Constructive wireframe drawings by Thauan

Constructive wireframe drawings by Thauan, a Life Drawing Academy Correspondence Course student

In the Life Drawing Academy, students get personal tutoring and one of the tasks, out of 100, is about constructive drawing principles. Thauan wrote the following definition and made wonderful artworks to illustrate it.

Here's what Thauan wrote about constructive drawing:

Definition and Principles of Constructive Drawing

The study of constructive drawing consists of representing elements of life and imagination through geometric shapes with the intention of creating the illusion of volume, representing something three-dimensional on a two-dimensional surface.

For this to happen successfully, I will list what I believe to be the appropriate principles for constructive drawing:

1. Simplification of forms: Being able to draw simple shapes such as squares, circles, planes, and their three-dimensional forms like cubes, spheres, cones, cuboids. Knowing how to construct these shapes correctly is crucial for the success of building a drawing.
2. Perspective: The simplification of forms requires the application of perspective, since elements must appear to exist within a composition and relate to one another. Perspective not only helps objects look real in relation to each other, but also makes the idea that an object described on a two-dimensional surface appears three-dimensional.
3. Construction lines: These are of great help, as they can define whether an object will be horizontal or vertical, as well as virtual lines, which I constantly use to define perspective or find intersections.
4. Aerial perspective: This helps create the sensation of depth. Once the forms are already constructed in perspective, the intention is now to define the sense of what is near or far from the observer. Thicker lines are used for what is close and thinner lines for what is farther away.

What I have noticed, especially in observational drawings, is that construction helps me get as close as possible to what I am observing. One of the main problems I had in the beginning was the proper measurement of angles, since whenever I stood up for something and sat back down, some angles could subtly change, but enough to interfere with the final result. Once I am constructing what I see, copying just one angle is enough for me to complete that object entirely, as long as I know its proportion.

I would also like to add that I did not believe it was possible to study perspective without defining things such as perspective lines, vanishing points, and the horizon line. Everything we studied up to this point involved the notion that these things exist, but without depending on them, which to me is fantastic. And I believe this is what you mean by developing the "sense of perspective". All the theory about it is in my mind and I use it, I just do not describe it on paper.

Here are the drawings by Thauan:

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