Ordinary hand-held sharpeners won’t always
take the thickness of lead in a graphite pencil. A
craft knife, though, gives a very good point.
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PENCIL DRAWING
Pencil can be used in many ways. When it was invented – sometime in the 17th century – it
revolutionized artists’ techniques because of the enormous variety of skilful effects that could be
produced with it, and soon came to replace well established drawing implements such as silver-
point.
The production of pencils in different grades of hardness and blackness greatly enhanced
the medium’s versatility. Now it became easy to draw in a variety of ways: delicately or vigorously,
precisely or vaguely, with linear effect or with strong or soft tonal effects.
Here we have several types of pencil drawing, from the carefully precise to the impulsively
messy, from powerful, vigorous mark making to soft, sensitive shades of tone.
Titian’s drawing, however, is quite different. This artist’s knowledge of colour was so good that
even his drawings look as though they were painted. He is obviously feeling for texture and
depth and movement in the space and is not worried about defining anything too tightly. The
lines merge and cluster together to make a very powerful tactile group.
Michelangelo is a good starting point for ways
of using pencil. His work was extremely skilful
and, as you can see from this drawing, his
anatomical knowledge was second to none.
The careful shading of each of the muscle
groups in the body gives an almost sculptural
effect, which is not so surprising when you
consider that sculpture was his first love. To
draw like this takes time and patience and
careful analysis of the figure you are drawing.
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Pencil Drawing
Now look at this vigorous drawing
by Delacroix, the great French
Romantic artist. The powerful
flowing lines show the activity and
forcefulness of the figure. Where
shading has been applied it is very
strongly blocked in areas of dark
shadows.
Handling pencil in this way
requires confidence. When you are
learning it is useful sometimes just
to let go and have a shot at
producing a strong image. You
have nothing to lose – you can
always have another go if your
drawing goes wrong.
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PRECISION
In these examples the pencil is used almost scientiﬁcally with the line taking pre-eminence.
Sometimes it is used to produce an exact effect of form, sometimes to show the ﬂow and simplicity
of a movement.
This meticulous pencil drawing, by the
German Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld,
is one of the most perfect drawings in
this style I’ve ever seen. The result is
quite stupendous, even though this is just
a copy and probably doesn’t have the
precision of the original. Every line is
visible. The tonal shading which follows
the contours of the limbs is exquisitely
observed. This is not at all easy to do
and getting the repeated marks to line
up correctly requires great discipline. It
is worth practising this kind of drawing
because it will increase your skill at
manipulating the pencil and test your
ability to concentrate.
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Precision/The Simple Outline
THE SIMPLE OUTLINE
In different ways all the drawings on this page
use a simple outline. Such simplicity serves to
‘fix’ the main shape of the drawing, ensuring
the effect of the additional detailed shading.
A much more economical method of
drawing has been used for two of the drawings
here, but note that this has not been at the
expense of the information offered about the
subjects depicted.
Both Matisse (copy of a self-
portrait, above) and Victor
Ambrus (left) appear to have
used several different grades of
pencil for these drawings; some
lines are very soft and black,
others much less so. Knowing
how far to go is an art in itself.
Ambrus has achieved balance
by outlining the main shape of
the dog with a soft grey line and
then adding details of the curly
hair and dark ears, head and
nose with darker, crisper lines.
Only one of the objects in this still-
life group has been drawn in great
detail. The rest of them are in a
bare outline drawing. This is an
unfinished drawing but does show
how to achieve a convincing
solidity by first drawing clearly
defined outline shapes before
leaping in at the deep end with
detailed drawing.
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PEN AND INK
Pen and ink is special in that once you’ve put the line down it is indelible and can’t be erased. This
really puts the artist on his mettle because, unless he can use a mass of fine lines to build a form, he
has to get the lines ‘right’ first time. Either way can work.
Once you get a taste for using ink, it can be very addictive. The tension of knowing that you can’t
change what you have done in a drawing is challenging. When it goes well, it can be exhilarating.
