lundi 23 mai 2016

Drawing Human Figures In Pencil, Charcoal And Ink

By Helen Baker


Drawing and sketching are often the two hardest aspects for a budding artist to learn. While some artists are born with inherit talent in these areas, these individuals are few and far between. For those drawing human figures in pencil, charcoal and ink, whether from a live art model, photograph or skeleton, the task can often seem even more difficult.

The proper term for sketching from a figurine or object is considered figure drawing. Whereas, when working from a live model, the preferred term is often that of life drawing. While drawing or sketching from a model or object is often difficult, life drawing can be a great experience for live models and artists.

As life drawing has become quite popular, there are a now a number of courses offered at colleges and universities. For those not interested in attending college, or older artists, there are also a number of local, regional, national and international museums which offer classes and workshops. Whereas, there are also classes at these schools and museums which focus on figure drawing from objects, photographs, skeletons and other materials.

There are many different approaches an artist can take when working with the human form. Whether working from skeletons, photographs or live models, the artist also has a choice of different mediums from pen and ink to pencil and crayon. Photography is often accepted as a viable option though many dismiss using this aspect due to the lack of artistic and editing capabilities.

Light and shadow are an important aspect of this type drawing. For, whether using crayon, pencil, ink or other medium, artists love to create shadows and reflections by using light and dark tones. As such, using light and shadow is a technique that has become popular with artists and photographers.

While some artists prefer to work with crayons, charcoal or black, white and colored ink, many artists prefer to use a graphite pencil. Being that graphite is most commonly used in figure drawing, pencils are often sold in various formulations of intensity. These formulations range from very soft to very hard with medium soft and medium hard formations also available. Like charcoal, pencil drawings can be manipulated and erased.

A number of well known artists of past and present begin with a pencil drawing then override the pencil sketch with ink. One of the most prominent of these artists is that of Picasso. In many different works, especially when it comes to cubism, Pablo used this technique as an outline before finishing the piece.

While not well known, it was not until the 19th century that women were admitted into life and figure drawing classes. Although, when touring a museum, it is fairly easy to notice the disproportionate amount of female to male artists of the period. Perhaps one reason Georgia O'Keefe and others have now become some of the most popular artists and photographers of the 20th century.




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