Create depth through value
Patrick J Jones thinks like a sculptor and works on overlapping forms, as he explores the illusion of the third dimension using tonal value
Welcome to part five of my eight-part series on drawing the figure. In this instalment we’ll be working with my regular life-model Alana, placing our focus on the gluteus while creating depth using tonal value. The forms of the gluteus offer the best shadow and light options to clearly see – and draw – structure and depth.
On our paper surface we can only draw across two dimensions. We can draw up and down, left and right, but we obviously can’t draw ‘ inside’ the flat paper, because that’s the impossible third dimension of depth. Yet this doesn’t mean we can’t create an illusion of the third dimension.
It was the illusion of the third dimension that first drew gasps of amazement when the Old Masters such as Rembrandt and Caravaggio displayed their huge oil masterworks. Imagine a time when photography and cinema didn’t exist. Now imagine seeing a giant canvas filled with heroic figures, painted with the illusion of 3D space. Having stood in front of these paintings myself, I can attest to the fact that you can almost feel it’s possible to step inside the canvas. This was not only the height of visual entertainment – to the average person it was a feat of magic!
the drawing challenge
Using charcoals and pencils makes the illustration process a harder task, because we don’t have the benefit of colour and glazes. Furthermore, in most cases we can’t match the grand canvas work of the Old Masters because pencil drawings are usually small-scale affairs. However, there are ways around such obstacles.
To create the greatest illusion of depth using monotone values we’ll need to think like a sculptor and draw the body as if it’s a dimensional landscape of overlapping forms with a sense of weight and volume. To do this we work with tonal value, from the darkest value (black), toward the lightest value (white). In this case the white value is the bare paper.
I’ll begin with simple shapes, drawing big to small, and will assess how I’ll construct the drawing before I make a mark. Always be on your highest alert in the early stages, because there’s no point in rendering a badly constructed drawing.