Leonardo probably did the original of
this as a study for a painting. Drawn
fairly sketchily in simple line, it shows a
young woman with a unicorn, a
popular courtly device of the time. The
lines are sensitive and loose but the
whole hangs together very beautifully
with the minimal of drawing. The
curving lines suggest the shape and
materiality of the parts of the picture,
the dress softly creased and folded, the
face and hand rounded but firm, the
tree slightly feathery looking. The use of
minimal shading in a few oblique lines
to suggest areas of tone is just enough to
convey the artist’s intentions.
This copy of a Raphael is more
heavily shaded in a variety of
cross-hatching, giving much
more solidity to the figures
despite the slightly fairy-tale
imagery. The movement is
conveyed nicely, and the body
of the rider looks very
substantial as he cuts down
the dragon. The odd bits of
background lightly put in give
even more strength to the
figures of knight, horse and
dragon.
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Pen and Ink
This next copy, of a Michelangelo drawing, is much more heavily worked
over, with hefty cross-hatching capturing the muscularity of the figure. The
texture is rich and gives a very good impression of a powerful, youthful
figure. The left arm and the legs are unfinished but even so the drawing has
great impact.
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Rarely have I seen such
brilliant line drawing in ink of
the human figure as those of
the painter Guercino. In this
example the line is extremely
economical and looks as
though it has been drawn from
life very rapidly. The flowing
lines seem to produce the effect
of a solid body in space, but
they also have a marvellous
lyrical quality of their own.
Try drawing like this, quickly
without worrying about
anything except the most
significant details, but getting
the feel of the subject in as few
lines as possible. You will have
to draw something directly
from life in order to get an
understanding of how this
technique works.
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Pen and Ink
In his masterly original of this
drawing in line (and ink), Tintoretto
was careful to get the whole outline of
the ﬁgure. The curvy interior lines
suggest the muscularity of the form.
There is not too much detail but just
enough to convince the eye of the
powerful body; every muscle here
appears to ripple under the skin. The
barest of shading suggests the form.
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PRACTISING WITH PEN AND INK
The drawings on this page show what can be achieved with pens of different nib thickness. The
series of heads shows the effect that can be achieved with a fine nib. The mass of lines going in
many directions give a definite impression of solidity as well as depth of shadows and light.
The figure of the boy is drawn with a felt tip pen. This is not the most sensitive of tools but,
as long as you don’t expect too much from it as a medium, it does enable you to draw quickly and
reasonably effectively.
The heads of the boy and girl show the
importance of background when attempting
to describe the way form builds around a
rounded object. Some areas have been left
clear to suggest light catching the hair, ears,
nose, etc., and these stand out against the
cross-hatched background tone.
To practise this technique, try it on small
areas initially. The aim is to learn to control
your pen strokes so that you can lay them
closely together without them becoming
jumbled. You will need several attempts to
make the lines only go over the areas you
want them to. Try drawing in the main shape
with pencil first and then ink over it so that
you have pencil lines to draw up to.
The thickness of
felt tip pen
limits your
options so far
as size is
concerned. As
you can see
here, you have
to draw bigger
or reduce areas
of tone to their
simplest.
This copy of a head by Matisse is
remarkably freely drawn and yet the
multiple lines build up into a dense
texture of materiality that looks very
convincing.
188
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Practising with Pen and Ink
PRACTICE
This set of women’s heads gives you a chance to try different methods of using line in pen and ink.
All methods are possible and can be used to good effect. Think about your lines first, before laying
them down in pencil. Look at my notes first before you begin to attempt to draw them.
1. With its fairly solid black lines and
simplification of form, this drawing resembles
a woodcut. Just a fine line suggests roundness
of form.
2. Curved, loosely drawn lines without any
tone are used here, to give maximum effect for
minimal drawing. A flexible pen nib is
necessary to get slightly broader and also finer
lines alternating. Note the simplicity of the
facial features.
3. Even the outlined frame adds to the
decorative effect of this drawing. The intensely
layered curls on the head make a pattern
rather than a realistic effect, as does the pleated
collar around the shoulders. The face is sharply
drawn but without much attempt at form. The
large areas of white shoulders and neck and
blank background help to emphasize the
decorative quality of the drawn parts.
4. The face here is again economically drawn:
just two black eyes, and mere touches for the
nose and mouth. The hair outlining the face
and neck, though, has been rendered as a
jungle-like mass of black lines overlaying each
other. Slightly more formal lines in the
background allow the hair to fade into the
paper and emphasize the paleness of the face.
