Download - W04 carved in stone

Brenda Hoddinott W-04 Advanced: Studio Diary Series

The drawing of a stone dragon featured in this diary, demonstrates the process of rendering high contrast shading with

squirkling and stippling, so as to create the textures and patterns of highly polished smooth stone, jagged stone, and glass.

You can choose from various approaches to exploring the creative and technical processes of rendering this drawing, including:

Printing this lesson, curling up in your favorite comfy chair, and closely examining the thirty-six illustrations as you read.

Rendering a drawing of this sculpture by following along with the text and illustrations.

Using this lesson as a guideline while drawing a stone object of your choice, or a similar subject from a photograph, life, or your imagination.

I get my sketch off to a great start by first setting up the lighting and composition, and then sketching accurate proportions. From there a detailed outline of the sculpture allows me to plan my shading approach. To protect my drawing from accidental smudging, and maintain the crisp edges of the high contrast shading, I work from the upper section of the drawing downward to the cast shadow.

16 PAGES – 36 ILLUSTRATIONS Recommended for artists with advanced drawing skills, as well as home schooling,

academic and recreational fine art educators Published by Hoddinott Fine Art Publishers, Halifax, NS, Canada – 2005

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.

E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.finearteducation.com or http://www.drawspace.com

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If your goal with this lesson is to simply explore the creative and technical processes of my drawing rather than draw, simply print this lesson, curl up in your favorite comfy chair, and closely examine the thirty-six illustrations as you read. On the other hand, you may prefer to render a drawing of this sculpture by following along with the text and illustrations. Or you can use this lesson as a guideline while drawing a stone object of your choice or a similar subject from life. If you are drawing from your own subject, choose something that appeals to you. Otherwise you may get bored halfway through. If you’re a beginner, choose a subject that you feel is very, very simple. You set yourself up for a frustrating experience by taking on a project beyond your skill level. Set up your subject and plan your drawing before you begin. Rotate the object until you find an angle that pleases you and take the time to set up suitable lighting. Then plan your drawing format. Choose an approximate size. Decide if your completed drawing should be horizontal or vertical, and whether a rectangular, square, oval, circular or another shaped format is more appropriate for your subject. The subject of my drawing is an original sculpture made for me as a gift by my friend Jesse Wilts. Unfortunately, the actual sculpture cannot be included with this lesson! ☺ So, I took a couple of photos to give you an idea of what it looks like.

Always place a piece of clean paper under your hand as you draw. Each time you work on a new section, remember to move your paper so it’s always under your hand. This prevents you from smudging your drawing, and protects the paper from the oils in your skin.



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Setting up accurate proportions is a great way to make sure my drawing is off to a great start! As I sketch with an HB pencil, only the weight of the pencil itself creates the very faint lines. The lines in the next few illustrations seem dark; however, in reality the lines are so light that I can barely see them. I have made them darker in a computer program so you can see them.



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Don’t press too hard with your pencils! No matter how careful you are, accidents do happen and you may need to erase a section.

I prefer using mechanical pencils to avoid having to constantly sharpen my pencils. On the other hand, when I do draw with regular pencils, I keep the points very sharp with a sandpaper block.

I visually measure the proportions of my sketch, while constantly comparing them to the sculpture.

Confirm that spaces and perspective elements are drawn correctly.

Check the relationships of the various parts to one another, observe that angles, sizes, and proportions are accurate, and adjust as needed.

Pay close attention to the shapes of the negative and positive spaces.



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The head of the dragon is drawn as it was created. First I outline the form of the stone and then slowly “cut away” sections.

The edges of the forms of this sculpture are neither parallel nor perpendicular to one another. However, having a firm grasp of the rules of perspective is a tremendous help with rendering many aspects of this drawing.

To learn some of the basic elements of perspective, refer to lessons A-14: Perspective Basics, B-26: One Point Perspective and C-27: Above, On and Below the Horizon Line.



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I sketch the final details, including the fingers and toes. At this point, my initial sketch is almost complete. I check my proportions carefully by comparing my drawing to the actual sculpture and fix problem areas. I use my kneaded eraser to gently pat my entire sketch until the lines are so light that I can barely see them. With a freshly sharpened HB pencil, I lightly outline the entire drawing and add additional details.

As I draw, I constantly study the sculpture in search of intricate details that will enhance the accuracy of my drawing.

Draw slowly. Accuracy is more important than speed. Your speed automatically improves with practice.

After patting the outline with my kneaded eraser, my drawing is ready for shading.

The light source is from the upper left; hence, the overall shading on the left will be lighter than on the right. However, additional very dark shadows are visible in the carved out crevices, such as the eye and nostrils.



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I use various grades of pencils from 2H (for the lightest values), to 6B (for the darkest shadow sections). The high contrast shading technique I use for the stone texture of this sculpture, combines squirkling with stippling. Squirkling is an easy method of shading, in which randomly drawn curved lines, squiggles, scribbles, and squirkles are combined with circular shapes to create textured values. Stippling (sometimes referred to as pointillism) is a shading method in which various dots are used to create values.

High contrast shading is created by drawing very dark values beside the highlights and light values.

