Aristotle drawing for practising sketching with the"blocking in" method.
Embark on your artistic journey with the fundamental 'block-in' technique, a pivotal practice for beginners in drawing and sketching. This transformative process deconstructs the 'constellation,' guiding you through the meticulous refinement of shapes and lines. Explore its essence in a step-by-step demonstration for an Aristotle sketch, offering a valuable opportunity for beginners to hone their skills in the art of sketching.
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With an established large shape that encompasses the whole of the thing we're drawing (what we will refer to as the 'constellation'), the next point of call is the 'block-in'.
The block-in is a process that does just that, it blocks in the basic shapes. These shapes are then refined and broken down and this process continues until there is nothing left to break down or fix. The block-in is a skill that you can spent years trying to master and it can still seem like a challenge. The reason for that is the block-in is an answer to all visual problems but every visual question poses its own unique challenges that we must allow the block-in to decipher.
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The essence of the block-in is the ability to break down not just shapes, but lines. One line becomes two. In this way the line sections of the constellation are sub-divided and the likeness of the thing we're drawing grows.
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Below a demonstration for an Aristotle drawing which will help you practice sketching.
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Initial Block-In
The constellation stage (the beginning) involves placing shapes not features. To create it we must use the constellation grip which is the pencil held right back at the futher most top.
This style of grip produces a painterly style of line that is light and breezy. Capturing the right sense of gesture is incredibly important at the beginning stage of a drawing because to get it right at a basic level at the start is to seed your drawing with a energy that will show through at the very end. The skill is to make sure sure you don't destroy that primary sense of gesture with too much information.
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The emphasis here is on the abstract. Don't try to capture words because drawing a concept is such a hard thing to pin down.
During the block-in stages, use your arm, not your wrist, to generate long fluid strokes. Continue your stroke past the point at which you think it should stop. At this stage we don't know for certain where and when lines start and end so it's best to not aim for that kind of pin point precision as of yet.
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The way you hold the pencil is completely up to you but I want to suggest a few ways that can benefit your work. The way you grip the pencil will dictate what type stroke you will produce.
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Advanced Block In
Once filled in with a wash of tone, the dark shape appears and with it, a sense of structure and solidity comes about. Large dark shapes are excellent at regulating the linework because errors in shape suddenly leap out because with value added it becomes far easier to compare one large shape to another.
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A critical thing to remember is that, depending on which phase of the drawing you're at, your grip should change like you might change gears on a bike as dictated by the terrain. At this stage the pencil should be help either at the middle point of the pencil or at the furthest tip. This enables an openess in your lines and makes the expression of gesture far easier to acquire.
Here I have washed in shadows with the 2B pencil held at the far end. This process suddently flicks on the lights and our drawing enters a whole new stage of development.
To complete the drawing I have used a process known as 'veiling'. This technique consists of lightly hatching in washes of value so they intersect neatly which takes quite a while but it very methodical and orderly once you get into it. This is repeated until the complex micro-modulations of the surface are expressed in a way that makes sense.
It is not only beginners that should practice sketching and sketch exercises, veterans too are usually well aware that they need to maintain practice in order to stay in creative shape. The sketches you produce don't even need to be very much. To yield results, it can be as simple as doodling while on the phone, making a sketch study while lounging in a cafe.