5. This drawing is also mostly concerned with
the decorative effect of the precisely waved
lines of hair, crossed by the carefully
delineated pearl head-dress, all flatly drawn
with the clear sharp lines reminiscent of an
engraving. The dots that make up the
background are carefully spaced to ensure
that one area is not darker than another.
Against this darker background the sharply
drawn profile and eyes appear almost in
silhouette. No attempt has been made to
produce depth of form.
1. 2.
3. 4.
5. 6.
The joy of drawing like this comes in
making patterns of the lines and dots, and
because this can’t be hurried, it is very
therapeutic.
6. This head is similar to the third one in that
the hair and collar of the dress are carefully
built up patterns to suggest an ornate hair-do
and an elegant negligée. The difference
between the two drawings is mainly in the
background. In this drawing there is no
obvious perspective. The squares within
squares suggest there must be depth behind the
head.
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190
LINE AND WASH
Now we move on to look at the
effects that can be obtained by
using a mixture of pen and brush
with ink. The lines are usually
drawn first to get the main shape
of the subject in, then a brush
loaded with ink and water is used
to float across certain areas to
suggest shadow and fill in most of
the background to give depth.
A good-quality solid paper is
necessary for this type of drawing;
try either a watercolour paper or a
very heavy cartridge paper. The
wateriness of the tones needs to
be calculated to the area to be
covered. In other words, don’t
make it so wet that the paper takes
ages to dry.
This copy of a Rembrandt is
very dramatic in its use of
light and shade.
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191
Line and Wash
When using line and wash in landscape drawing, the handling of the wash is particularly important,
because its different tonal values suggest space receding into the picture plane. Here we look at
three drawings by Claude Lorrain.
These two deer are
fairly loosely drawn
in black chalk. A
variety of tones of
wash has been freely
splashed across the
animals to suggest
form and substance.
This sensitive pen line drawing of part of
an old Roman ruin has a light wash of
watery ink to suggest the sun shining from
behind the stones. The wash has been kept
uniform. The outlines of the stone blocks
give you lines to draw up to.
This purely wash drawing of
the Tiber at Rome has a few
small speckles of pen work
near the horizon. The tones
vary from very pale in the
distance to gradually
darkening as we approach the
foreground, which is darkest of
all. The dark tone is relieved by
the white patch of the river,
reﬂecting the light sky with a
suggestion of reﬂection in a
softer tone. A brilliant sketch.
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192
Master landscape
painter Claude Lorrain
gives a real lesson in
how to draw nature in
this study of a tree.
Executed with much
feeling but great
economy, the whole
drawing is done in
brushwork.
To try this you need
three different sizes of
brush (try Nos. 0 or 1,
and 6 and 10), all of
them with good points.
Put in the lightest areas
ﬁrst (very dilute ink),
then the medium tones
(more ink less water),
and then the very
darkest (not quite
solid ink).
Notice how Lorrain doesn’t try to draw each
leaf, but makes interesting blobs and scrawls
with the tip of the brush to suggest a leafy
canopy. With the heavier tones he allows the
brush to cover larger areas and in less detail.
He blocks in some very dark areas with the
darkest tone and returns to the point of the
brush to describe branches and some clumps
of leaf.
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193
Line and Wash/Chalk on Toned Paper
CHALK ON TONED PAPER
The use of toned paper can bring an extra dimension to a drawing and is very effective at
producing a three-dimensional effect of light and shade. Whether you are drawing with chalk,
pastel or charcoal it is very important to remember that the paper itself is in effect an implement,
providing all the tones between the extremes of light and dark. You must resist the temptation to
completely obliterate the toned paper in your enthusiasm to cover the whole area with chalk
marks. Study the following examples.
The mid-tone of the paper has
been used to great effect in this
copy of Carpaccio’s drawing of
a Venetian merchant. Small
marks of white chalk pick out
the parts of garments, face and
hair that catch the light. No
attempt has been made to join
up these marks. The dark chalk
has been used similarly: as little
as the artist felt he could get
away with. The medium tone of
the paper becomes the solid
body that registers the bright
lights falling on the ﬁgure. The
darkest tones give the weight
and the outline of the head,
ensuring that it doesn’t just
disappear in a host of small
marks.
