Monday 5 April 2010
Thursday 21 January 2010
Exercise: sweeping marks
The course notes suggested trying out various ways of holding the pencil / drawing implement.
When experimenting with this, I discovered I do use a variety of ways to hold the pencil / charcoal, etc, but this tends to be prompted more by my physical environment (how much space I have, how long the pencil is) than a conscious choice about what type of effect I require.
I tried each of the different ways of holding the pencil and noted the different results that I achieved. The main variables were what part of the pencil point was being used (more detailed, finer lines being achieved with the pencil held almost vertically, much broader strokes being achieved from using the side of the pencil point) and how much pressure was put on the pencil. Using the position with the thumb on top of the pencil meant I could achieve a lot of pressure and very dark lines.
I was also able to achieve different qualities of lines depending on the direction of the pencil in relation to the direction of the stroke.
I found that using the pen encouraged me to hold it in a more ‘standard’ way.
Interestingly, although until I started this course I had never drawn on anything larger than A4, I soon found A3 paper to be a bit restrictive for this exercise and will repeat it with A2 paper. I would also like to try this on an easel.
Exercise – making marks
Still on the subject of making marks, this time using marks to build up form.
I drew a grid of 5cm squares and used different implements in each to imply form.
I discovered that I have a natural tendency towards a very unstructured variation of cross hatching, and this works well with a biro or a fine pen such as the Pilot Drawing pen. I found the dip pen a bit more restrictive due to the natural ‘direction’ of the nib and the limitations this imposes.
I also experimented using unstructured scribbled lines to build up shadow, and I liked this look. It reminded me of pen and ink illustrations in some children’s books that I have seen, and I have taken a note to explore this as a source of material for learning / inspiration.
I used a very soft pencil (6B) to build up a ‘wash’ of graduated tones which was quite successful and is something I intend to practice.
I did use charcoal in this exercise but found the 5cm box a little restrictive given its nature. I resisted the temptation to ‘smudge’ it into lighter grey colours to give form as the notes suggested that this is a technique to avoid.
I used coloured pencils, in layers, to suggest shapes and forms, and enjoyed this. I noticed the different results to be gained from using a very sharp pencil as opposed to a pencil blunted through normal use. The sharp pencil gave more of a ‘cross hatching’ appearance, whereas the blunter pencil gave more of a ‘wash’. My coloured pencils (prismacolour) seem quite soft and waxy compared to other pencils I have used in the past (e.g. WH Smiths’ own make) and the results were correspondingly softer.
Once again, I felt perhaps most comfortable when using a biro or a pen. I wonder if this stems from having mainly produced doodles in the past and I have taken a note to continue practising with other implements to address this!
Exercise 1 – Making Marks
The first exercises have been about making marks on the paper. For this exercise I mainly used A3, medium texture cartridge paper.
I started off simply by doodling lines, shapes, and shading free form onto the paper, using a variety of different pencils.
My observations included:
- it was tricky to work at a large size with a soft pencil and to maintain a constant quality of line throughout because the pencil quickly wore down to a thicker, blunter stub. This affected the amount of detail that I could achieve. Turning the pencil round to use a sharper edge of the point resulted in a thinner, darker line.
- Harder pencils held more detail but didn’t achieve so much contrast in tone.
- Softer pencils made more use of the paper texture.
- Charcoal on cartridge paper gives very black, almost inky results. It is easier to draw thicker, imprecise lines than thinner, detailed lines. It was easy to see how charcoal could be used to imply form through the use of shadows and dark tones. At the same time, it would be easy to overwork the charcoal. The dust generated by the use of charcoal did dirty the ‘clean’ areas, and even blowing it away would leave a residue.
- I found the dip pen one of the most exciting tools to use. I found it gave a variable and dynamic line. Further interest can be introduced by deliberately causing ink blots. I particularly liked the look of shading built up of layers and layers of fine pen strokes.
- I didn’t find the PITT artist pens to be as versatile or as attractive in use as the dip pen. I used a variety of thicknesses (S, F, M, and B) but they all gave a ‘felt pen’ feel to the drawing.
- On the other hand, the Pilot drawing pen (01), which was much finer and harder, required so many strokes to build up a reasonably thick line that the end result became almost as dynamic, although in a different way perhaps, to the dip pen.
- I was surprised how ‘firm’ the bamboo pen was – it felt like drawing with a stick. Also, the ‘nib’ is not as efficient as that of the dip pen and therefore I discovered a tendency for the lines to start out quite thick before tapering quickly to a finer line as the ink began to run out. Once I had discovered this, I was able to start using this feature. I felt the bamboo pen was most useful for larger detail.
