Drawing with Alex Rosmarin - Section 1

No class on 11/25 (Thanksgiving) Course Description: This class will teach basic skills in composing pictures. Lessons will cover: creating a sense of space, arranging things in that space, and designing those things, and characters. Work will mostly be done in class using simple materials. The emphasis will be on drawing from imagination, but there will be lessons on drawing from the live model and on using reference. Section 1: Week 1 Introductions. Ask about their artistic interests and goals. Slideshow of my work. Overview of class. Materials. Sketchbook recommendations. Handouts. Drawing exercise: simple planes & spaces. Week 2 More advanced space exercises. Show how they lead to perspective (without going into teaching perspective itself). Demonstrate with drawing model stand etc. Drawing stand exercise. Week 3 Basic devices for creating space: diminution, convergence, overlapping, and ground plane. Diminution leads to discussion of proportions and scale. Proportions of human figure, naturalistic and cartooning. Lettering proportions. Week 4 Convergence and overlapping. Overlapping leads to discussion of shapes. Real shapes and false shapes. Diorama and relief concepts of composing pictures. Cropping shapes, especially with the edge of the picture plane. Week 5 Ground plane. Planes in general. Mapping lettering and clothing patterns to planes. Using patterns mapped to ground plane for organizing figures and objects in a composition. Working back to front vs front to back. Week 6 Value. Contrast. Gradients vs flats. Plane as value. Detail as texture and value. Detail as spatial cues (Moebius examples). More info to come......