Drawing I – ARTS 211

CG • Section 8WK • 11/08/2019 to 04/16/2020 • Modified 09/05/2023

Course Description

An introduction to basic drawing fundamentals including gesture line, contour line, positive and negative space, linear perspective, sight measurement techniques, modeling perspective, and composition. (Formerly ARTS 110)

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

Drawing is one of the fundamental elements of visual thinking; it involves both an overt process of thought and the progressive development of the student’s skill. Becoming an accomplished draughtsman remains foundational to nearly all other disciplines in visual communication arts—in theory and in practice.

Course Assignment

Lecture presentations and textbook readings

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (2)

The student is required to post an original image followed by a response to the provided prompt for each Discussion. Each post must be at least 150 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the post, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ posts. Each reply must be at least 100 words.

Warm-Up/Free Drawing Assignment

This project is an exploration of different sorts of stylistic mark-making, following and emulating examples of marks made within an assortment of master drawings. More precise directions are to be found in Exercise 4 in the Workbook.

  1. Read the directions for Exercise 4 carefully. Turn to pages 10–11: Line Styles.
  2. Look at the work of Matisse. Using a 4b pencil or a felt-tip marker, try to make marks in the artist’s style–as best as you can imitate their character–in the space provided in your Workbook.
  3. Next, follow the directions in the Workbook, using the example of Van Gogh.
  4. Again, with Delacroix.
  5. And once again, follow the given directions for the Ben Shahn example.
  6. Take a digital photograph of your work and upload it to Canvas under the appropriate area for the assignment.

Vase Faces/Upside–Down Drawings Assignment

The student will create a drawing utilizing the Vase Faces technique (Workbook, Exercise 5) and an Upside Down Drawing (Workbook, Exercise 6). These exercises focus on developing the ability to perceive visual detail in more enhanced ways, allowing one to see as an artist sees.

  1. Carefully read the directions for Exercise 5 in your workbook. Turn to pages 14–15 and draw as instructed in the space provided.
  2. Take a digital photograph of your completed work and upload it to Canvas under the appropriate area for this assignment.
  3. Carefully read the directions for Exercise 6 in your Workbook. Turn to pages 18–24 and choose one of the drawings (printed upside down) to copy. Make your copy of the drawing (also upside down) in the space provided in your workbook.
  4. Take a digital photograph of your finished work and upload it to Canvas under the appropriate area for this assignment.

Flag or Drapery Drawing Assignment

The student will complete a value-study drawing of a flag or piece of drapery (Workbook, Exercise 29). This exercise presents an introduction to the anatomy of drapery, as well as to the study of light and shade, value shifts, and contrast.

  1. Carefully read the instructions for Exercise 29 in your Workbook.
  2. Select a flag or piece of drapery and arrange it according to the instructions for Exercise 29.
  3. Turn to page 109 in your Workbook and complete the drawing on the provided sketch page.
  4. Take a digital photograph of your completed drawing and upload it to Canvas under the appropriate area for this assignment.

Contour Drawings Assignment

The student will create a blind contour drawing (a line drawing wherein one does not look at the paper one is drawing upon, but instead fixes one’s close observational attention completely on the object which is being drawn), as described in detail in the Workbook, Exercise 7. Then, you will create a modified contour drawing, as described in the Workbook, Exercise 11. These exercises are designed to enhance visual sensitivity as well as hand/eye coordination.
1. Carefully read the instructions for Exercise 7 in the Workbook.
2. Turn to page 29 of your Workbook and do the blind contour drawing of your hand on the sketch page provided. Look very carefully at your hand as you draw, but do not look at your drawing itself until you finish it.
3. Carefully read the instructions for Exercise 11 in your Workbook.
4. Turn to page 42 of your Workbook and complete a contour drawing of your hand holding an object on the sketch page provided. Since this is a modified contour drawing, you may of course look at the drawing as you draw this time.
5. Take digital photographs of Exercise 7 and Exercise 11.
6. Upload the photographs of these exercises to Canvas under the appropriate area for this assignment.

Chair and Corner Drawings Assignment

The student will create a drawing of a chair and another drawing of a corner of a room utilizing the perspective/spatial concepts covered in the readings and video demonstrations (Workbook, Exercises 15, 18, and 21). The ability to see and conceptualize space is integral to drawing, and it remains fundamental to visual thinking as employed in virtually any medium. The exercises introduce you to the basic concepts and skills necessary to depict spatial relations between objects effectively.

  1. Carefully read the instructions for Exercise 15 in your Workbook. Turn to page 55 and complete the drawing on the sketch page provided.
  2. Carefully read the instructions for Exercise 18 in your Workbook. Turn to page 65 and complete the drawing on the sketch page provided.
  3. Once again, carefully read the instructions for Exercise 21 in your Workbook. Turn to page 78 and complete the drawing on the provided sketch page.
  4. Take digital photographs of the three completed drawing projects and upload them to Canvas under the appropriate area for this assignment.

Profile Portrait Drawings Assignment

The student will create a set of 3 drawings exploring various aspects of the profile portrait (Workbook, Exercises 26–28). These exercises form a unit and introduce you to the basic proportions of the human face. The exercises also integrate earlier lessons and concepts of drawing in a more sophisticated fashion. First comes an understanding of proportion, then you will gain experience by copying a master drawing, and finally, you will produce an original profile portrait of your own.

  1. Carefully read the instructions for Exercise 26 in your Workbook. Then turn to page 99 and complete the proportion Exercise. (NOTE: There seems to be a typo in the instructions for this project; instead of finding the partially drawn diagram on page 96, it is in fact on page 99. There is no such diagram on page 96.)
  2. Carefully read the directions for Exercise 27 in your Workbook. Then turn to page 103 and complete the master drawing copy in the space provided.
  3. Carefully read the instructions in your Workbook for Exercise 28. Turn to page 106 and complete your profile portrait drawing as directed in the space provided.
  4. Take digital photographs of all 3 completed drawings and upload them to Canvas under the appropriate area for this assignment.

Advanced Portrait Drawing/Value Study Assignments (2)

The student will create a set of more advanced portrait drawings/value studies (Workbook, Exercises 32, 33). These exercises build upon the knowledge and experience gained in the profile portrait exercises by introducing you to more complex problems and solutions. First, you will learn the canonical facial proportions of the frontal portrait. The next exercise presents the discipline of copying a frontal portrait by Picasso.

Analysis Paper Assignment

Choose 1 of the artworks listed below and develop an Analysis Paper Assignment of at least 2 pages that describes the techniques and principles of drawing as they are used in the chosen piece. The paper must be in current MLA format and must cite three scholarly references.

Quizzes (7)

Each quiz will cover the Textbook Material for the Module: Week in which it is assigned. Each quiz will be open-book/open–notes, contain 10 multiple choice and/or true false questions, and have a 20–minute time limit.