This head is drawn simply in a
medium toned chalk on a light paper.
Here the challenge is not to overdo the
details. The tones of the chalk marks
are used to suggest areas of the head,
and deﬁnite marks have been kept to
a minimum.
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194
As we have seen in the examples on the previous spread, the use of toned paper reduces the area
that has to be covered with chalk and heightens the effect of the chalk marks, especially if these
have been made in white. The three illustrations shown here exemplify the range of effects that
can be achieved with toned paper.
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195
Chalk on Toned Paper
In Watteau’s picture of a goddess
(left) the dark outline emphasizes the
figure and limbs, as do the patches of
bright light on the upper facing
surfaces.
The two drawings shown on this page
were executed in white and dark
chalk on medium toned paper. The
approach taken with the first is about
as economical as you can get. The
form of the surface of the girl’s face
and figure is barely hinted at down
one side, with just the slightest
amount of chalk. A similar effect is
achieved on the other side, this time
in dark chalk. The uncovered paper
does much of the rest of the work.
The second drawing takes the use
of dark and light much further,
creating a substantial picture. In
places the white chalk is piled on
and elsewhere is barely visible.
The dark chalk is handled in the
same way. More of the toned
paper is covered, but its
contribution to the overall effect
of the drawing is not diminished
for that.
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196
In this drawing of Psyche, marks have been
made with dark and light chalk, creating a
texture of light which is rather
Impressionistic in ﬂavour. The lines, which
are mostly quite short, go in all directions.
The impression created is of a ﬁgure in the
dark. This is helped by the medium tone of
the paper, which almost disappears under
the pattern of the mark making.
The French neo-classicist master Pierre Paul Prud’hon was a brilliant worker in the medium of
chalk on toned paper. In these copies of examples of his work, he shows us two very effective ways
of using light and dark tones to suggest form.
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197
Chalk on Toned Paper
The chalk marks in this close up are very
disciplined. A whole range of tones is built
from the carefully controlled marks, which
show up the form as though lit from above.
Here, too, the middle tone is mostly covered
over with gradations of black and white.
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198
SCRAPER-BOARD TECHNIQUE
Scraper-board drawing evolved during the early days of photographic reproduction in newspapers
as a response to the needs of advertisers, who wanted to show their wares and products to best
advantage but were limited by the poor quality of the printing processes then available. The
technique gave very clear, precise definition to photographs, and so became the means of
rendering advertisements for newsprint. Over time, of course, the screen printing of photographs
improved so much that it has become just another art technique. Scraper-board does have some
qualities of its own, however. It is similar in some respects to wood engraving, wood cuts or
engraving on metal, although because of the ease of drawing it is more flexible and less time-
consuming.
In this drawing the boatman appearing
across a misty lake or river was first sketched
in pencil, then blocked out in large areas of
ink. The figure of the man, the oars and the
atmospherics were done in diluted ink to
make a paler tone. The boat was drawn in
black ink. Using a scraper-board tool, lines
were carefully scratched across the tonal
areas, reducing their tonal qualities further.
Some areas have few or no scratched lines,
giving a darker tone and an effect of
dimensionality.
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199
Scraper-board Technique
You can see in the two examples below how scraper-board technique lends itself to a certain
formalized way of drawing. The scratch marks can be made to look very decorative. The Christmas
card drawing and lettering is in a very similar technique and has been produced using both
scraper-board and pen and ink. The main effort is taken up with making the shapes decorative and
giving the main lines a textural quality; this is achieved by using either a brush or the side of a
flexible nib.
Using the Technique
Scraper-board technique is
similar to cross-hatching
with a pencil, although
with the former you are
drawing white on black, of
course. The surface of the
board can be scratched
over several times, as long
as the marks have not cut
too deeply into the china
clay. Any areas that need to
be strengthened or
corrected can be filled in
with ink. Correcting lines
using this technique is very
easy: you just scratch out
the wrong bits and redraw
them.
The top illustration was
first drawn in black ink.
The areas of ink were
then gone over using the
scraper tool to reduce the
heaviness of the shaded
areas and clean up the
edges to achieve the shape
required.
The Christmas card
drawing is mainly thick
line in brush with a few
lines in pen added after-
wards to provide details.
