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Drawing Accurately: Rendering and Measuring

Rendering is the act of drawing exactly what something looks like, transferring the world of three dimensional space into the flat world of two dimensional space. Two dimensional space is vastly different than our world of three dimensional space. One of the keys to rendering is to draw what you see, which is not necessarily what you think you see or know. The brain does not analyze carefully mechanics of the foreshortening and perspective of your ever-changing, moving view to understand your placement in space and what is around you. That careful analyzation would prevent you from functioning as it takes far too much time. Thus what you know to be true in the space such as the ceiling is parallel to the floor is not what you are actually seeing as the physically parallel lines seem to converge as they move away from you. In order to differentiate seeing from knowing, you must measure.

Measuring is the system used to transfer a singular view of the three dimensional world and plot it as it would be mapped on a two dimensional surface. You imagine a flat, transparent plane in front of your view, then you plot and measure where objects in your view would lie on that flat imaginary plane. As you figure that out, you document it by drawing the measurements or coordinates on your flat piece of paper.

Measuring Tips

1. Always measure with your arm fully extended to stay consistent.

2. Freeze one element of your drawing right away (the height or width of something). It cannot change as it is absolutely perfect. It will be the anchor of your drawing. It is also the yardstick that you use to measure every other element of your drawing. Your whole drawing will based on that element. Its relative size when measuring should be less than the length of a pencil when the arm is fully extended - somewhere around half a length is good. You do not need to draw to scale, that is the exact same size that you see, but the frozen element should not be longer than a pencil in your drawing in order to be a manageable measuring unit.

3. Imagine a flat plane parallel to your eyes (like a window) and all your measurements must remain flush

on the axis of that plane as if pressed against glass to simulate the flatness of the paper you are drawing on. Your measuring tool cannot penetrate into space as you cannot draw a line other than on the flat surface of the paper. Your measurements are trying to imitate how a line should represent an object on the surface of the paper.

4. There are many different ways to measure angles:

a. Hold a pencil level and parallel to your eyes. Raise or lower the pencil keeping it level until it intersects the angle you are trying to draw. Notice which side of the pencil the angle hits first and look at the proportions of the wedge or negative space between the angle and the pencil. Draw that simple shape.

b. Hold the pencil vertically and let the angle intersect the pencil like a cross or X. Reproduce that exact same X shape.

c. Use 2 pencils. Hold one vertically and pivot the other so that it overlaps or traces the angle. Now bring the 2 pencils down to your paper without shifting the angle.

d. Physically trace the angle back and forth in the air to take in the knowledge kinesthetically. Your muscles are learning the angle with your eye. You are taking in the information in 2 different ways to better understand it. When you draw, your muscle memory of the angle will help guide your hand.

e. Plot, measure and locate the starting and stopping points of the angle. Put a dot at each point. Connect the dots and the angle draws itself.

Formula Shading

Formula Shading is a set of conventions in which artists use tone to create the illusion of three dimensional space on a flat surface. You should apply these conventions even when drawing from life to make your drawing have a sense of volume.

1. When the form or subject has a bend or a corner, the tone should change in value drastically to communicate that physical change.

2. As a plane on a form (like a table top) recedes back in space, its tone should shift to show depth. A subtle shift in tone either towards dark or light communicates depth.

3. When a highlight or core shadow is on an outside edge, the form is flattened. Use reflected light and let the highlight darken as it approaches an edge to make a form seem round.

4. The darkest part of the light is still lighter than the lightest part of the shade. The reflected light is still darker than the darkest part of the light.

5. Outlines flatten form.

6. Form shadows tend to have soft edges, cast shadows tend to have sharp edges. Shadows are transparent and lighten as they become more distant from their source.

7. Color: true local color is in the light. Highlights are lighter and may use a bit of complement for emphasis. Shadows and shade are cooler and grey.

8. Highlights follow the viewer, shadows are fixed based on the light source.

Aerial or Atmospheric Perspective

Rules of change for making a two dimensional picture plane appear three dimensional. Constant Change makes us perceive space!

1. PLACEMENT

A. Size. Objects of the same size appear smaller as they become more distant. Example: A tree in the foreground should be drawn larger than a tree of the same size seen in the background. Rules of perspective help to achieve this effect.

B. Overlapping. Objects drawn overlapping other objects help the viewer to understand the sense of space and to determine which objects are closer than others.

C. Objects drawn close to the top and bottom edge of the drawing seem close and objects drawn near middle or horizon seem far.

2. DETAIL

Objects that are closer appear bigger and thus have more visible detail. Detail and texture will be present and sharper in the foreground. The size and scale of your mark making used to render the image might also change from foreground to background.

3. VALUE

The greatest contrast of light and dark is in the foreground because the foreground has the areas of brightest light and darkest dark. As a light area recedes in space it darkens in value to a soft gray tone and a dark area must lighten as it recedes. So in the background there exists only medium grays and thus little contrast. In any case value should change as it recedes.

