Art One High School Contour Line 6f3g5h

Please sharpen a pencil before we begin.

Contour Drawing ART ONE A Jacobson Production “Drawing is the 'bones' of art. You have to be able to walk before you can run.” (Dion Archibald)

Contour Drawing There is no one “correct” way to draw. People have always drawn, doodled, and sketched out ideas. Everyone CAN draw---maybe not with the skill of a master artist, but everyone can learn to render images and by practicing can show great improvement. By learning how to look at objects just a little differently and by breaking them down into simple shapes, all people can learn to draw. Contour Line Video Demonstration

Where have I heard the word contour before? con·tour ˈkänˌtooor/ noun 1. an outline, especially one representing or bounding the shape or form of something. A contour map is a map illustrated with contour lines, for example a topographic map, which thus shows valleys and hills, and the steepness of slopes

What is a Contour Line Drawing? It is a detailed outline drawing of the edges of an object.

Why should I Create a Contour Line Drawing ? Contour drawing is a great way to practice and improve your drawing technique whether you are a beginner or already a skilled artist

Far too often we draw with the left side of the brain--•This is the logical /reasonable side—…..its not good at drawing.

Why is the right side of the brain good at drawing?

People who draw with the left side of the brain tend to be technique oriented and produce mechanical looking stiff drawings.

•Good Quality Contour Line looks three dimensional and flowing. •It’s a right brain activity

•The contour line process should be done in one long continuous line to mimic the way that the eye works.

When doing a contour drawing, you are improving your eye-hand coordination, an important skill in both art and athletics.

How to Start to Use the Right Side of Your Brain to Draw •Begin to draw objects from real life. •First grab the object and by turning the object around to observe it from all sides. •Take a good look at the objects edges and textures. •Trust your eyes. •Feel the edges with your fingers.

How should contour line be drawn?

*Anything that has texture such as hair should be grouped together when creating a contour drawing. This means all drawn lines should define the contours of the object instead of trying to simulate texture. *Use a lighter line to outline highlights and shadows - this will help define where surfaces curve, bend or change in value and/or color

Samples of contour line drawings

Why is this NOT a contour line drawing?

Contour line drawing are just line drawing and have no value or shading!

HOW DO I LEARN TO SEE CONTOURS of OBJECTS? To learn to see contour your must learn to do a BLIND CONTOUR DRAWING

Blind contour drawing is a drawing exercise, where an artist draws the contour of a subject without looking at the paper

Your first attempts to draw blind contour will deflate and embarrass you. You are going to feel like you cannot draw at all.

This is good for you. Get over it. Just try to do something new.

With Practice Blind Contour will teach your left brain to relinquish its control. After about 20 drawings and a lot of pouting. You will have better hand to eye coordination and drawing will be easier.

This is what blind contour looks like.

Its awkward and quirky

And kind of cool looking….

How will you start? Video blind contour line

Practice Studies of our hands!

Demonstration