This, too, will insure compositional unity. The resulting composition is made up of large and small related shapes.Īgain, as in gesture, try to fill the entire surface of your paper. A continuous, overlapping line drawing has a unified look that comes from the number of enclosed, repeated shapes that naturally occur in the drawing.
Not only are outside edges described, internal shapes are also drawn. The line connects forms, bridging spaces between objects. Rather than using multiple lines, you use a single line, however, as in gesture, you draw through the forms as if they were transparent. The completed drawing gives the effect that it could be unwound or unraveled. Once you make contact with the paper (you may begin anywhere: top, bottom, side), you are keeping the line flowing. The numbers are transparent and slightly unintelligible, and the overlapping intersecting lines create shapes independent of the numbers themselves. The numbers are layered, stacked one on top of the other, all sharing the same outer edges. Jasper Johns's charcoal drawing 0 through 9 is an example of this technique.
The drawing implement stays in uninterruped contact with the surface of the paper during the entire length of the drawing. Craftsmanship! (neat, stray pencil lines are erased, drawing was done with care, etc.The line in a continuous line drawing is unbroken from the beginning to the end.Your wrapped/cross contour’s interior lines should show how your shoe occupies three dimensional space by seeming to wrap around the form.Your contour drawing should show the outline of your shoe as well as any interior shapes.Your blind contour must be one continuous line.You must have three drawings mounted on a black piece of paper.Make sure to sign your name in pencil on the black paper, the graphite will show up fine whereas pen or sharpie is much harder to see. Use an archival glue stick to attach your pieces to the black paper. To tie this whole project together we will mount these three drawings to a larger piece of black paper. This will give your drawings a much more “finished” look. Once you have finished all three drawings go over your lines in sharpie and erase any stray pencil lines. It’s good to do the regular contour first because the wrapped/cross contour is basically the same except you are using more lines to highlight the three dimensional forms of your shoe. Lastly, grab one last sheet of paper and try the wrapped/cross contour. Don’t be afraid to outline some of the interior shapes of your shoe as well. For this one you may look down at the paper. It’s alright if it comes out a little “wonky.” Next get a new piece of paper and move on to the regular contour. Blind contour is a great way to get your eye and hand working together in sync, like a warm-up. Using the 5.5×8.5 paper provided (or cut an 8.5×11 piece of paper in half) start with a blind contour. We will be drawing from observation, I hope you wore interesting shoes today! Take off one of your shoes and put it in front of you. Often, in more complex forms, cross/wrapped-contours will be drawn at varying angles. Cross/Wrapped contours may be horizontal or vertical, as on the right side of the example, or both. The artist also will keep the tip of their pencil in contact with the paper so they don’t “get lost.”Īnd lastly, the Wrapped Contour or Cross Contour (two names for the same thing)Ĭross/Wrapped Contour: Cross/Wrapped contour lines are drawn lines which travel, as the name suggests, across the form.
The contour describes the outermost edges of a form, as well as dramatic changes of plane within the form.īlind Contour: Blind contour is similar to a regular contour drawing except the artist keeps their eyes on the subject they are drawing and does not look down at the paper. Contour drawing is the place where most beginners start, following the visible edges of a shape. First is the standard contour drawing.Ĭontour Drawing: A contour is the line which defines a form or edge – an outline. For this assignment we will be practicing three different types of contour drawing.