Let's Get Sketchy

I've always had a love affair for art. I enjoy seeing other people create art, admire their work, and feel inspired to make my own art as well. I've taken photo 1 as an art class here at Kentridge, but I want to try and expose my mind to different mediums. So, I went to the Kent Library and rented a book called Fantasy Art Drawing Skills by Socar Myles. From there, I began with the basics.

In the book Socar Myles talks about how one way to describe an object or picture is by using a variety of lines. One way is through hatching. Hatching is when parallel lines are placed closely together or far apart, which "create the illusion of shades of gray" (38). Here, I quickly sketched a person doing a backbend, inspired by a photo a got on the web.

Of course there are a few notable differences in the original photo and my sketch. The major difference I want to talk about is how flat my drawing looks, with little lighting. You don't get a sense of drama like you do in the photo.

This is where hatching comes in. It's amazing how just a few pencil marks could make such a dramatic impression on a picture. I decided to draw some parallel lines along the legs and torso. By using this technique, the drawing looks more realistic. Our minds get the idea that if there was a light in the room, it'd be somewhere above the woman as the shading from the legs suggest. In addition, the ribs become more prominent. This replaces the awkward blank space of the torso area in the first photo.

Socar Myles also talks about how broken lines can be used to show movement. She states that the human mind will fill in a lot of the blanks, therefore we don't need to draw everything (39). Since I wanted to try out this technique, I tweaked my drawing again to show movement in the legs. By using broken lines, the woman looks like she had to bring her legs closer towards herself to get into that backbend position.

Although I'm happy with my drawing, this is something I created based off the internet. So I decided to draw something on my own. I quickly sketched out a mythical creature, since this book does focus on fantasy art. I chose to sketch a creature resembling a dragon and a snake, and tried using a pen instead of a pencil to see if it would make a difference.

I tried hatching the area underneath the wings, and behind the curly horn to give the picture some depth. I also tried using this technique in the fire to suggest an intense fire. However, using a pen was difficult for this technique. Using a pen turned out to be difficult when trying to make parallel lines as the lines tended to clump together. I think using a pen to create broken lines is easier than hatching as you only need to draw a few quick lines. In this picture, I applied broken lines to my picture to suggest movement in the wings.

I think with a bit more practice, I can probably use broken lines and hatching to create better drawings. I am wondering if anyone out there has any suggestions for how I can shade while using a pen, and prevent clumping?

Book Citation
Myles, Socar. Fantasy Art Drawing Skills. N.p.: Barron's Educational Series,
     2012. Print.

Photo/Illustration Citation
Person doing a backbend. 7 Feb. 2012. Backbending is the Heart of Yoga. Web. 30
     Nov. 2014. <http://blog.corewalking.com/
     backbending-is-the-heart-of-yoga/>.