| ....with Artist Alan Tulloch |
| TRANSFIGART |
| ....with Artist Alan Tulloch |
| An Online Connection for "The Figure as Document" Woodlands ArtsFest 2004 |
| All images on this website are copyright to ascribed artists and may not be reproduced without the permision of respective artists. |
| Tutorial 3 - Is 'Outline' In or Out? Introduction Ingres believed in the importance of line in drawing. Some would say that 'line is to drawing' as 'area is to painting'. The 'basic-ness' of line in drawing may be more of a result of usual drawing media. The habit of using materials that naturally or commomly create line does not mean that the drawer is at the heart of drawing. Though line features strongly in the practice of drawing, there is still a lot of misunderstanding about line. Line can be a conjuror of form or can 'sit' as flat as the surface of paper it is drawn on. There is a common practice to talk about 'outline' as if mastering the shape of a shape will capture its form. Some drawers are too dictated to by the word 'outline'. A better term to use is 'contour'. A 'contour' is the result of a 'tour'. An artist can 'charter' a 'tour' to travel to wherever it suits the artist |
| Body 1. A 'tour' is often 'chartered' on a desire or a need to discover something. In the above drawing, I suggest that not enough has been discoverd about the arm to make it appear three dimensional. The photo at right is not the same as the photo above. It is a view that is slightly higher than the first view. Slight though the move is, extra information is revealed. The inside line from the upper arm is not seen to connect directly with the inside ine of the forarm. |
| More Tutorials to be added soon |
| 3. As a result of sending the artist's head on a 'tour' of its own, (a move up and down or to the left and right) new journeys for the eye were discovered. The (con)tour with an edge lead to a journey to an 'inner' line. Drawing these 'inlines' creates a series of overlaps that add form to a previously flat line. Conclusion There are some advantages in having a 'mobile head'. Renaiss-ance style drawing depended a lot on maintaining a 'fixed head'. An image would be distorted if the artist moved his or her head around all of the time if aiming for a Renaissance-style representation. Don't stay fixed on 'safe paths' like an outline. Be prepared to get the eye journeying along lines that make a passage along and into form, not being trapped on an outline. Allow the eye and charcoal to 'contour*'. |
 |
| Arm (Set View) 2004 - Photo by Alan Tulloch |
 |
| Arm (Right View) 2004 - Photo by Alan Tulloch |
|
 |
| Arm (Above View) 2004 - Photo by Alan Tulloch |
 |
| Arm (Outline Drawing) 2004 - Alan Tulloch |
| In response to this view of a figure (seen at left) an outline view of the forms was drawn (see right). Though the drawing conveys sufficient information, the whole of the arm is a bit flat. It is mainly the recording of the elbow that creates form in the arm. In this drawing, the outlines were created by taking a 'tour' along the edge where figure and space meet. |
 |
 |
| 2. Additionally, a move by the artist's head to the right reveals extra information about the tricep muscle. The line of this muscle appears to 'cut' into the arm at a lower point. The passage of the line from the tricep muscle suggests that a different type of line tour is necessary to capture the nature of the 'outline'. This is because the 'outline' becomesan 'inline'. |
| Tricep Muscle |
| Tricep Muscle Incut |
| ______ |
| _______ |
| Tricep Muscle Incut |
| * (Con- = with) Let the eye tour 'with' forms. |