An introduction to drawing for use in Art I and Art II High School Visual Art Classrooom. Warm-up questions are at the end of the presentation.

1. Drawing-
The Foundation
“A drawing must bring life to the space which
surrounds it. “ Henri Matisse

2. Blind Contour as Art

3. Blind Contour
Tape your drawing paper to the table or
board.
Draw a picture of our your hand without
looking at your paper.
Use one continuous line using your whole It is acceptable to draw
arm, not just your wrist. Don’t pick your back over lines to get
from one point to
medium off the paper until you are done. another
Challenge yourself by overlapping hands of
different colors on top of one another. Do
this by turning your paper 90 degrees each
time you finish a drawing.

4. Student Example –
Blind Contour

5. Contour Drawing (not blind)
Contour Lines describe the shape of an object, and
include interior detail.
Using one continuous line, sketch your hand. This time
you can look at your paper. Go slow and draw every
single crease and wrinkle in your hand!
Common mistakes are drawing sausage fingers too fast
and then picking up your pencil to draw the creases. 

6. What makes a good work of
art?
Let’s brainstorm what makes a good work
of art on the Smart Board.
Everyone needs to say at least one thing!

7. What makes a good work of
art?
Consider such criteria as: good design, harmonious
relationships among parts, craftsmanship, the
aesthetic response the work provokes, whether it
was intended to be seen as a work of art.
In small groups pick works of art in your textbooks
that illustrate and support you and your groups
definitions.

8. Scribbling Exercise & A New
Pencil GRIP
Tape your drawing paper to the table or board and hold
your pencil in the drawing grasp rather than a writing
grasp.
Fill up your paper with scribble either using 1 type of
pencil or changing it for another.
Use as many scribble as possible, long, short or broken
scribbles, overlap and cover the page.
Remember to keep your hand loose and your fingers
relaxed. Don’t grip your drawing implement too hard.

9. Pencil Leads

10. Media Information
There have been crude pencils for over 300 years and pencils
similar to those we use today with the writing materials
encased in wood, since the 19th Century. The center and
writing part of the pencil, called the lead, is a mixture of
graphite and clay. The tiny flakes of graphite rub off the
pencil and onto the texture of the paper. Pencils are available
with a variety of different leads for different purposes. A
hard lead is necessary for tiny numbers and exact images
while a soft lead is used for drawing and shading. The softest
pencils are labeled B for bold and the hardest are labeled H.
Numbers with these letters indicate the degree of hardness or
softness. A 6H pencil is harder than a 3H pencil.

11. Vocabulary
Gradate – To gradate is to change from one thing into
another by imperceptible degrees. In drawing we change
values, light into dark and then dark into light, in a very
gradual transition.
Model – To model an object is to cause it to take on a
three dimensional appearance, by gradually changing the
color or tone.
Line – A line, a basic element of design, is the path of a
point moving through space. In drawing, we are
reducing the image we wish to recreate into either
straight or curved lines.

12. Negative Space
What is the subject
of this drawing by
Katelyn Gomez?
How can we apply
this to drawing a
still life of fruit or
bottles?

13. Negative Space

14. Calligraphy
Orchids and Rocks
1644
Gu Mei , (Chinese, 1619-1664)
Qing dynasty - Ink on satin
H: 28.5 W: 1033.5 cm - Nanjing, China

15. Calligraphy The word calligraphy means beautiful
handwriting. Calligraphy is often
associated with Asian writing and art. In
China and Japan, calligraphy is used to
form characters that represent the
language. However, characters are more
than just a letter of the alphabet. They
are like pictures. They can represent an
idea, an object, or a verbal sound.
Chinese and Japanese use the same
types of calligraphic lines and
brushstrokes in their paintings.
Calligraphic lines are usually made with
brushstrokes that change from thin to
thick in one stroke.
http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/china/calligraphy/standardScript.asp
http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/singleObject.cfm?ObjectNumber=F1898.423

