Contours for rendering - Video by Vladimir London
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Contours for tonal rendering
Video by Vladimir London, a Life Drawing Academy tutor
In the Life Drawing Academy Correspondence Course, students get unlimited personal tutoring and complete 100 drawing tasks. Rose, a student from England created this still life drawing from life and asked a question about rendering. I like this artwork, it has an interesting composition, good linear perspective and a wide gamut of tonal rendering.
When it comes to rendering strokes directions, this goes back to the task on contours. The wavy surface in this drawing has the shape of a reclining cylinder. So, here is a quick sketch that demonstrates contours that reveal the three-dimensional nature of this object.
You can note the angles of those contours. Also, check out the tilt of virtual planes that intersect cylinders. Here are examples of less suitable contours. They are not so good for the purpose of rendering because their virtual planes are seen from below while the point of view is from above. I hope this makes sense. Check the full video on contours of cylinders.
Of course, there is no need in plotting perfect intersection lines, which are the contours of an object, but understanding the idea of intersecting an object with a plane greatly helps when it comes to constructive drawing and tonal rendering. In this example, the cross-section is seen from above, so is the cylinder. That is why this direction of contours and therefore hatching is a good one. Let's recap once again. The direction of the red contour in this case is less suited for tonal hatching than the direction of the blue contour. I hope this helps.
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