SHAPES AND PROPORTIONS Brenda Hoddinott B-02 BEGINNER: LEARN TO SEE An illustrated discussion surrounding a photo of a duck- shaped candle introduces the basic process of breaking down a subject into simple shapes and then measuring spaces. Super simple step-by-step instructions and illustrations then take you through the process of using your vision to render accurate proportions and neatly outline a drawing. Suggested supplies include: paper, HB pencil, kneaded and vinyl erasers, and a pencil sharpener. The process of drawing any subject becomes less intimidating when you understand how to render the proportions properly, and can draw the fundamental shapes of the various parts in their correct places. This lesson is divided into the following five sections: INTRODUCTION: provides a brief overview of the process of drawing a cute little candle- shaped duck, from initially looking at shapes and spaces to completing a contour drawing. VISUALLY IDENTIFY SHAPES: demonstrates the importance of a thorough visual examination of a drawing subject. VISUALLY MEASURE SPACES: discusses and illustrates how to visually measure spaces and compare them to others. SKETCH PROPORTIONS: new skills are put into action and the proportions of the duck- shaped candle are lightly sketched. CHECK PROPORTIONS AND ADD FINAL DETAILS: the duck is outlined with thin neat lines by constantly referring to step-by-step illustrations and the reference photo. This lesson is recommended for beginner level artists with limited drawing skills, as well as home schooling, academic and recreational fine art educators. 7 PAGES – 14 ILLUSTRATIONS Published by Hoddinott Fine Art Publishers, Halifax, NS, Canada – 2005 Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott. E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites http://www.finearteducation.com and http://www.drawspace.com - 2 - INTRODUCTION This lesson takes you step-by-step, through the entire process of drawing a cute little candle- shaped duck, from initially looking at the shapes and spaces to completing a contour drawing. Seeing and sketching accurate proportions is the foundation of drawing. Proportion is the relationship in size of each of the various parts of a drawing when compared to others. To accurately render proportions, artists study their subjects very carefully, visually measure various distances within spaces, and visually break the whole object down into simple shapes. ILLUSTRATION 02-01 ILLUSTRATION 02-02 Shape refers to the outward outline of a form. Basic shapes include circles, ovals, squares, rectangles, and triangles. A Contour drawing is a drawing comprised of lines that follow the contours of the edges of various components of a drawing subject and define the outlines of its forms. VISUALLY IDENTIFY SHAPES ILLUSTRATION 02-03 These six photos of a duck-shaped candle demonstrate the importance of a thorough visual examination of a drawing subject. Each section of the duck is visually broken down into shapes, and then put back together as a drawing, similar to putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Follow along with each photo to identify the various shapes and see how they are put together in a drawing. 1. Photo of the duck is in grayscale to allow for easier viewing. 2. The duck’s body is shaped like a kidney or a kidney bean. 3. A simple circle defines the basic shape of the head. 4. The candle wick is a long thin rectangle. 5. The beak is defined as a simple triangular shape. 6. Each of the shapes, the kidney, circle, rectangle, and triangle come together like pieces of a puzzle to complete an outline of the overall shape of the duck. Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott. E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites http://www.finearteducation.com and http://www.drawspace.com - 3 - VISUALLY MEASURE SPACES To render believable proportions, you need to thoroughly examine the subject before you draw. By visually measuring and then comparing each of the various parts of the drawing subject to others, you are more likely to end up with a drawing that is more accurate. ILLUSTRATION 02-04 ILLUSTRATION 02-05 As I examine the photo of the duck, I immediately notice similar distances inside the shapes of the head and body. The length of the head (marked A) is almost exactly the same as the distance from the bottom of the head to the bottom of the body (marked B). ILLUSTRATION 02-06 ILLUSTRATION 02-07 I then search for more clues to seeing the proper proportions by comparing the horizontal distances inside the shapes. I focus on the width of the body at the halfway point of distance B (in Illustration 02- 05). I discover that this section of the body is approximately twice as wide as the width of the head. SKETCH PROPORTIONS Time to put your new skills into action and draw! As you sketch, visually break down each section into simple shapes, measure proportions, and constantly check the relationships of lines and spaces to one another. If you’re not happy with some of the lines you draw, simply erase that section, redraw the lines, and keep on going. Keep in mind that you can turn your sketchbook around as you draw, especially when sketching a circle. Rotate your paper and look at your drawing from different perspectives to find problem areas. Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott. E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites http://www.finearteducation.com and http://www.drawspace.com - 4 - 1) Draw a kidney shape in the lower section of your drawing space as the duck’s body. Observe that the section on the left is much larger than the tail section. Keep your lines very light by pressing very gently with your pencil (I used an HB). 