Drawing Techniques in Visual Arts
Drawing is a common mode of communication in the visual arts in which the artist uses drawing techniques to make marks on paper or two-dimensional mediums. Wax, chalk, pastels, paints, crayons, inked brushes, colored pencils, pencils, pen and ink styluses, and erasers are also popular tools. It entails scribbling on a surface with the aforementioned instruments, leaving noticeable traces (Griffiths).
Shading Technique and Perspective
Drawing is generally performed on a variety of surfaces, including paper, canvas, cardboard, and plastic. The shading technique is well shown in Rembrandt's "The Stoning of St. Stephen," 1625. Perspective is another drawing technique used to render images on a flat surface in such a way that ensures the dimensions shrink as distance increases. In this technique, the artist must pay special attention to the vanishing point; each combination of parallel and straight lines of the image follows lines that end up joining at what is being referred to as the vanishing point. This technique is also applied when buildings are aligned with one another along a street. It can be noted that the horizontal ends of the building converge at this vanishing point. Perspective has been used in Leonardo’s Mona Lisa painting in the way its torso, eyes, and head are positioned towards the viewer.
Form and Proportion Technique
The form and proportion technique entail using the measurements of the subject to produce blocks in the drawing of the subject. It produces a realistic version of the subject. This drawing technique uses a compass to determine the different angles of the sides. It enables the angles to be reproduced on a surface accurately. A ruler is employed for straightedges and in computing proportions. It also entails comparison of relative sizes of varying fragments of the subject with each other. A finger is also used to make comparisons of a dimension with other segments of the subject by placing it along the drawing. It is commonly used in the representation of the human figure. Most forms are represented by a set of shapes namely; cylinder, sphere, cone, and cube. This drawing technique has been depicted in the Albrecht Dürer's copper plate engraving Melencolia I, of 1514 (Griffiths).
Works Cited
Griffiths, Pete. “Drawing as a fundamental tool for thinking in landscape architecture.” (2015).
