Drawing Techniques

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Module

DRAWING FUNDAMENTALS

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Shading Techniques

Orthographic Drawing

Perspective Drawing

Line Drawing

Introduction

Index

01

Introduction

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In this session we will be looking at Drawing Fundamentals. We will focus on traditional drawing basics such as Pen and Pencil weights, Guiding Lines, Shading Techniques and types of Perspective Drawing.

02

Line drawing

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Line Drawing is the technique of using distinct lines against a backdrop to construct imagery unaided by gradients, shading or hue. Line art can be used to depict both 2D and 3D illustrations and often lays emphasis on shape and form.This is one of the most basic yet popular forms of traditional art and is still utilised broadly within creative industrys as the basis for concept development sketches and thumbnails.

02

Line drawing

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Line Drawing utilises pen and pencil weights to convey 3D information such as depth, volume, scale and distance. Graphite Pencils and Ink Pens come in a variety of "weights".Graphite Pencils typically range from 9H to 9B where the H stands for Hard and the B for Black. The higher the numberic value the more Hard or Black the graphite will be.Ink Pens such as Fineliners will have a numberic value to indicate the size of the tip in millimeters.For example a pen with a value 0.1 will have a tip 0.1mm wide.

weighted

uniform

02

Line drawing

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Line Weights are used to simulate volumes within the scene where there would otherwise be shading or colour. A common technique used within Line Art will be to draw more prominent detail, such as primary characters or foreground elements, with thicker or darker lines. This gives the impression that the element has more significance while contrasting it to thinner line weights creates a sense of depth and volume.

03

Perspective drawing

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Perspective Drawing is a technique for creating a linear sense of depth within an image. The objective of this type of drawing is to convey 3D information in a 2D image using a fixed point of perspective. This is created using Guiding Lines and Vanishing Points. This can be a compelling composition technique when trying to convey an intense depth of field.Artists will use this as a tool to convey distance and scale as well as a narrative tool for creating direction within an image. It is often favoured when framing large scale subjects such as architecture and environments.

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Perspective drawing

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Guiding Lines are a technique used to assist allignment and scale within a hand drawn image. These lines are not pertinent to the shape or form of the drawing itself, but instead offer a visual aid to the artist. In conjunction with Vanishing Points an artist can create a visual reference for themself to accurately plot the depth of the perspective drawing and maintain a uniform scale to all elements. Vanishing Points are a place to which all guiding lines are drawn in order to create a sense of perspective. They typically sit on the horizon of an image and are designed to create a sense of distance for elements within the image to "vanish" towards.

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Perspective drawing

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This effect can also be used with 2 Vanishing Points to create a 2 Point Perspective. This involves the same principle as a standard perspective drawing but with a second perpendicular vanishing point drawing directional guidelines to it also. Elements placed between the 2 Vanishing Points draw to both points of the horizon as shown above.

04

orthographic drawing

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Orthographic Drawing is technique used to demonstrate a 3D object in 2D space. An Orthographic perspective aims to convey a 3D objects properties such as height, width and depth, by creating 2D projections of the subject across multiple angles. This is common practice for architectural and engineering industrys as a way of communicating 3D models in a 2D space. This type of drawing can be very beneficial to the 3D modelling process as it can accurately convey metric dimensions of a 3D shape in the absence of a model itself.

04

orthographic drawing

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By creating a Front, Side and Top perspective drawing of the subject an Artist can visualise an entire 3D object within a 2D space. By adding annotations for dimensions and unit scale they can communicate the proportions and relative scale for modelling.This type of drawing is essential when conveying concept art to a production team in order to give an accurate 360 degree revolution of a design. This is a common practice for all types of 3D assets including both inanimate props and characters. A character design presented in orthographics will often be referred to as a turnround.

05

shading techniques

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Shading refers to the process of applying simulated lighting information to a drawn image by creating a contrast in greyscale shade to denote light from shadows.There are several different types of shading techniques.Some are utilised more commonly for certain subjects or mediums. They are also often used in conjunction with one another to illustrate different material types or surfaces.Some of the most common of these techniques are Rendering, Hatching and Stippling.

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shading techniques

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Rendering is the technique of creating a blended gradient from dark to light information in order to simulate lighting scenarios. This is best utilised with Graphite Pencil where different pencil weights can assist in the tone value.Hatching and Crosshatching involves drawing interwoven lines to indicate a level of shadow information. The more dense the lines the darker the shadows appear to be. This is commonly adopted for Pen line art where a blended gradient is harder to achieve.Stippling is the technique of drawing dots to represent shadow and light information. Similar to hatching, the denser the arrangement of dots the darker and more shaded the surface appears to be.

QUIZ

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Drawingfundamentals

Hardness + Blackness

Heaviness + Blackness

Harshness + Boldness

The "H" and "B" in Pencil Weights stand for ?

Question 1/4

Horizon Points

Vantage Points

Vanishing Points

Question 2/4

The areas of a Perspective Drawing all guidelines lead to are called:

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Height, Width and Depth.

Weight, Colour and Density

Question 3/4

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Top, Front and Bottom

An Orthographic Drawing aims to convey the following 3properties of a 3D object.

Rendering

Stippling

Question 4/4

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Cross Hatching

A Shading Technique utilising concentrated dots is known as:

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