Lesson 2: Line An Essential Ingredient.
Drawing Exercises.
Types of Line Drawings
- Contour Drawing and Blind Contour Drawing (a.)Contour Drawing is a process of line drawing where one must concentrate on a single point and follow the contours of the body. This process should be done in one long continuous line to mimic the way that the eye works. When doing a contour drawing, you are improving your eye-hand coordination, an important skill in both art and athletics.
- (b.)Blind Contour Drawing infers that one is not looking at the figure. In fact, the process of blind contour drawing is just the opposite. You must look only at the figure and "feel" your way across the paper. This takes quite a bit of practice because we have been taught to constantly look at the paper as we draw.
- Quick Exercise. Imagine that you have a piece of glass separating you from the object that you are drawing. On that invisible piece of glass, pretend to trace the form of the pear. Using your pencil, trace around the object while closing one eye and focusing on the pencil tip. Concentrate on the object and its surface, not just its silhouette. At this point you are moving your eye and hand in unison. Once you feel comfortable with this process, place your pad and paper on your lap and focus on one single point. Move your eye along the contours of the object and move your hand at the same rate of speed across the paper. DO NOT LOOK AT THE PAPER. Keep the speed slow because you are trying to move your hand at the same rate of speed as your eye. The end result may not make sense as you think of a picture, but there will be small portions which will be very specific and detailed. These areas are the small parts that will eventually make up the finished drawing. Your organization of these elements will improve with practice. It is simply the same process as tracing, only the paper is not sitting on top of another picture.
- Gesture Drawing. Because the eye is the guide, a gesture drawing is closely related to contour drawing. Unlike a contour drawing, a gesture drawing focuses on energy and motion, not on the object itself.
