Marshall Vandruff - Draftsmanship Seminar

I finally have some time to type up my draftsmanship notes. I took the class this year Thanskgiving Weekend and last year.


Here we go:

Perspective relates to everythign you draw. The magic of of drawing is to take a flat piece of paper and make it appear 3 dimensional.

Perspective should not be a bad word - it is nonsense to think you don't need perspective.

Raphael uses cross contour lines.

Nicolaides - "Natutal Way to Draw" has 750 hours of exercises - gesture drawing - cross contour, threads, adhesive, he doesn't take into position the camera angle.

There is an idea of dipping up or dipping down which puts a rubber band around an object depending on eye level.

Definition of Draftsmanship: Creating an illusion of a 3d world on a 2d surface.

Drawing is the foundation of realistic painting. Rush-Bliss-Fall inlove with Drawing.

Get out of your mind into the paper. Probem is how to get stuff out of your head onto paper.
Animators know how to do this. They trace over and add technique and style.

To get good at draftsmanship it takes 2 to 3 years of hard work to not be bound by reference.


How do artists invent?

- They make complex figures from simple forms
- Stanislav Szukalski was fanatic about not working from the model
- but you need to know something about anatomy (it has to be in the subconscious mind)
- This is not an argument against models
- In order to get to a high level you need to work on the right things
- Core shadow and reflected light is the halmark of inventing out of the imagination

Jon Gnagy (artists correspondence corse)
- you start with a stick figure based on anatomy
- you start with shapes and then go to the next level (forms)
1. Cones, cylinders, spheres
2. No core shadows or reflected light

Rib cage and pelvis are important to rendering

1. Start with Mannequin
2. Blocks and Cylinders
3. Add sophisticateed Anatomy
4. Plan rubber bands to know if we are looking up or down
5. Head is a coffee can with a rubber band around it
6. Head is both roundish and squarish


Secrets of Draftsmanship can be found in the old dover books by Bridgeman and Pyle
- Learn the simple forms (draw blocks and cones)
- Master the simple forms
a. Spins a box
b. Tilt a Cylinder
c. Assemble simple forms and then shade them

Image Systems
- every Shakespeare play has an image system

Learning to Spin a box is an exercise worth 2 months of work because everything is based on a box.

Problems you will run into
a. x,y,z will converge or be parrallel
b. fear of Foreshortening (draw boxes and dare to foreshorten)
c. Inconsistent Convergence


When you finish this learn to tilt a cylinder
a. remember ellipses have major and minor axises

Assembling simple forms
- cross contours are lines from simple forms


The body as architecture

Leonardo da Vinic and Durer understood form from three points of view, they worked on measuring the body
- you study form so we can tip them and treat the body as architecture.
- treat the head as if it has awnings and sills
- beautiful line
- break up planes
- control specular highlights, core shadows and cast shadows (some people's nature pushes them towards tone)

Next Stage - Self Consciousness/Inhibition
(try not to create anymore masterpieces)
- you will have to go through a period of discomfort and disatisfaction
- you may feel like you have lost your talent


Draw on the Left Side of the Brain

Sphere -
planets, molecules, eyeballs, dandelions
the sphere is also a transitional form

Spheres and Ovids (egg shapes) will solve all kinds of dilemmas

Classic draftsmanship on spheres is a test of mastery - they are not intuitive
Gary Fagin p. 237 "stripes on beach balls, rings on barrels . . . lips on a smile

An ellipse is a circle in perspective it is not an oval . . . it is also not a fish or a racetrack
It is symmetrical top to bottom and left to right

Draw freehand ellipses. Draw everything as if it is made of glass and has a (band?) around it

Accuracy vs. Control
- the worst way to start drawing is carefully
Nicolaides said we must work on the blood of art and feel the feeling as you move in empathy. Rehearse the guts of art.

Effortlessness
- start out loosely
- gradually refine
- acquire infallible technique
- open yourself to inspiration

Books
"Lessons from the Great Masters" (Hale)
"Natural Way to Draw" (Nicolaides)
"Master Class in Figure Drawing" (Hale)
"Creative Perspective" (Ernest Watson)
Scott Roberston Gnomon DVDs
Draw 123

Artists
Ken Hodges
Stanislav Szukalski 1893-1987
Heinrich Kley
Bernie Wrightson
NV Wyeth
Vance Kovacs
Durer
Bridgeman
Burne Hoagrth
Drew Struzan
Cambiaso
Charles Le Brun
Leonardo da Vinci
Linedecker
Mucha
Gary Fagin
Don Lagerbird
Windsor McCay
John Goodinsen
Paolo Uccello
Rubens
Alonso Cano
Tintoretto
Parmigiano
Arthur Ranleham
Rick Griffic