4. COLOR

Color appears more intense or saturated in the foreground and weakens or grays and cools as it recedes. (Also, we tend to perceive warm and light colors as close, dark and cool colors as distant.) Either a change in hue, temperature or saturation will cause color to recede in space.

Notes on the Elements and Principles of Design

The Elements of Design are the visual pieces that make up a work of art, they are the vocabulary one could use to describe all the visual aspects of a work. Art is a visual language that is not taught in the way we learn conventional language and thus is a mystery to many who have not had experience decoding or understanding it. Being able to evaluate a work of art using by looking at the individual elements and then the principles by which the elements organized or presented gives the viewer an opportunity to begin to understand the work. People are used to hearing sounds that they don’t understand in instrumental music, but accepting images they don’t immediately understand can for some reason be stressful. It is easy to judge whether are not you like a work and that can often be done in a second or two. What is far more interesting and enlightening is to try to understand why the artist liked the work and what he or she is trying to communicate with it. Start by identifying and describing the elements that make up a work, and then notice how the artists used the principles of design to organize the elements into a final statement or image and you will have begun to decode the mystery of the artist’s visual language.

The 8 Elements are:

Color The hue of each element. Can be described by hue, value, saturation (vivid, dull, tint, shade, tone) and temperature. The one irreducible element. The data sent from the retina to the visual cortex is comprised of color and position information only. As we process this information, which we call perception, the other elements such as line, shape texture emerges.

Value (an element of color but considered a separate element of design as work can be without color.) Lightness or darkness. Change in value can reveal shape and a gradation in value can reveal form.

Line Can be a mark or an edge or even implied. Is essentially abstract and 2D having mostly length but also some width and can varying quality, Thick Thin, light dark, smooth, rough, varied even, etc.

Shape Flat area, 2d, contained by its length and width, defined by an edge, line, change in color or value. Pieces that can make up a picture. The perception of shape regardless of confusing factors such as foreshortening and overlapping has obvious survival value. We perceive the simplest possible “explanation” of retinal input.

Form It is round, full, sculptural not flat. It is the 3D “shape, area or part” defined by its length, width and depth

Space The area around or contained by shape and form, and the illusion of depth created or implied on a 2 d surface such as paper or canvas. This can be achieved thru liner perspective, overlap, placement, size, and changes in color, value, detail and markmaking called Ariel perspective.

Texture refers to both surface or tactile qualities of an artwork piece and the illusion of surface quality within the artwork. Can be thickness or smoothness of material, brushstroke and mark making or the imitation of a material or surface.

(8Th Element - not on any list. Very little in art is absolute and amount of elements vary from list to list but if we are using the term element in it’s literal sense, then one very important and crucial element is missing from the list,. What is it? We are only talking visual elements here. Although a work of art can be said to “stink” that usually is meant metaphorically, not literally. A work could conceivable emit an odor, a sound or even have a flavor but what last visual element could a work have? - Materials What is the work made of. Materials and use of materials are fundamental when describing the visual aspects of an artwork.)

Seven Principles of Design How an artist organizes or uses the visual elements

Balance refers to the distribution of visual weight and object placement. Can’t escape our perception of gravity and physics, even abstractly. A small detailed or complex object with have more interest and thus visual weight than a large simple shape. Lots of different ways to achieve balance: does not have to be symmetrical. Intention use of off balance or diagonals implies movement or instability or an uneasy psychological state.

Rhythm The movement of the eye is guided by a repetition of objects, brushstrokes, mark making or pattern that ties the elements of the composition together the way a beat holds a melody together in music.

Pattern Using a repetition as a subject, becoming almost a texture. The repetition of a form or module diffuses attention across an area. A module is the irreducible unity of a pattern. It can be planned or random, regular or irregular and can evoke rhythms in nature, emotions, organize content. or be purely formal. Pattern increases visual excitement by enriching surface interest such as in architecture.

Movement Not literal movement of objects which could be subject of a piece but visual movement meaning the predictable paths that the eye wanders throughout the composition following a shape, along an edge or to a focal point.

Contrast Adds visual interest. Like in a story, something has to happen, there has to be a bad character to contrast against a good character to make things interesting. By changing an objects shape, color, value, texture, detail, orientation, scale the artist differentiates them from the rest.

Emphasis This is how an artist begins to tell his or her story by making something more important. Using contrast, placement, scale, balance, detail etc.

Unity or Harmony, how all the elements of the artwork both physically and conceptually unite to make a cohesive and finished whole. A sense that everything belongs and is working consistently together to achieve the same look, mood, or to tell the story. The brain seeks out pattern and unity so repetition of shapes, grouping of objects, continuity of an edge will unite objects. To achieve harmony repeat colors, textures, lines, shapes patterns and other formal elements. By using color and texture in more than one place various parts relate to one another and have something in common. Arrange a path for the eye to follow.