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The Fundamentals of Drawing in Colour
This ebook licensed to H DH DH DH D. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this ebook is illegal. 21BD1AF1-BA62-4ACF-868F-588A423B525B A complete professional course for artistsBarrington Barber 21BD1AF1-BA62-4ACF-868F-588A423B525B This edition published in 2006 by Arcturus Publishing Limited 26/27 Bickels Yard, 151–153 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3HACopyright © 2006 Arcturus Publishing LimitedAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,without written permission in accordance with the provisionsof the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person or personswho do any unauthorised act in relation to this publication maybe liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.ISBN-13: 978-1-84193-448-8ISBN-10: 1-84193-448-8Printed in China 21BD1AF1-BA62-4ACF-868F-588A423B525B ContentsIntroduction 6Getting started 8Drawing still life in colour 56Landscape 78Animals 98The human figure 114Portraits 144Drapery 166Composition and colour 178Significant colours 194Index 208 21BD1AF1-BA62-4ACF-868F-588A423B525B 6‘Drawing in colour’ is a slightly unusual title, because the obviouscomment is, ‘How does that differ from painting?’ Well, in thisbook I examine no fewer than four methods of drawing invarious colour mediums, only one of which is connected withpainting. I will be showing examples – and how to go about them– of drawing in coloured pencil, pastel or crayon, coloured inksand watercolour painting, which can be heavily conditioned by drawing.It is very easy to get confused by the many techniques ofintroducing colour into the already complex area of drawing intone, line and texture. I believe the solution is to approach it asthough learning to draw afresh. Understanding colour is quite acomplex affair, and the book begins by assuming that readers willbenefit from an introduction to the basics of colour theory. Thisneed not delay you, however, because even if it is not whollygrasped at once, the simple practice of applying colour in yourdrawings will provide you with valuable experience, leading youto work out tonal values to your own satisfaction. And pleasedon’t believe that there is only one correct way; try out everyvariation that occurs to you while working, and you may discoveryet more interesting ways of manipulating colour schemes.I have set as many exercises in the use of colour as seemedpractical, and have tried to include all the really essentialmethods. You will find it useful to look at the work of otherartists, both living and dead, and to observe how they worked outthe chromatic schemes in their own pictures. Some are exponentsof very subtle and restrained values, while others are far morevibrant or strident in the way they use their pigments. The keyalways seems to come down to two things: first, harmony; andsecond, contrast. Of course, all artists have used both at sometime in their careers, but they often have a tendency to favourone or the other. In this book I have tried to show the effects ofboth approaches.The addition of colour to your drawing can increase theenjoyment both to yourself in creating it and, afterwards, to yourviewers. The power of colour to enhance a subject is most evidentwhen you compare a black and white reproduction of a paintingwith the same picture in colour. Not only that, the naturalsymbolism of colour, or at least the type of symbolism that weattach to the colour of an object, brings further meaning to thesubject matter.Introduction 21BD1AF1-BA62-4ACF-868F-588A423B525B 7The different mediums that you experiment with should addfurther to your enjoyment. Don’t worry if, at first, you mightmake rather a mess of the exercises; no one ever became anygood at art without making lots of mistakes to start with. As longas you consider carefully everything you’ve done, no matter howunsatisfactory or disappointing it might be, you will soon learnnot to repeat your mistakes too many times. Experimentation isthe way that art evolves; it is not just the preserve of scientists.So, prepare to have a good – if occasionally difficult – time withthe exercises in this book; with my heartfelt good wishes on theexpansion of your artistic ability.Barrington Barber, 2006 21BD1AF1-BA62-4ACF-868F-588A423B525B 8To start drawing in colour is to take a step into the area ofpainting, although in this volume we will mainly be looking atcolour as an adjunct to drawing. There are various methods andmedia to explore, beginning with the materials and how to getused to them through a series of exercises. We will be concernedmostly with drawing in coloured pencil, pastels, coloured inks and watercolour.So we start with a list of the materials that will be useful toyour work. You may not want to use them all but it is a good ideato try them out, if only in a limited way. Then your choice ofwhich medium to use will be based on knowledge and experiencerather than mere guesswork. This is a much more practical way ofensuring that you have some control over your medium.Go through all the exercises shown here because they willfamiliarize you with a range of mediums and also provide youwith practice, which every artist needs. You may even find you caninvent a few exercises of your own, which is a sign that you areengaging with the medium in depth. It is also more fun for youwhen you play around with different mediums. Most of theexercises are simple enough but don’t be misled into thinking that therefore they are not worth trying out. In fact, simplerepetition of straightforward technical practices is the bedrock ofall artistic expertise. When you see a young artist doodling withpatterns and repetitive marks on a sheet of paper, he or she is inthe process of learning the manual dexterity that is so importantfor any artist.Drawing is always drawing, whether in colour or not. So do not be put off if you know nothing or little about it. The way tolearn is by experimentation and experiencing both success andfailure. When you are drawing easily without any problems, it isonly because previously you have overcome difficulties of somesort. And remember, when you appear to be having difficulties,that is when you are learning most. It will become easier if you persevere.Getting started 21BD1AF1-BA62-4ACF-868F-588A423B525B 