Assignment #3

For this sketchbook, you should practice drawing  flowers using a variety of techniques including:

• hatching
• crosshatching
• building up the back ground  by making it darker behind the subject matter.

HATCHING

1. Hatching is a system of building up depth by rapidly applying parallel lines in varying widths and spaces.

2. The wider apart the lines are the lighter the shading.
3. The closer they are the darker it gets.
4. Sometimes hatching converges.

Cross Hatching

1. Cross hatching is when the system is made richer by deepening the level of complexity by crossing systems of hatching across the top of each other.
2. It is an unlimited system. Color can be added by using as many different colored pencils as you like.

3. Other media can be added or used in conjunction with the hatching/crosshatcing such as water color pencils can be smudged. A spray diffuser can be sprayed across the top of the hatching for a textured effect.

For this flower I chose a:

1.           cool, dark crimson pencil,

2.           a warm light cadium red pencil,

3.           a cool yellow pencil

4.           white.

• Working on just the beads of the flower I tackle each one separately. I used the darker crimson red and hatched around the outer edge of the bead.
• I then hatched the lighter red across the top of it.
• Toward the end I hatched the yellow over this and then blended it all together with the white.

With practice a technique will evolve for you where you will be able to work quickly and efficiently.

So, if you find the technique frustratingly slow at first - with time it will become relaxing and easy.

Background Depth

Back grounds are extremely important. By choosing the right value or color it is possible to use the background to throw your subject matter forward. View this example.

The drawing was lightly sketched with whisper lines. When the form was sufficiently articulated the background was rendered darker than the subject matter, by a series of hatchings and cross hatchings. This built the background surface up making it recede behind the subject matter and leaving the flowers blank or perhaps lightly hatched around the edges, standing out in high contrast.

So the idea is to

1. Define your space so that you do know clearly what area your dealing with.
2. Build up layers of depth. Building layers up from behind can be extremely important because if you have a look at your vase of flowers - or - of a photo of a vase of flowers you will find that the flowers are in light and the spaces between the flowers are in shadow.

Drawing #1

    Using regular pencils, draw a plant or flower using crosshatch techniques.

Drawing #2

    Using colored pencils, draw a plant or flower using crosshatch techniques