The scraper tool was then
used to sharpen up the
outline and the spaces
between the areas of black.
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200
BLOTTING TECHNIQUE
First used by illustrators in the 1950s, this technique was made famous by Andy Warhol in his
fashion illustrations. The idea is to take a piece of ordinary cartridge paper, or blotting paper –
either will achieve the same effect – and fold it in half. After drawing each line in ink you blot it into
the opposite side of the page (see illustrations below). You have to take a painstaking approach,
blotting as you build up the drawing, because otherwise the ink dries too quickly. A dip-pen is the
best tool, because modern graphic pens don’t produce ink that is wet enough.
1. Draw a line. 2. Fold paper over to blot the
ink on the opposite side.
3. Draw your next line and repeat the
procedure, folding your paper over to
blot the ink on the opposite side.
Producing an Effect
Generally it is best to draw only a few
lines at a time and then blot them
immediately. If you draw too many
lines before blotting them the ink will
dry and the point of using this
technique will be lost. However, you
have to experiment with timings and
weight of line, because sometimes a
pleasing effect can result from an
unpromising start. In the last drawing
on the opposite page, for example,
the multiple lines on the face dried so
quickly that the blotted version
looked much less tonal than the
original. I liked the effect, though,
and didn’t try to change it. How you
want your ﬁnished drawing to look is
up to you.
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201
Blotting Technique
Original drawing
Original drawing
Blotted version
Blotted version
Blotted version
Original drawing
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202
In this example the gouache on the edge of
the card was almost dry when it was used to
paint the clouds and front surface of the
house. For the roof and dark trees in the
background the card was very wet and full
of paint.
CARD-EDGE TECHNIQUE
This technique was invented at about the same time as the blotting technique we’ve just looked
at. The first step is to cut out small pieces of card. The edges of these are then dipped into soft wet
paint (gouache designer colours are best) and used to draw lines onto a blank sheet. The effect is
initially very strong, becoming fainter and fainter as the paint gets used up or dries.
Like blotting technique, it is a slow process and you cannot produce much in the way of
curved shapes, but the end result can be very powerful. In terms of how it is used and the effects
that can be achieved with it, it is rather similar to painting with a palette knife.
New Horizons
The use of gouache paint to make a drawing is not an attempt to introduce you to
painting, although I would be surprised if you were not interested in doing that as well as
drawing. Merely it illustrates a point I have already made, that you should feel free to draw
with whatever takes your fancy. An artist cannot be limited by notions of what is proper
for him or her to use as a medium. Ultimately the choice is yours. When exercising this
choice, try to be inquisitive and adventurous. Any use of a new medium will help your
drawing, because it makes you re-assess how you actually produce the finished article.
Never use only one medium, even if you prefer it over all others. Your life as an artist is
an ever-expanding view of the universe, and if you stick with only one or a select few you
will find your artistic horizons narrowing and your work becoming predictable and
repetitive. Don’t be afraid of what you don’t know. Once you start working with a new
medium you will be surprised how quickly you appreciate its qualities and find ways of
adapting them to your purpose.
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203
Card-edge Technique/Silver-Point Technique
SILVER-POINT TECHNIQUE
The last and probably for most people the least likely technique to be attempted is silver-point
drawing, the classic method used in the times before pencils were invented. Many drawings by
Renaissance artists were made in this way. Anybody interested in producing very precise
drawings should try this most reﬁned and effective technique.
First you have to buy a piece of silver wire (try a jeweller or someone who deals in precious
metals) about a millimetre thick and about three inches long. This is either held in a wooden
handle taped to it or – the better option – within a clutch-action propelling pencil that takes wire
of this thickness. Then you cover a piece of cartridge paper (use fairly thick paper because it is less
likely to buckle) with a wash of permanent white gouache designer paint; the coat must cover the
whole surface and mustn’t be either too thick or too watery. When the white paint has dried, you
draw onto it with the silver wire; ensure that the end of the wire is smooth and rounded to prevent
it tearing the paper. Don’t press too hard. The silver deposits a very ﬁne silky line, like a pencil,
but lasts much longer. Silver point is a very nice material to draw with. I thoroughly recommend
that you make the effort to try it. It’s very rewarding as well as instructive.
