DRAWING

Drawing is a form of virtual art that makes use of any number of drawing to mark a twodimensional medium. Instruments used include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes,
wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, various kinds of erasers, markers, styluses,
various metals (such as silverpoint) and electronic drawing. An artist who practices or works in
technical drawing may be called a drafter or draftsman or draughtsman.
Drawing is one of the major forms of expression within the visual arts. It is generally
concerned with the marking of lines and areas of tone onto paper, where the accurate
representation of the visual world is expressed upon a plane surface. Traditional drawings
were monochrome, or at least had little colour, while modern colored-pencil drawings may
approach or cross a boundary between drawing and painting. In Western terminology, drawing is
distinct from painting, even though similar media often are employed in both tasks. Dry media,
normally associated with drawing, such as chalk, may be used in pastel paintings. Drawing may
be done with a liquid medium, applied with brushes or pens. Similar supports likewise can serve
both: painting generally involves the application of liquid paint onto prepared canvas or panels,
but sometimes an under drawing is drawn first on that same support.
Drawing is often exploratory, with considerable emphasis on observation, problemsolving and composition. Drawing is also regularly used in preparation for a painting, further
obfuscating their distinction. Drawings created for these purposes are called studies.There are
several categories of drawing, including figure, drawing, cartooning, doodling and shading.
There are also many drawing methods, such as line drawing, stippling, shading, the surrealist
method of entopic graph mania (in which dots are made at the sites of impurities in a blank sheet
of paper, and lines are then made between the dots), and tracing (drawing on a translucent paper,
such as tracing paper, around the outline of preexisting shapes that show through the paper).A
quick, unrefined drawing may be called a sketch.In fields outside art, technical drawings or plans
of buildings, machinery, circuitry and other things are often called "drawings".
Drawing as a Form of Communication
Drawing is one of the oldest forms of human expression, with evidence for its existence
preceding that of written communication. It is believed that drawing was used as a specialized

form of communication before the invent of the written language, demonstrated by the
production of cave and rock paintings created by Homo sapien sapiens around 30,000 years
ago. These drawings depicted objects and abstract concepts. The sketches and paintings
produced in prehistoric times were eventually stylized and simplified, leading to the
development of the written language as we know it today.
Drawing is used to express one's creativity, and therefore has been prominent in the world of art.
Throughout much of history, drawing was regarded as the foundation for artistic
practice. Initially,artists used and re-used wooden tablets for the production of their
drawings. Following the widespread availability of paper in the 14th century, the use drawing in
the arts increased. At this point, drawing was commonly used as a tool for thought and
investigation, acting as a study medium whilst artists were preparing for their final pieces of
work. In a period of artistic flourish, the Renaissance brought about drawings exhibiting realistic
representational qualities, where there was a lot of influence from geometry and philosophy.
The invention of the first widely available form of photography led to a shift in the use of
drawing in the arts. Photography took over from drawing as a more superior method for
accurately representing the visual world. Following the invention of photography, artists began to
abandon traditional drawing practises. Modernism in the arts encouraged 'imaginative
originality' and artists became more abstract in their approach to drawing.
Drawing Outside of the Arts
Although the use of drawing is extensive in the arts, its practice is not confined purely to
this field. Before the widespread availability of paper, 12th century monks in European
monasteries used intricate drawings to prepare illustrated, illuminated manuscripts on vellum and
parchment. Drawing has also been used extensively in the field of science, as a method of
discovery, understanding and explanation. In 1616, astronomer Galileo Galilei explained the
changing phases of the moon through his observational telescopic drawings.Additionally, in
1924, geophysicist Alfred Wegener used illustrations to visually demonstrate the origin of the
continents.

