By Artists & Illustrators | Fri 13th Dec 2013
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An expert on Renaissance-style techniques, the Classical Art Academy founder Martin Close explains how to paint accurate shapes and forms
1. Practise on scrap paper. Expensive paper can be intimidating. By practising on cheap lining paper from a DIY store, or even brown packing paper, you alleviate such issues. The reduced value of the paper affords more practice – it is better to do three separate 20-minute drawings than one drawing across a whole hour.
2. Think inside the box. Imagine your subject is contained within a box. What shape must the box be and how big are you going to draw it? Mark out the imagined box on your paper as faintly as possible. Getting the box right will not only help you reproduce the correct shape, it will also serve as a point of reference between the subject as you see it and the drawing on the page.
3. Work the angles. It’s difficult for us humans to judge lengths correctly, but we’re really good at angles. By estimating the angle between two fi xed points you can reproduce their position within the box of your drawing.
4. Begin as a sculptor. would Rather than proceeding to the outline of the subject, use straight lines to cut away what isn’t needed from the box. Imagine a sculptor cutting away the marble he or she doesn’t need before beginning to carve. Doing this will focus you on the negative shape around the subject, as well as the subject itself. If the negative shape is correct, the positive shape will be too.
5. Use the 4-8-8 method. Simplify your shape before putting in detail using one set of four lines and two sets of eight. The first four define the box and another eight cutaway from it to fi nd the basic proportion and gesture lines of the subject. The fi nal eight straight lines represent the main shape. You can’t do a detailed drawing in just 20 lines – limit yourself to defi ning the correct proportion, gesture and shape of your subject. These three things are the foundation of your drawing and if you have them wrong, no amount of detailing will make them right!
6. Simplify tonal values. Over your 20 lines, draw the main light and dark shapes en masse using just two tones: black and white. Simplifying is essential to seeing and drawing the tones correctly. Try making a study of a plaster cast in charcoal with just black and white values, similar to the ones pictured right. If the proportion, gesture and shape lines are correct then this study should look right.
7. Introduce complex tones in stages. Once your lights and your darks are drawn, identify the mid-tone and draw it in where it appears. From these three tones, you can find two more mid-tones making five in total. Each of these should be drawn on in turn. On white paper, charcoal can deliver atleast nine distinct tones in this way and, with practice, you will become adept at finding them.
For more information on the Classical Art Academy visit www.classicalartacademy.co.uk
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