Tracing v copying
The tracing and the copy of the Rubens drawing offer very different information . The tracing is flat while the marks in the copy follow the three dimensional shape of the head.
1. Find a reproduction of an ‘old master ‘ drawing of a figure that has a lot of contours in it (Raphael, Leonardo and Michelangelo are always good )
2. Trace the drawing
3. Then make a copy of the drawing paying close attention to the contours as they follow the form ( as in the bracelet shading exercise)
4. Compare the tracing and the copy. See how the ‘outline’ is not a flat edge but formed by volumes moving away from us.
5. Copy different drawings to feel the range of marks used and the sensations they evoke, such as the difference between the ‘chiselling’ marks of Michelangelo as he carves out a form and the rounded volumes of Raphael as he builds a form up through modelling.
The tracing and the copy of the Rubens drawing offer very different information . The tracing is flat while the marks in the copy follow the three dimensional shape of the head.
1. Find a reproduction of an ‘old master ‘ drawing of a figure that has a lot of contours in it (Raphael, Leonardo and Michelangelo are always good )
2. Trace the drawing
3. Then make a copy of the drawing paying close attention to the contours as they follow the form ( as in the bracelet shading exercise)
4. Compare the tracing and the copy. See how the ‘outline’ is not a flat edge but formed by volumes moving away from us.
5. Copy different drawings to feel the range of marks used and the sensations they evoke, such as the difference between the ‘chiselling’ marks of Michelangelo as he carves out a form and the rounded volumes of Raphael as he builds a form up through modelling.