16. Calligraphy Calligraphy, or beautiful writing, is the most
revered form of artistic expression in the Islamic
world, for it was through the act of writing that
the Koran, the word of God revealed in a series of
revelations to the Prophet Muhammad, was
recorded and given visual form.
Consequently, the Arabic script was continuously
refined and imaginatively embellished to become
the most recognizable and ubiquitous symbol of
Islam. Adapted to every possible surface—from
monumental stone structures to delicate silk
robes—words, both religious and secular, were
employed not only to impart information, but
also to lend visual beauty to these works.
http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/islamic/calligraphy1.htm

17. Calligraphy Contrary to the assumption that the Koran
prohibits figurative representation, it only warns
against the creation and worship of idols to
prevent idolatry. Fueled by more orthodox
interpretations of Islam, however, religious
disapproval of figural representation took hold
shortly after the Prophet's death in 632. In
general, Korans, religious structures, and the
furnishings for these spaces are devoid of figural
imagery and adorned primarily with abstract
motifs and calligraphy. Figural representation, on
the other hand, is found on works of art created
for use in a private, secular context. In part, the
religious prohibitions encouraged the
development of a distinct abstract decorative
language that became another principle feature
of the arts of the Islamic world.

18. Break it Down!
Cezanne considered
shapes to be the
basic forms; the
sphere, cone, and
cylinder.

19. Break it Down!

20. Media Exploration
Draw a straight line
Make 2 lines that are exactly the same
Draw curved lines, moving only your fingers.
Draw curved lines with your whole arm, keeping your wrist locked
Hold your pencil at an angle and draw with the side of the lead and draw
a spiral, looping down and down, using relaxed and easy movements.
Draw a very dark patch.
Draw a very pale, faint line.
Draw a circle shape. Pick a spot to be the palest area and use the spot
farthest away (opposite) from it to be the darkest area. Change the circle
into a sphere by modeling evenly, gradating from light to dark.
Draw a rectangle and gradate it from dark at the bottom to light on top.
Experiment on your own.
Do all of the above on a separate sheet of paper AGAIN and create a
composition.

21. Media Exploration

22. Letter Exercise
Divide your drawing paper into 3 columns and rows like
a tic-tac-toe board. Choose a letter of the alphabet.
Using your pencil. Repeat the letters or numbers
throughout the composition, changing the value and
the direction of each. This exercise will help you better
understand the concept of positive and negative space.
It will also improve your ability to use variety, value and
organization in your composition. Notice how the
negative space stand out clearly from the composition in
some cases, and appears neutral or insignificant in
others.
p.30 Discover Drawing

23. Letter
Rotation
Student Example
by Courtney
Hooker
Page30 in Discover
Drawing

24. Drawing with Depth!

26. Still Life Gesture –
Let’s Practice

27. Gesture
Gestural drawing: A quick
drawing that captures the
gestures and movements of
the body. Also a quick
drawing to capture the
essence of a subject.
It is a quick drawing with
no erasing.
Hint: Draw the mass of the
object & keep your hand
moving.

28. Sketching –
The under
drawing or
before painting

29. Line creates Mood
Surrealist Kay Sage often depicted landscapes and
environments in this style. Look at the angles and
diagonal lines in the lower part of All Soundings Are
Referred to High Water, and note the lines formed
by shadows. Write a short description of the mood
that the diagonal lines help emphasize.
I will pick people at random to read their
descriptions.
Do you think they will all be the same or different?

31. Value Exercise
Divide your paper into 4 rows.
There are many ways to create value in a
drawing. Use the same basic shapes (circles,
rectangles, squares, triangles) in three
different compositions. Create a range of
values by using tones (2nd row), dots(3rd
row) and hatching (bottom row).
p.35 Discover Drawing

32. Scribbling into TONE

33. Scribble into TONE
Exercise
There are those who find the subtle gradation of
value (sometimes we say tone) from darkest dark
to lightest light – one of the miracles of drawing.
Start scribbling on your paper without lifting your
medium off the paper and by slightly varying the
pressure, you will begin to get the effect of
gradation. If you remember that gradation comes
from scribbling and that scribbles must be kept
close together you will soon master it.

