33238 I Chapter 5
10/21/05
4:27 PM
Page 77
Flatten the Three Dimensional In chapter four you learned how to visually flatten a three-dimensional image to make it easier to draw on your twodimensional paper. This technique is helpful whether you’re sketching the overall scene or focusing on one particular part or shape.
Visual Flattening for Easier Drawing We can visually flatten three-dimensional objects in front of us to make them easier to draw. Even though a bottle before you may be rounded, by closing one eye and extending your arm, you can do two things: Flatten the curve of the top and bottom, and measure it.
Cheat Sheet
• Seek the simplest expression of a shape in the form of straight or curved lines. • Label or name the subject you are drawing in terms of its shape, not what you know it to be. • Break up your subject into parts and practice drawing those parts before you tackle the entire thing. • Ask yourself questions about what it is that you are actually seeing so that you truly understand what you’re drawing. • Measure a smaller shape in your drawing and compare it to other larger shapes to help keep your shapes in proportion.
• You can use any circular shape in your subject, similar to how you would use a line, to help you correctly place the other shapes. • To better see the positive shapes of your subject, pay attention to the negative space around and between them. • Turn a line drawing upside down to help you see shapes and spot problems more easily. • When you can’t get a particular shape right, compare a tracing of that shape from the reference photo to a tracing of your drawn attempt. • Close one eye to flatten a three-dimensional object into two dimensions for measuring purposes and to check for angles and curves.
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P77 F&W-Secrets to Realistic Drawing (RPS 05-7-102NT) 175L