Foundation Drawing

Professor Lara Antal | COMD1123, D038 | Fall 2023

Category: Assignments

Weekly Drawing Assignments posted here.

11. View to a Kitchen

November 8, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Using your 18″x 24″ drawing pad and charcoal, draw your kitchen, in perspective, from life. We should see at least two walls and have a clear idea of where the horizon line is. Render using value to the best of your ability!

TIPS:

  • STEP BACK to capture as much of the room as possible. Don’t just use your camera lens to zoom out, as it uses a fish-eye-like lens and is distorted.
  • Try CHANGING UP THE HORIZON LINE. You can stand on a chair for a more birds-eye view, or try sitting on the floor to get an “ants-eye” view.
  • ADD UNIQUE DETAILS like appliances, utensils, spices or groceries, or even fridge magnets, etc. While this is a drawing about perspective, it is also an opportunity to show off your home’s personality and warmth!
  • Try including a FOREGROUND, MIDDLE GROUND, and BACKGROUND to help with perspective. Use OVERLAP and VALUE to help indicate objects that are closer or further away to the viewer.

10. Power Poses

November 2, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Using your 18″x 24″ drawing pad and charcoal, draw a FULL BODY FIGURE in a dynamic pose. Use value and lighting to convey the forms.

What makes a pose dynamic? We should see action, movement, or interesting shapes in the human form. You can stage your own, or look at performers or athletes for ideas.

TIP: Try for poses that create triangles, whether it’s in the posing of the body or the negative space around the pose.

9. Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner…

October 26, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Except for today…

Using your 18″x 24″ drawing pad and charcoal, draw a FULL BODY figure drawing from a live model or reference you stage yourself. The figure must be posed in a corner and you must draw the environment surrounding them.

Use a full range of values and a light source to create interesting shadows.

6. Spooky Self-Portrait

October 5, 2023 / / 0 Comments 
Drawing Assignment Week 6

It’s officially October so it’s time to see ourselves in a spookier light… literally.

Using 18″x 24″ drawing pad and charcoal, create a self-portrait drawn from life that utilizes a direct light source. Use your light to create a dramatic or scary portrait.

First, set up your lighting using a lamp, flashlight, selfie ring light, etc.

Next, using a mirror, draw yourself from life. Use your charcoal to create a full range of values. Describe the details of your face and the unique shadows the light casts. Be specific, we want to see how YOUR face looks under these bold lighting conditions.

TIPS:

  • Try to block out ambient light sources. Turn off the lights, close the blinds, etc. to make the direct light source more effective.
  • GO SLOW to try and capture details, highlights, and shadows.
  • No white backgrounds! Create a soft background or use tones.
  • Try toning the paper and erase to create soft highlights.
Get Spooked with Classic Horror Movies on FilmOn TV
Boris Karloff in Frankensein (1931)
Vincent Price in The Bat (1959)
Janet Leigh in Psycho (1960)
Кадр из фильма «Ночь живых мертвецов»
Duane Jones in Night of the Living Dead (1968)
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night' Defangs the Patriarchy
Sheila Vand in a Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

Gustave Courbet's “The Desperate Man” Is the Ultimate Self-Portrait of the Artist as Mad Genius | Artsy
Gustave Courbet, The Desperate Man, 1843–45

Of interest:
Lighting in Horror Films – brief article & video

5. Simple Forms with Value

September 28, 2023 / / 0 Comments 
Drawing Assignment - Week 5


IN CLASS:
Set up a still life using the simple forms in the drawing classroom. Give them a light source.

While in class, create two sets of thumbnails and notes in your sketchbook. These will serve as your reference for your assignment.

  1. Composition: lay out the shapes and negative space of the drawing.
  2. Shadows & Light: Indicate where the shadow and light hit the forms. BE SPECIFIC, since these qualities will change in relationship to each other.


HOMEWORK:

Use 18″x 24″ drawing pad and charcoal.

This drawing should encompass a full range of values: from light to dark. Reference the value scale you made in class.

Render composition of simple forms, with a distinct light source. Include the background and surface they are sitting on, taking advantage of negative and positive space.

TIPS:

  • Try Lightly TONING your drawing paper before beginning your drawing to a middle value.
  • SPRAY the 2 drawings with Workable Fixatiff Spray when complete so they don’t smudge!

4. Self-Portrait Through Objects

September 21, 2023 / / 0 Comments 
Drawing Assignment - Week 4

Use 18″x 24″ drawing pad and charcoal.

Create a drawing with a thoughtful composition of carefully chosen objects that represent you.

  • Frame your composition.  
  • Decide on a unit of measurement on which to base the proportions in the drawing.
  • Compose the page.  
  • Consider the compositional concepts such as Balance, Rhythm, Symmetry, and Asymmetry. 
  • Use a variety of line weights to describe the forms.  
  • Consider how the forms interact with each other in space – overlap, foreshortening, and perspective.

This drawing should try to incorporate all the lessons we’ve discussed!

https://www.anekaingold.com/student-work.html

3. Positive & Negative Plants

September 14, 2023 / / 0 Comments 
Drawing Assignment - Week 3

Use 18″x 24″ drawing pad and charcoal.

Draw from life a plant, either in a vase, potted, or wild. Create a composition that is split into BOTH negative and positive spaces.

TIPS:

  • Design your overall composition first, then decide where to place the “negative/positive” divide
  • Hone in on delicate details and bold shapes! Show off the interesting shapes plants make.
  • Feel free to include a pot or vase to help ground the shape.
Negative Space Drawing Plants
flower positive and negative drawing - costaricapackageswithairfareq1
Painting and Drawing-Positive and Negative Space: Tempera – Mrs. Cassidy's Art Class
Positive Negative Space Study - RISD Pre-College on Behance

2. Contour Hands

September 7, 2023 / / 0 Comments 
Drawing Assignment - Week 2

Draw a Page FULL of Hands 18 x 24 Strathmore Drawing Paper

Use a variety of line weights to describe the forms.  Compose the page.  Consider how the forms interact with each other.  Try different poses.  Try holding objects.  Create a drawing with is uniquely your own.

1. Baseline Drawing 

August 28, 2023 / / 0 Comments 
Drawing Assignment - Week 1

Using the charcoals and conté crayons on 18″ x 24″ newsprint paper, complete a drawing of your house from observation at your highest level of skill. 

TIPS:

  • Try not to LOOK at the paper for too long.  Focus on the subject!
  • SPRAY the drawings with Workable Fixatiff Spray when complete so it doesn’t smudge! 

Drawing Assignments

August 27, 2023 /

Students are required to keep a portfolio of their drawings, both those done in class and done for homework. 

Projects given as Drawing Assignments are due at the beginning of class and must be hung up for critique upon arrival ; otherwise they are considered late.

Portfolio Requirements:

  • A minimum of 4 hours per assignment
  • Use 18″ x 24″ sketch or drawing paper
  • Assignments must be labeled and dated
  • Drawings must be hung up for critique at the start of each class

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