Materials

The medium is the means by which ink, pigment or color are delivered onto the drawing surface.
Most drawing media are either dry (e.g.graphite, charcoal, pastels, Cont, silverpoint), or use a
fluid solvent or carrier (marker, pen and ink). Watercolor pencils can be used dry like ordinary
pencils, then moistened with a wet brush to get various painterly effects. Very rarely, artists have
drawn with (usually decoded) invisible ink. Metalpoint drawing usually employs either of two
metals: silver or lead. More rarely used are gold, platinum, copper, brass, bronze, and tinpoint.
Paper comes in a variety of different sizes and qualities, ranging from newspaper grade up to
high quality and relatively expensive paper sold as individual sheets. Papers can vary in texture,
hue, acidity, and strength when wet. Smooth paper is good for rendering fine detail, but a more
"toothy" paper will hold the drawing material better. Thus a coarser material is useful for
producing deeper contrast.
Newsprint and typing paper may be useful for practice and rough sketches. Tracing paper is used
to experiment over a half-finished drawing, and to transfer a design from one sheet to another.
Cartridge paper is the basic type of drawing paper sold in pads. Bristol board and even heavier
acid-free boards, frequently with smooth finishes, are used for drawing fine detail and do not
distort when wet media (ink, washes) are applied. Vellum is extremely smooth and suitable for
very fine detail. Coldpressed watercolor paper may be favored for ink drawing due to its texture.
Acid-free, archival quality paper keeps its color and texture far longer than wood pulp based
paper such as newsprint, which will turn yellow and become brittle much sooner.
The basic tools are a drawing board or table, pencil sharpener and eraser, and for ink
drawing, blotting paper. Other tools used are circle compass, ruler, and set square. Fixativeis
used to prevent pencil and crayon marks from smudging. Drafting tape is used to secure paper to
drawing surface, and also to mask an area to keep it free of accidental marks sprayed or spattered
materials and washes. An easel or slanted table is used to keep the drawing surface in a suitable
position, which is generally more horizontal than the position used in painting.
Techniques

Almost all draftsmen use their hands and fingers to apply the media, with the exception of some
handicapped individuals who draw with their mouth or feet.

Prior to working on an image, the artist will likely want to gain an understanding of how the
various media will work. The different drawing implements can be tried on practice sheets in
order to determine value and texture, and how to apply the implement in order to produce
various effects.
The drawing strokes used control the appearance of the image. Pen and ink drawings often
use hatching, which consists of groups of parallel lines. Cross-hatching uses hatching in two or
more different directions to create a darker tone. Broken hatching, or lines with intermittent
breaks, can be used to form lighter tones, and by controlling the density of the breaks a gradation
of tone can be achieved.Stippling, uses dots to produce tone, texture or shade. Different textures
can be achieved depending on the method used to build tone.
Drawings in dry media often use similar techniques, although with pencils and drawing sticks
continuous variations in tone can be achieved. Typically a drawing will be filled in based on
which hand the artist favors. A right-handed artist will want to draw from left to right in order to
avoid smearing the image. Erasers can be used with many media to remove unwanted lines,
lighten tones and clean up stray marks.
In a sketch or outline drawing, the lines drawn often follow the contour of the subject being
drawn, creating depth by looking like shadows cast from a light in the artist's position.
Sometimes the artist will want to leave a section of the image untouched while filling in the
remainder of the picture. The shape of the area to be preserved can be painted on with masking
fluid or cut out of a frisket and applied to the drawing surface, protecting the surface from stray
marks until the mask is removed.
Another method to preserve a section of the image is to apply a spray-on fixative to the surface.
This will hold loose material more firmly to the sheet and prevent it from smearing. However the
fixative spray typically uses chemicals that can harm the respiratory system, so it should be
employed in a well-ventilated area such as outdoors.
Another technique is subtractive drawing in which the drawing surface is covered with graphite
or charcoal and then erased to make the image.
Tones

