Drawing - Color

               The entire world is painted in color, from the blue sky to the green grass. Imagine a world without color.  It would be gloomy and depressing. Color is one of the most important aspects of a place. Every day we look at hundreds of different shades. I decided the topic of my last post should be color.

             

             A surprising fact is that color doesn’t really exist. It’s just a reflection of light. During the seventeenth century Isaac Newton did an experiment using a prism and a white light. He discovered that objects actually have no real color, they merely absorbed light rays, and the color that wasn’t absorbed is reflected to our eyes. (Lauer 226).

               

              There are hundreds of different color properties, but I decided to focus on using cool and warm colors. David Lauer, author of the book Design Basics, explains the concept of warm colors saying, “Touching an area of red will assuredly not burn your hand, but looking at red will induce a feeling of warmth” (Lauer 239). Warm colors are reds, yellows, and anything similar to these. You think of warm things when you see them like the sun, or a fire. Cool colors are blues, greens, and purples. In contrast to being reminded of heat, cool colors remind you of ice or snow.

              

           I wasn't sure what I wanted to draw, so I turned to Google for inspiration. Eventually, I decided to draw scenery with hills and a beautiful sunset in the background. First, I lightly drew an outline of where I wanted everything to be with a pencil. Then I drew out three trees with a black sharpie. Next, I colored in the hills with colors like green blue and purple. Finally, I drew a sun and colored the sky with yellow, orange, pink, and red. The warm sky, contrasts the cool hills. I really enjoyed not only learning more about using color in art, but also a scientific background on what color was.

Do you prefer to use color, or leave your drawings black and white?

Where do you see color in the world?

Lauer, David A. Design Basics. third ed., Thomson Learning, 1990.

Drawing - Scale/ Proportion

          After looking through what techniques were left in my book Design Basics by David A. Lauer, I decided to try drawing something with different scales/proportions for my next piece. These two words are very similar, as they both relate to size, however are slightly different “Scale essentially is another word for size; ‘large scale’ is a way of saying big, and ‘small scale’ means small… Proportion refers to relative size, size measured against other elements or against some mental norm or standard” (Lauer 80). I attempted this technique by drawing a simple flower with a lady bug sitting on one of its petals. The flower is considered large scale because it takes up most of the space on the paper, and takes up most of our visual attention. The lady bug is the small scale, since in comparison with the flower, it is much tinier, and can be looked over at first glance.

          First, I started by sketching the flower. This seems very simple, but I had to draw it twice because I was unhappy with the way the petals looked the first time; some petals were too long, or too wide. Once I was happy with the way the petals looked, I drew the little lady bug. Next, I outlined the pencil lines in black, and colored everything in. This is the first drawing I used color in and I’m really happy with how it turned out.  I feel it made the piece stand out much more.

          Tying this piece pack to my first piece, scale and proportion often go with emphasis and focal point. Large scale is a visual emphasis, and the eye naturally is drawn to the largest figure in a piece, creating a focal point. (Lauer 80). This just shows how everything is connected. Most pieces have multiple art elements or techniques used. Trying out so many new techniques has helped me increase my knowledge and skills on drawing.

Have you ever drawn something using scale and proportion?

What’s your favorite drawing technique?

Lauer, David A. Design Basics. third ed., Thomson Learning, 1990.

Drawing - Value

               Over the break I decided to spend my extra time working on improving my drawing skills. For this piece, I created something using value. “Value is simply the artistic form for light and dark” (Lauer 214). To use this technique I drew a feather, making the bottom very dark, and lighter towards the top.

              

             I started by drawing the outline of the feather and created multiple sections inside. Then I filled in the bottom and worked my way up each section, making each one lighter. I used my finger to blend out the pencil and shade the top, so it would flow smoothly. Shading and blending has always scared me, and I never thought my art skills were advanced enough to use, but trying it out really helped me develop my abilities. I found that adding shading and using different blending techniques can make a drawing more realistic and three - dimensional.

              

              Value - contrast is the relationship between areas of dark and light. Since my drawing goes from light to dark in a consecutive order, the contrast between two connecting areas is very small and considered a low-value contrast. (Lauer 214). A high value contrast example would be an area where black and white touch. The difference in these shades is extreme.

            I'm really happy I decided to try something outside of my comfort zone because I was able to learn something new to apply in the future. Now I know a technique that will allow me to create drawings that are more realistic.

Have you ever tried using value in your artwork, and if you have, do you like it?

Do you think adding light and dark elements makes a piece look more realistic?

Lauer, David A. Design Basics. third ed., Thomson Learning, 1990.