First Homework Assignment

Art 141: Drawing I and ART 140 Fundamentals of Drawing

Priscilla Roggenkamp

Outside of Class Assignment #1: Contour drawing of natural forms in space

Materials: 18”x24" white sulfite drawing paper; soft graphite, vine or compressed charcoal, Sharpie, or other mark making instrument creatively chosen by you, the artist.

Select a vantage point from which you can see at least three distinct layers of foliage in space.  Do a detailed drawing of the network of branches and leaves with slow contour lines, paying attention to the nuances of each shape.  Don’t forget to use negative shapes to inform your observations.  Be sure to think compositionally and to fill the whole page.  Describe these forms with contour lines that vary in tonal weight. 

As you follow the contour of the subject, vary the pressure you exert on your drawing instrument in response to the three-dimensionality of the forms: as they come toward you, increase the pressure to create more pronounced lines; as they move away from you, make the contour gradually lighter to signal this spatial change.  Take some chances with the lines and make some more expressive marks when you feel you are in a good observational rhythm. 

All lines must be single weight: no double-marking allowed. 

Linear elements only:  no value allowed.

Create 6 drawings.  It would be ideal to do one drawing per day, as a kind of visual diary of your observational process, and date each drawing.

Due Date:  Thursday, September 4th.

Grades will be based on:

1.   Accuracy of your observations (how well the drawings reveal the details and the structure of the branches and leaves).

2.   Line quality, both for visual interest and for expressive quality.

3.   How clearly the drawings present an illusion of space by means of the line variation.

4.   Cleanliness and professionalism of presentation (don’t forget to apply fixative to media that tends to smear).

*Some information taken from: Howard J. Smagula, Creative Drawing, 2^nd edition. McGraw-Hill publishers, 2002, Boston, Massachusetts, p. 87.