9 21BD1AF1-BA62-4ACF-868F-588A423B525B GETTING STARTED10Materials and mediumsHere is a selection of the materials required for drawing incolour. I have chosen those most easily obtained from art orstationery shops. As an artist you will always want to use the best,but occasionally less specialized materials can be just as good.1. Coloured pencils – don’t concern yourselftoo much with the brand, although some arebetter than others. Go for as many variationsin colour as you can find. Thinner pencils canbe of superior quality but not always. Trythem out and make your own judgement.Watercolour crayons are similar to ordinarycoloured pencils but you can use a brushwith water to spread their colour over largerareas. There are several brands available.2. Fineline graphic pens – these pens aregood for drawing and behave similarly to acoloured pencil but with a more intensecolour value.3. Brushes – the best are sable but there aremany varieties of hair and synthetic fibre.You will only need two or three brushes,especially if they come to a fine point. A size0, one 3 and perhaps one 7 or 8 would besufficient. For extending pastels you mightneed a hog hair or some other stiff brush.4. Soft pastels – these tend to be expensive.They come in a wide range of colours butget used up quickly. However, for some workthey can be essential.5. Hard pastels – also known as contécrayons, these are essentially the samematerial as the soft ones but bound togetherin a compressed form. Hard pastels aresquare in section whereas the soft ones areround. The range of colours is againenormous, they last longer and are easier tomanipulate.6. Stumps – these are just rolls of paper in acompressed form, pointed at both ends andvery useful for extending the tones of yourpastels. They come in several sizes, but1. Coloured pencil2. Fineline graphic pen3. Sable brush5. Hard pastel6. Stump7. Scalpel8. Felt tip pen8b. Felt tip illuminator9. Watercolour box4. Soft pastel 21BD1AF1-BA62-4ACF-868F-588A423B525B [...]... onto the rooftops. 3 With a good Naples yellow, paint in the sunlit side of the buildings that are closest to the water, but leave the church and the Custom House building (on the left) as the unpainted white of the paper. 4 Some of this colour should also go over the shadowed faces of the buildings, allowing for a toning down of the purple. Then with a warmer brown tone, you can mark in some of the. .. to the bottom edge of the picture, be aware that the colour will again be stronger towards the bottom edge. Mix up an ultramarine blue with a bit of purple in it and paint in the areas of the buildings that are in shadow. Leave a few strokes of white paper where anything catches the light. A few fine lines of shadow can be placed towards the left edge of the domes. Don’t forget the shadows of the. .. One-point perspective shows the apparent objects (blocks on the ground or in the air, and cylinders placed vertically or lying on the ground) with all the vertical poles diminishing in size as they proceed along the limiting lines of perspective towards a central vanishing point lying in the centre of the horizon. This creates an illusion, on the flat surface of a picture, of objects shrinking uniformly... watercolours in three basic tones. The colour should be watery but reasonably strong in order to get sufficient contrast between the paint and the white paper, some of which will be left showing at the end of your picture. Start with the outline. The colour could be ultramarine but a fairly watery mix. Then define all the blocks of architecture and the line of the base of the buildings where they... flood the watercolour on easily and, after each stroke, the colour runs down to the place where you will make your next one. Start carefully, putting in the sky along the lines of the rooftops, allowing the watery colour to run down towards what will be the top of the paper. As the colour washes down towards the edge of the paper it gathers more of the pigment so that when you have finished, the strongest... brown line drawing on the grey-brown paper and then filling in some of the more obvious shadow areas, including, this time, the cast shadow on the table. Keep the strokes loose and light in touch. 21BD1AF1-BA62-4ACF-868F-588A423B525B COLOURED INK 23 Next, try overlaying strokes of two different colours with the strokes of one colour opposed by strokes of another at almost right angles over the top.... for the plant drawing used a light green, a dark green, and then put in a background across the top, finishing with a dark brown touch on the stalks and the fence behind. 5 The girl’s head in the second drawing was outlined first in a dark brown. The pale pink followed in gentle strokes over the lightest areas of the face and hand. Next, a richer, warmer reddish tone was used for the shadows on the. ..GETTING STARTED 22 Coloured ink Fineline fibre-tipped pens in a range of colours represent coloured ink in its simplest commercial form. You can buy them separately or in packs of a complete colour range. The other option is to use a fine dip pen and nib and bottles of either coloured Indian ink or concentrated liquid watercolours that also come in bottles. These work just as well... effects like the windows in the houses and the shadowed sides of the boats. 5 Now reverse the process. This time you will be doing the water of the canal, so mix up a good deep blue with a slightly green tinge to it. Start at the point where the base of the buildings meet the water; you won’t have much trouble getting nice smooth horizontal strokes of colour across the paper. As the watercolour floods... Cover the areas of distant vegetation with a green tone. Then with a much deeper version of the original colour of the canal, put in the reflection of the buildings over the water area, with a broken edge to simulate the ripples. Make a few tiny strokes outside the edge of the mass of reflection to give a flickering impression of wavelets on the surface. Now, with an even darker brown, touch in a few . methods of drawing invarious colour mediums, only one of which is connected withpainting. I will be showing examples – and how to go about them– of drawing in. be: a rather wobbly and meandering penline often looks more convincing than a smooth,hard-edged line. The main thing in holding animplement for drawing is