2) Add a circular shape as the head. Note that the circle does not sit on top of the kidney shape. Rather, the lower section of the circle extends into the upper section of the kidney shape. ILLUSTRATION 02-08 ILLUSTRATION 02-09 3) Add a triangular shape as the beak and a thin rectangular shape as the wick. Observe that each of the lines used to sketch the beak and wick are at an angle rather than horizontal or vertical. ILLUSTRATION 02-10 ILLUSTRATION 02-11 Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott. E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites http://www.finearteducation.com and http://www.drawspace.com - 5 - CHECK PROPORTIONS AND ADD FINAL DETAILS In this section, you visually re-measure spaces to confirm that the proportions are correct as you outline the duck with thin neat lines. Keep in mind that each of the shapes represents an independent form. Hence, you need to constantly compare my drawings to the reference photo to understand why the lines need to curve around these forms. In addition, you need to pay close attention to the lengths of the various lines and the directions in which they curve. As you complete this contour drawing, continuously check whether the size and proportions of each section is correct, and adjust as needed. Keep the following in mind: Don’t press too hard with your pencils! No matter how careful you are, accidents do happen, and you may need to erase sections you aren’t happy with. Draw slowly! Accuracy is more important than speed. Your speed will automatically improve the more you practice. Keep your pencils sharpened so your lines stay neat and thin. Try using a piece of fine sandpaper or a sandpaper block to keep your pencil points nice and sharp. Pencil sharpeners tend to wear down pencils very quickly. 4) Use your kneaded eraser to pat your entire sketch until the lines are very faint. ILLUSTRATION 02-12 5) With a freshly sharpened HB pencil outline the perimeters of the duck’s beak and the wick. Round off the outer section of the beak and add rounded corners to the triangular shape. Don’t outline the lower section of the wick, because it needs to look like it’s attached to the top of the head. 6) Outline the sections of the duck’s head on either side of the beak and the wick. Don’t outline the lower section of the head or the part where the wick meets the top of the head. The head needs to appear to be joined to the body. 7) Outline the duck’s body and tail. Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott. E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites http://www.finearteducation.com and http://www.drawspace.com - 6 - ILLUSTRATION 02-13 8) Outline the eye and the tiny circular shape inside it. Take note of the distances of the eye from various points on the outline of the head, such as the top and sides. 9) Draw a line to indicate the opening of the bill. Again, pay attention to the length of the line and the sections that are straight and curved. Always examine the object you are drawing very closely, and take note of whether shapes appear to be in front of or behind others. ILLUSTRATION 02-14 10) Erase any fingerprints, smudges, and/or sketch lines that you don’t like with your kneaded eraser molded to a point (or a sharp edge of your vinyl eraser). Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott. E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites http://www.finearteducation.com and http://www.drawspace.com - 7 - BRENDA HODDINOTT - BIO As a self-educated teacher, visual artist, portraitist, forensic artist, and illustrator, Brenda Hoddinott utilizes diverse art media including graphite, technical pen, colored pencil, chalk pastel, charcoal, conté crayon, and oil paints. My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the enjoyment aspects while gently introducing the technical and academic. Hence, in creating a passion for the subject matter, the quest for knowledge also becomes enjoyable. >Brenda Hoddinott< Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Brenda grew up in the small town of Corner Brook. She developed strong technical competencies with a personal commitment to self directed learning, and the aid of assorted “Learn to Draw” books. During Brenda’s twenty-five year career as a self-educated civilian forensic artist, numerous criminal investigation departments have employed Brenda’s skills, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police and municipal police departments. In 1992, Brenda was honored with a commendation from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and in 1994, she was awarded a Certificate of Membership from “Forensic Artists International”. Her home-based art career included graphic design, and teaching recreational drawing and painting classes. As supervisor of her community’s recreational art department, Brenda hired and trained teachers, and designed curriculum for several children’s art programs. In 1998, Brenda chose to end her eighteen-year career as an art educator in order to devote more time to writing, drawing, painting, and developing her websites. Drawspace http://www.drawspace.com incorporates her unique style and innovative approach to curriculum development. These sites offer downloadable and printable drawing classes for students of all abilities from the age of eight through adult. Students of all ages, levels and abilities have praised the simple step-by-step instructional approach. This site is respected as a resource for fine art educators, home schooling programs, and educational facilities throughout the world. LEARN-TO-DRAW BOOKS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT Drawing for Dummies (March 4, 2003): Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., New, York, NY, this 336 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing People (August 2004): Published by Alpha - Pearson Education – Macmillan, Indianapolis, IN, this 360 page book will be available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally. . SHAPES AND PROPORTIONS Brenda Hoddinott B-02 BEGINNER: LEARN TO SEE An illustrated discussion surrounding a photo of a duck- shaped candle introduces. Hoddinott. E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites http://www.finearteducation.com and http://www.drawspace.com - 5 - CHECK PROPORTIONS AND ADD FINAL