34. Value
Value: Refers to the properties of darks and
lights used in a composition. The range of
value depends on how much light is reflected
on the surface of the objects.
Value gradation is used to create the illusion
of three –dimensional space on a two-
dimensional plane. Value gradation shows the
gradual change of lights to darks. Values are
usually shown on a value scale, with white at
one extreme and black at the other.
p.35 Discover Drawing

35. Shading Techniques

36. Highlight, Midtone & Shadow
Direct Light – Lighting in
which the light goes straight
from the source to the lit object.
An example is a light bulb or the
sun.
Compare that to indirect lighting,
which is when there is no single
direct light source. The object is
lit by scattered or bounce light.
For example on a cloudy day
when the sun is covered by
clouds, its rays are scattered and
everything is lit indirectly.
All forms, when lit with direct
light have the same elements –
highlight, halftone, core
shadow, reflected light, and
cast shadow. It’s an essential
skill to be able to quickly identify
each element on a given object
and to execute each accurately.
In this example there are 4
different values on the object
and one shadow.
A. Highlight
http://www.stanprokopenko.com/blog/2009/08/direct-light/ B. Halftone
C. Core Shadow
D. Reflected Light
E. Cast Shadow

37. Highlight, Midtone & Shadow

38. Shading
Techniques

39. Cubist
Drawing

40. Cubist Drawing
What is wrong with the drawing
above??

41. Point to Ponder #1/2
Name and define the five basic kinds
of lines.

42. Point to Ponder #1/2
ANSWER
Vertical lines move straight up and sown
Horizontal lines are parallel to the
horizon.
Diagonal lines slant.
Curved lines change direction gradually.
Zigzag lines are made from a
combination of diagonal lines

43. Point to Ponder #1
What feelings and moods do
horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines
usually suggest?

44. Point to Ponder #1
ANSWER
Horizontal lines usually suggest
calmness, repose, and balance. Vertical
lines convey height, stability, and
dignity. Diagonal lines express action,
movement, and tension.

45. Point to Ponder #2
What is the difference between an
outline and a contour line?

46. Point to Ponder #2
An outline is usually made by just the
outer edges of the object, whereas a
contour outline of an object usually
includes some interior detail.

47. Point to Ponder #3
What are two characteristics of line
that give the line personality and help
convey a specific mood or feeling?

48. Point to Ponder #3
ANSWER
Two characteristics of line that give
the line personality and help convey a
specific mood or feeling are its
direction or movement, and its quality
or weight.

49. Point to Ponder #4
What are implied lines? Give an
example of an artwork in your
textbook that illustrates implied lines.
Be prepared to point out these implied
lines to your table partner or Mrs.
Henderson

50. Point to Ponder #4
ANSWER
Implied lines are lines that are
suggested without actually having
been drawn or incorporated.
See Exploring Visual Elements pg. 24 & 25

51. Point to Ponder #5
Lines vary in appearance in five major ways:
(A) length (B) width (C) texture (D)
direction and (E) degree of curve. Match
the letter above with the description of the
line below.
____ (a) Lines can curve gradually or not at
all, become wavy, or form spirals.
____ (b) Lines can be rough or smooth
____(c) Lines can move in any direction,
such as vertical, horizontal, or diagonal
____(d) Lines can be long or short.
____(e) Lines can be wide or thin.
See Glencoe ArtTalk Teacher Materials Study Guide – Chapter 4 pg. 7

52. Point to Ponder #5
ANSWER
(a) E
(b) C
(c) A
(d) D
(e) B

53. Changing Perspective
Look at artist’s who have used ordinary
objects in different ways. How do they help
you look at objects differently? Giuseppe
Arcimboldo. Marcel Duchamp. Joseph
Cornell, Andy Warhol p.212, Georgia
O’Keeffe p.77.
Exploring Visual Elements pg. 24 & 25

54. Changing Perspective
Joseph Cornell
Marcel Duchamp

55. Cross Contour Drawing

56. Let’s Draw Boxes
Move your pencil like a wind-shield washer to check the angle of your boxes. Next look
at the negative space and shadows. Think which of the 3 sides you see is light, medium
and dark. Shade them in appropriately.

57. Let’s draw an
animal
Using the 5 different types of line
(notice no shading)
Pick a picture from the pile
And
Draw your animal
Remember to break it down!

60. Sequential Self-Portrait
Sequential art