NICOLE IRENE ART
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MONDAY ART MISSION: CONTOUR DRAWINGS + GOOGLE PICTIONARY

4/20/2020

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Welcome to our third week of Remote Learning | Virtual Teaching Wildcat Artists!
 
I hope you all had a most enjoyable weekend – I found the snow to be pretty magical...
Today we are going to cover something all artists are familiar with and use throughout their lives no matter what profession or life path they choose.
 
First we are going to review and reinforce our knowledge of Contour Lines and Drawing – there are a couple videos to watch and some text to read through and then two drawing exercises which you will need your computer/tablet/phone as well as any mark making tools you have such as pencils, pens, markers, color pencils, crayons etc. as well as paper, cardboard, scrap paper or back of something you no longer need.
 
As you read through today’s post be sure to take a break and watch the videos and then continue on.

A LINE IS A DOT THAT WENT FOR A WALK

ART VOCABULARY – become familiar with these terms:

  • Line
  • Mark Making
  • Gesture Drawing
  • Types of line = styles
  • Horizontal
  • Vertical
  • Diagonal
  • Geometric
  • Organic
  • Gestural
  • Contour Line Drawing

WHAT IS A CONTOUR LINE?

In the world of art, a contour line is a line which defines a form or an edge. It is, essentially, the outline or silhouette of a given object or figure. Additionally, contour lines can be used to show any dramatic changes of plane within the object or form (like the inner seams within the structure of a shoe, for example).
 
The term 'contour' finds its origins in French and is derived from the Italian term 'contourno,' 'to round off.' This, in turn, is from 'contournare,' meaning 'to turn around' in Medieval Latin and is traced to Latin as 'com-' + 'tournare,' meaning 'to turn on a lathe.'

QUICK REVIEW OF CONTOUR AND POSITIVE/NEGATIVE SPACE


VISUAL EXAMPLES

Let's look at some visual examples of contour lines.

EXAMPLE 1:

On the left is a photo of a leaf, and on the right is an outline or a contour line of the leaf.
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EXAMPLE 2:

Here is a contour drawing of a shoe in which the artist observed some of the important interchanges of plane.
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EXAMPLE 3:

This is a famous contour line drawing by Pablo Picasso of composer Igor Stravinsky, 1920.
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DRAWING PURPOSE

If you're interested in strengthening your drawing skills, contour line drawing is a great starting point for beginning drawers. This is because an artist drawing with contour lines will only draw the lines following the visible edges of a shape and those along the important interior shapes. During the contour line drawing process, you do not need to worry about any kind of shading at all.

For beginner and seasoned professionals alike contour drawing is an artistic technique used in the field of art in which the artist sketches the style of a subject by drawing lines that result in a drawing that is essentially an outline.
 
The purpose of contour drawing is to emphasize the mass and volume of the subject rather than the detail; the focus is on the outlined shape of the subject and not the minor details at first then once comfortable you add as much detail as possible.
 
However, because contour can convey a three-dimensional perspective, length and width as well as thickness and depth are important; not all contours exist along the outlines of a subject. This technique is manifested in different styles and practiced in drawing development and learning.


IMPORTANCE

Contour drawing is an essential technique in the field of art because it is a strong foundation for any drawing or painting; it can potentially modify a subjects’ form through variation within the lines. Its objective is to capture the life, action, or expression of the subject. It is widely accepted among schools, art institutions, and colleges as an effective training aid and discipline. In the hands of a talented master, the line that conveys contour can deliver an astonishing amount of visual delight.
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Artwork by Benjamin Baptiste ​Brand Manager at Guido’s Fresh Marketplace

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GESTURE DRAWING

STYLES

In art, mark making is a term used to describe the different lines, patterns, and textures that are made visible as a manifestation of applied or gestural energy. It is the gestural “language” of the artist, and it is a term that can refer to any art material applied to any surface. Gesture describes line and artwork that captures action, body language and expression. Gesture drawing is a loose form of sketching that attempts to capture your subject's basic form and express movement.