As you can see in this close up, the high shine of the polished stone in the upper sections of this sculpture, is achieved by utilizing high contrast values rendered with squirkling and stippling.



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I add a few dark spots with a 2B pencil (in the light sections) and a 6B (in the shadow sections) to accentuate the intricate patterns within the stone. The eye and nostrils are cut into the stone and therefore in shadow (shaded with a 6B pencil).

To maintain a realistic representation of the sculpture, I vary the thicknesses and values of the lines that outline the edges of the forms.



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As my shading extends downward to the shoulders and arms, I become increasingly aware of the sharp contrast between the light values on the left as compared to the extreme darks on the right. A combination of tiny circles, dots and squirkle lines continue to create the wonderful texture and pattern of the stone.



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The shiny texture of the glass egg is slightly different than that of polished stone. To accentuate the high gloss sheen of the egg, I blend it slightly with a Q-tip. I then use my kneaded eraser to brighten the highlight, and the reflected light on the lower right. I then add thin lines to indicate the pattern.

The shading on the right side of the wing exemplifies high contrast shading. The very dark cast shadow on the inner section wing, where the light is blocked by the arm and shoulder, is shaded with a 6B pencil. In contrast, the highlights on the upper section of the wing are the white of the paper.



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Accurately rendering the reflected light, is integral to creating the illusion of three-dimensional reality, especially on the leg, foot, and toes.



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As I draw, I continually refer back to other sections that are almost complete, compare those values to the section in which I am working, and make adjustments as needed. To make a section darker I simply add more shading. To lighten a section, I pat it very gently and carefully with a kneaded eraser that is molded to a point or wedge shape. The upper section of the base of the sculpture is slightly less shiny that the dragon.

Numerous highlights and shadows need to be rendered so as to accurately portray the uneven surface of the base.



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The frontal edge of the base of the statue is mostly shaded with light values. This section has not been polished smooth like the figure; hence, its natural stone texture is highly evident, and captured in the drawing with irregular shaped sections of shading. I have purposely made the outlines along the edges of the base more ragged looking than in the actual statue, so as to enhance the jagged texture.

As you complete your drawing - a word of caution - Handle your drawing paper by the edges only.

Don’t touch (or let anyone else touch) the surface of your drawing paper, unless absolutely necessary.

Natural oils or dirt on someone’s hands can damage your drawing.



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The edge of the base on the right is in shadow and therefore shaded with dark values. However, some areas are left slightly lighter so the jagged forms of the stone are visible. I layer a light value (with my HB pencil) over all the darkest shadow areas, to very slightly darken any tiny sections of white paper that are still showing through. Less is more! I am very careful not to overdo this – I stick to the darkest shadows only!

As the grand finale, I add the cast shadow with crosshatching lines (as in the next illustration). But, I simply can resist putting the drawing away for an hour or so, and then coming back for one last look. I find a few things that need to be touched up, such as making some sections lighter or darker, using my kneaded eraser to brighten highlights, and adding more spots to the pattern of the stone.



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As an artist, you should work toward creating drawings that make you happy, and subsequently motivated to continue onward in your art making journey. In addition to drawing from life, you should also feel comfortable in using whatever drawing tools are available to you, such as viewfinder frames or grids. In closing, remember that learning to draw is not a short term goal but rather a lifelong journey.



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BRENDA HODDINOTT - BIOGRAPHY

As a self-educated teacher, visual artist, portraitist, forensic artist, and illustrator, Brenda Hoddinott utilizes diverse art media including graphite, technical pen, colored pencil, chalk pastel, charcoal, conté crayon, and oil paints.

My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the enjoyment aspects while gently introducing

the technical and academic. Hence, in creating a passion for the subject matter, the quest for

knowledge also becomes enjoyable. >Brenda Hoddinott<

Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Brenda grew up in the small town of Corner Brook. She developed strong technical competencies with a personal commitment to self directed learning, and the aid of assorted “Learn to Draw” books. During Brenda’s twenty-five year career as a self-educated civilian forensic artist, numerous criminal investigation departments have employed Brenda’s skills, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police and municipal police departments. In 1992, Brenda was honored with a commendation from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and in 1994, she was awarded a Certificate of Membership from “Forensic Artists International”. Her home-based art career included graphic design, and teaching recreational drawing and painting classes. As supervisor of her community’s recreational art department, Brenda hired and trained teachers, and designed curriculum for several children’s art programs. In 1998, Brenda chose to end her eighteen-year career as an art educator in order to devote more time to writing, drawing, painting, and developing her websites. Drawspace http://www.drawspace.com incorporates her unique style and innovative approach to curriculum development. This site offers downloadable and printable drawing classes for students of all abilities from the age of eight through adult. Students of all ages, levels and abilities have praised the simple step-by-step instructional approach. This site is respected as a resource for fine art educators, home schooling programs, and educational facilities throughout the world.

LEARN-TO-DRAW BOOKS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT

Drawing for Dummies (2003): Wiley Publishing, Inc., New, York, NY, this 336 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing People (2004): Winner of the Alpha-Penguin Book of the Year Award 2004, Alpha - Pearson Education – Macmillan, Indianapolis, IN, this 360 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.

Download - W04 carved in stone

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