danteort
April 22nd, 2004, 02:08 PM
This is a really cool technique my figure drawing teacher had us do. Basically, you take tracing paper and black and white paint, and you rip up the paper, paint one side of it, and stick it on a board. Cover the board with this until it's a medium gray, then map out the three major values (light, medium, and dark) of your portrait by ripping up the paper, painting it, and sticking it on the board. Once you have those in place, move on to five values.
Essentially, you're drawing with these abstract shapes of paper. Keep building it up, layer by layer, and feel free to rip some off, add more, whatever, as you see fit. You can paint on top of the paper when it's on the board, but try to restrain yourself, since you're not making a painting here.
The idea behind this is to see the portrait as a series of abstract shapes of light, medium, and dark. When you can see these and reproduce them in their correct place, then what you get is a portrait that looks correct.
http://danteort.tripod.com/Abstract_self_portrait.jpg
http://danteort.tripod.com/Abstract_detail.jpg
This was based on a photograph of myself, but it can also be done from life. It's on an 18x24 board. Acrylic paint and tracing paper.
Essentially, you're drawing with these abstract shapes of paper. Keep building it up, layer by layer, and feel free to rip some off, add more, whatever, as you see fit. You can paint on top of the paper when it's on the board, but try to restrain yourself, since you're not making a painting here.
The idea behind this is to see the portrait as a series of abstract shapes of light, medium, and dark. When you can see these and reproduce them in their correct place, then what you get is a portrait that looks correct.
http://danteort.tripod.com/Abstract_self_portrait.jpg
http://danteort.tripod.com/Abstract_detail.jpg
This was based on a photograph of myself, but it can also be done from life. It's on an 18x24 board. Acrylic paint and tracing paper.