Shading is the technique of varying the tonal values on the paper to represent the shade of
the material as well as the placement of the shadows. Careful attention to reflected light,
shadows and highlights can result in a very realistic rendition of the image.
Blending uses an implement to soften or spread the original drawing strokes. Blending is most
easily done with a medium that does not immediately fix itself, such as graphite, chalk, or
charcoal, although freshly applied ink can be smudged, wet or dry, for some effects. For shading
and blending, the artist can use a blending stump, tissue, a kneaded eraser, a fingertip, or any
combination of them. A piece of chamois is useful for creating smooth textures, and for
removing material to lighten the tone. Continuous tone can be achieved with graphite on a
smooth surface without blending, but the technique is laborious, involving small circular or oval
strokes with a somewhat blunt point.
Shading techniques that also introduce texture to the drawing include hatching and stippling.
There are a number of other methods for producing texture in the picture: in addition to choosing
a suitable paper, the type of drawing material and the drawing technique will result in different
textures. Texture can be made to appear more realistic when it is drawn next to a contrasting
texture; a coarse texture will be more obvious when placed next to a smoothly blended area. A
similar effect can be achieved by drawing different tones close together; a light edge next to a
dark background will stand out to the eye, and almost appear to float above the surface.

Pencil portrait by Ingres

Measuring the dimensions of a subject while blocking in the drawing is an important step
in producing a realistic rendition of the subject. Tools such as a compass can be used to measure
the angles of different sides. These angles can be reproduced on the drawing surface and then
rechecked to make sure they are accurate. Another form of measurement is to compare the
relative sizes of different parts of the subject with each other. A finger placed at a point along the
drawing implement can be used to compare that dimension with other parts of the image.
A ruler can be used both as a straightedge and a device to compute proportions.
When attempting to draw a complicated shape such as a human figure, it is helpful at first to
represent the form with a set of primitive shapes. Almost any form can be represented by some

combination of the cube, sphere, cylinder, and cone. Once these basic shapes have been
assembled into a likeness, then the drawing can be refined into a more accurate and polished
form. The lines of the primitive shapes are removed and replaced by the final likeness. Drawing
the underlying construction is a fundamental skill for representational art and is taught in many
books and schools, as its correct application will resolve most uncertainties about smaller details
and make the final image look self-consistent.
A more refined art of figure drawing relies upon the artist possessing a deep understanding of
anatomy and the human proportions. A trained artist is familiar with the skeleton structure, joint
location, muscle placement, tendon movement, and how the different parts work together during
movement. This allows the artist to render more natural poses that do not appear artificially stiff.
The artist is also familiar with how the proportions vary depending on the age of the subject,
particularly when drawing a portrait.

Perspectives
Linear perspective is a method of portraying objects on a flat surface so that the dimensions
shrink with distance. Each set of parallel, straight edges of any object, whether a building or a
table, will follow lines that eventually converge at a vanishing point. Typically this point of
convergence will be along the horizon, as buildings are built level with the flat surface. When
multiple structures are aligned with each other, such as buildings along a street, the horizontal
tops and bottoms of the structures will all typically converge at a vanishing point.
When both the fronts and sides of a building are drawn, then the parallel lines forming a
side converge at a second point along the horizon (which may be off the drawing paper.) This is a
two-point perspective.[25] Converging the vertical lines to a third point above or below the
horizon then produces a three-point perspective.
Depth can also be portrayed by several techniques in addition to the perspective approach above.
Objects of similar size should appear ever smaller the further they are from the viewer. Thus the
back wheel of a cart will appear slightly smaller than the front wheel. Depth can be portrayed
through the use of texture. As the texture of an object gets further away it becomes more

compressed and busy, taking on an entirely different character than if it was close. Depth can
also be portrayed by reducing the contrast in more distant objects, and by making their colors
less saturated. This will reproduce the effect of atmospheric haze, and cause the eye to focus
primarily on objects drawn in the foreground.

CONCLUSION:
Hence drawing will help me to relax my mind at times when I am not in a position to do
something. This is one of the major parts of my life.