Exercise 1 - Experimenting with texture
I chose some simple items and used them to draw their textural qualities. I employed techniques such as smudging, line shadowing, hatching and cross hatching. I also used a putty eraser to remove marks in order to help me give more depth to the shadows of some of my items and a small brush to help smudge some of the areas very lightly.
I used a variety of different grades pencils from 2H to 6B, a charcoal stick and a bit of drawing ink to draw some of the wispy feathers.
Some textures were easier to depict than others. For instance, when drawing the wooden frame and woven basket it was relatively easy to create a textural effect as I used lots of straight and squiggly lines and a bit of smudging to help create a sense of depth.
The seashell presented me with the challenge of having to create an illusion of depth and texture whilst it's shiny surface reflected light.
I found the Marabu feather texture the hardest to draw as the feathers were very fine and kept on moving while I was drawing.
A3 Mixed media paper 250 gsm
Media used: top left-3B pencil, top right-fibre tip pen,
bottom left-ink, bottom right-compressed charcoal.
A3 Canson Bristol paper 150 gsm
Media used: top left-3B pencil, top right-fibre tip pen,
bottom left-ink, bottom right-compressed charcoal.
The 3B pencil and charcoal are 'dry' media and in my opinion are easily controlled and manipulated when creating textures or shading. On the other hand, the fibre tip pen and ink, are more 'fluid' and provide darker, denser lines and shading but with less control as their ink is easily and quickly absorbed by the paper surface and therefore don't allow any time to be smudged or spread.
I chose mixed media paper as it has a fairly rough and uneven, matt surface and Bristol paper is completely the opposite, smooth and with a reflective surface, (that may not be very obvious from the photographs taken). As a consequence, the mixed media paper added to the textural quality of the lines drawn due to it's roughness whereas all media tended to 'glide' on the Bristol paper.
When it came to smudging and creating gradations the ink and fibre pen were difficult to do, as they were absorbed by the surface of the paper. Also the ink dots proved to be a bit tricky as the nib dug and scratched the paper surface. I then resorted to squirting a few drops of ink on the paper with a pipette and use a small stick with a very fine tip to create the rest of the dots which was a lot easier.
Frottage - Max Ernst
I experimented with frottage using two different types of paper, (120gsm and 60gsm), a variety of household objects and block stamps. I used graphite and a charcoal stick.
Conclusions:
- It was a lot easier using the lighter paper (two images on the right hand side), to create the impressions of the objects I had chosen; it was easier to manipulate/hold it and tended to 'move' with my hand as I was taking the rubbings. The heavier paper (top left image), was a bit harder to work with but provided a sturdier support. However, the rubbings were not as clear.
- Graphite produced lighter, clearer and overall more delicate effects than charcoal. It was a bit harder to distinguish and fine detail with the charcoal as it tended to smudge although provided more tonal variations.
- I had a little go at creating my own frottage image (bottom left). I sketched the teapot first then worked around it by taking rubbings of various items.