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Mark making happens not only with paint on canvas or pencil on paper but in every form of expressive drawing. Aside from what these marks may add to a painting they possess unique characteristics that have the power to identify artists, almost as fingerprints do, to art aficionados.
 
By altering the character of the mark (thick, thin, straight, curving) an artist can emulate many aspects of the subject that relate form and space to the viewer. For example, a line can be lighter in value (gradation) to suggest greater distance between objects in the drawing. A darker portion of the contour could represent an object with little or no light source; the space is compressed or the object is lower. Continuous lines used inside the outline of a subject can add accent or cast shadow, depending on the value of the line.

THE LINES SONG! Its pretty catchy so enjoy!

TYPES OF LINES (infinite possibilities and combinations):

  • Zigzag | Sharp
  • Spiral | Smooth
  • Long | Short 
  • Thick | Thin
  • Curvy | Wavy
  • Broken | Dashed
  • Fancy | Ornate
  • Free |Spontaneous

PRACTICE DRAWING CONTOURS - WHY?

It is a classic drawing exercise to:
  • capture the edges and details that we often overlook
  • develop good hand-eye coordination which is key when learning to draw
  • with regular practice, contour drawing exercises will help train your hand to follow your eye's movements
  • hone your stills not matter what level you are at = practice = improvement
  • develop the right brain (creative side!) muscles
  • become more assertive and aware of the observable
  • balance the left brain's tendency to standardize, generalize, and simplify everything, which creates stereotypical ways of seeing and drawing

SO LET’S START PRACTICING!

Quick, Draw! is an online game developed by Google that challenges players to draw a picture of an object or idea and then uses a neural network artificial intelligence to guess what the drawings represent.
 
Over 15 million players have contributed millions of drawings playing Quick, Draw! These doodles are a unique data set that can help developers train new neural networks, help researchers see patterns in how people around the world draw, and help artists create things we haven’t begun to think of. That’s why we’re open-sourcing them, for anyone to play with.
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Click on the button below – it’s a bit like Pictionary – try to draw what the prompt says and get the computer to guess within the given time. Take screen shots or photos of your computer/tablet screen with your phone.
​Try it at least 10 times and email me your BEST/FUNNIEST TWO at NICLARK@LeePublicSchools.net
Quick, Draw!
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ASSIGNMENTS:

1. Email me your BEST/FUNNIEST TWO Quick Draws to NICLARK@LeePublicSchools.net 

2. Choose your FAVORITE FOOD item(s) currently in the house. If you select something simple like an orange you must do at least three set up as a Still Life arrangement and make sure you include the texture with mark making.  

​TO BEGIN: You will be drawing a simple contour line drawing like the examples below.

Artwork by Benjamin Baptiste
​Brand Manager at Guido’s Fresh Marketplace:

THEN: Take it a step further by adding as many details as possible – ADD TEXTURE WITH LINES ONLY!
 
FINALLY: add solid color with markers, colored pencils, watercolor paint or crayons – whatever you have on hand.
No shading or gradation – keep it simple. Like a cartoon, graphic novel or comic strip.
 
TAKE A PICTURE of your drawing and email it to me NICLARK@LeePublicSchools.net

​
The due date/deadline for both of these assignments is Sunday April 26th 2020 - I need to receive them my midnight!
​

Feels to get be making some art again doesn’t it?! Don’t forget Earth Day is coming up this Wednesday April 22nd… you may have guessed we will be doing an project related to Spaceship Earth and you are right!

Thinking of you all and hoping you are well and enjoying the emerging Season of Spring - take time to notice all of the trees budding, greening grass, blossoming flowers and return of many animals, insects and appearance of vernal baby animals. 

Send me an email if you have any questions or need any help!

All best,

Nicole Webster Clark
1 Comment
Walter link
3/29/2021 08:32:47 am

Lovelly post

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    Nicole
    Webster
    ​Clark

    Visual + Fine Art Educator
    Mixed Media Visual Artist

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