To use silver point
you need to
prepare a
background to
draw onto. I drew
this example onto
white paint with a
bit of reddish-
brown mixed in.
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205
Art Appreciation
There are other ways to improve your drawing abilities apart
from practising. One approach that is rather pleasurable as
well as instructive is to go to as many exhibitions of drawings
and paintings as you can. Even if it means travelling a fair
distance, this is very worthwhile. Not only does it widen your
education in art by making you familiar with first-rate artists,
but you will also begin to refine your own perceptions, finding
higher levels to aim for in your own work. I myself visit Italy
every year to show people around the great works of art in
places such as Florence, Venice, Rome and Naples and always
find the stimulation very useful for my own work. But don’t
only look at work by historic masters. Also make the attempt
to visit galleries that show the work of current artists, because
it is always very instructive to see what your contemporaries
are doing and often fuels your own ideas for new directions in
your own work.
By your practice of drawing and this appreciation of the
art around you, you will experience a measurable upgrading
of your own perceptions and understanding of the
possibilities at your disposal. This can be great fun as well as
uplifting. In any country there are large urban centres where
the nation’s art is gathered for the public to view, but also you
find small colonies of artists tucked away in all sorts of small
towns and villages, and their work is worth looking out.
Finally, of course, prints and books are very good sources of
art appreciation. If you can’t afford to buy them, there are vast
libraries full of them where they can be studied for free.
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206
ART APPRECIATION
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
When viewing the work of other artists, try to analyze what makes it so attractive to you. Ask yourself
questions. Don’t be ashamed or coy if some of your answers suggest that your response is of a
religious or spiritual nature. These are often the truest reasons why we like a work and should be
acknowledged. Whatever the chord that is struck when you perceive a work, recognition of it will
lead you towards understanding your own work and the direction it might take.
There is room for all sorts of artists in this world and one of the great freedoms of modern art
practitioners is that they have completely redeﬁned the reasons behind art. They may not be right,
or you may not agree with them, but the freedom to ﬁnd your own way towards art appreciation is
of tremendous value.
When looking at art, question your own perceptions. Is it the subject matter? Is it
the technical brilliance of the artist? Is it the colour? Is it the form? Is it the
medium used to produce the work? Is it the subtler ideas behind the form? Is it
because it reminds you of someone? All these questions are valid. Many more will
undoubtedly occur to you. The main point is to discover your true response to a
picture that attracts you. Sometimes the answer is very simple, but sometimes the
appreciation lies much deeper within yourself and will take some unearthing.
Persevere and your reward will be considerable.
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207
What Do You See?
When looking at reproductions of famous
works, notice where these works are held. If it
is somewhere near enough for you to visit, do
so. No matter how good the quality of a
reproduction, the original possesses an extra
dimension, and this will leap out at you as
soon as you set eyes on the actual work. It is
rather like discovering an old friend and
seeing them totally afresh. First-hand
knowledge of an original also helps to
inform you of what is missing when you try
to draw from a print of it. Without that
knowledge you could not begin to make up
for the lack.
Don’t try to look at everything. Wait until something really arouses your
attention, and then give it your full attention. Spend at least three
minutes just looking in detail at everything in the picture, without
commenting. Then your questioning of what is in front of you will be
very useful in clarifying your understanding.
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208
ART APPRECIATION
ENGAGING WITH LIFE
We have now come full circle. Good art contains an essential ingredient that has to be experienced
directly from the work. For this ingredient to be present the artist himself almost certainly must
have direct experience of what he is communicating. Drawing from life is therefore of paramount
importance. When faced with real people, animals, objects, landscapes, townscapes, whatever, the
artist has to assess and then render shape, proportion, tonal variation, perspective and anatomy
without losing the verisimilitude of the experience. Obviously, there is some simpliﬁcation and
selection of what is exactly seen. Even so, this is a pretty tall order, and it is because talented artists
try to do this all the time that their work is so good. Never forget: drawing from life will increase
your ability to draw well. Drawing from drawings or photographs, or making up out of your head
are valid, but if you don’t return often to the natural visible world your drawings will never be
convincing. Quite apart from the beneﬁts it confers, it is the most interesting way to draw, and
interest is what keeps art fresh and alive, both for the artist and the viewer.
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Advanced drawing skills by blixer

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