ILL 101 1.1 Perceptual Principles 1

ILL 101 1.1 - Perceptual Principles & media (Line)

Brief Summary:

This project introduces elements and principles of perceptual drawing, introducing new ways of seeing and thinking to raise awareness of the visual world we live in. The focus is on discovering relationships between the characteristics of line, edges, shape, negative spaces, tonal contrast and texture. In this project, you will also explore the life of mark-making and line- through various mark-making exercises you will develop control over your drawing implements. Responsive, sensitively drawn marks become the communicative content of drawings.

Technical Specifications:

- Cartridge Paper

- Graphite pencils

- Charcoal smudge tools

- Windsor & Newton ink

Deliverables:

Series A: Day 1 & 2 - Discovering the life of line, abstraction & mark-making

Exercise A1: Abstract Thinking (A3, ink & brush)

- Using ink, experiment with the boundaries and complexities of dots, marks and line by listening to the given piece of music- gauge the meaning of the song through its rhythm and flow in order to capture the essence, mood and energy using line and dots.

Exercise A2: Warm-up line drawing of organic material (Divide A3 into 2 halves, graphic pencils)

- On the right half of the A3, draw from. observation using line

Exercise A3: Blind contour drawing of organic material (Divide A3 into 2 halves, graphite pencils)

- On the left of the A3, use blind and semi-blind contours, edges, shapes and negative space.

Exercise A4: Vases and faces (2 x A4, graphite pencils)

- Vase/face 1: Re-draw the edge naming each section such as the curve of the hairline, forehead, nose, upper-lip, lower-lip, chin, etc

-Vase/face 2: Complete the missing profile without the naming each section. Focus on abstract descriptions of the lines and angles.

Exercise A5: Up-side down drawing of Picasso (A4, graphite pencils)

- Copy the image (draw as is upside down). Focus on spaces, parts, lines that fit together

Exercise A6: Toilet roll drawing (A3, charcoal)

- Draw a toilet roll from observation by sensitively grounding a landscape ad using an additive and subtractive technique.

Series B: Day 2 & 3 - Axial structures of ellipses

Exercise B1: The anatomy of ellipses (A3 sheets, graphite pencils)

- Construct a big ellipse using the tram method

Exercise B2: The anatomy of ellipses (A3 sheets, graphite pencils)

- Construct a big ellipse using the string method

Exercise B3: The anatomy of ellipses (A3 sheets, graphite pencils)

- Construct freehand ellipses

Exercise B4: Axial structures of cylindrical objects (A3 sheets, graphite pencils)

- Do analysis of the axial structures of cylindrical objects (must show logical analysis of the axial structure, directional axis, short axis, short axis and profiles of 8 cylindrical objects).

Exercise B5: Fetching line (A3, charcoal)

- Draw 20 lines on an A3 piece of paper

Exercise B6: Plant synthesis drawing (A3, brush & ink)

- Explore the expressive qualities of abstract marks and calligraphic lines in a plant synthesis drawing.

Exercise B7: Inventory of line-types (A3, graphite sticks)

- Explore different textures of plant material through a variety of line types.

- On a grid (4 x 4), demonstrate the different line treatments: calligraphic, expressive, gestural, lost-and-found edges and select suitable plant material that best demonstrates the four different line types.

Exercise B8: Inventory of textures (A3, charcoal)

- Explore different textures from plant material & emphasise their qualities through mark-making.

Exercise B9: Principles of the golden mean (2 x A4 on A3)

- Construct a golden rectangle based on golden mean proportion

- Construct a pentagram & a pentangle

- Apply the construction of the pentagram to make a golden ratio measuring calliper

- Document proof of creating & using viewfinder & calliper to discover divine proportion in nature & buildings showing applications of the golden ratio

Rationale:

These series are structured to ensure that I become familiar with the themes. The project aims to enrich my understanding of general drawing principles for establishing good drawing habits (at the beginner level of imaging and visualisation). This project also taught me to be purposefully aware and active in drawing. Within the exploration of line and mark-making I discovered that energy is an essential element in this drawing investigation and that line variation is very important in communicating that. This initial stage of the project and the certain exercises are formulated in such a way to help me understand the cognitive shift from the dominant left-hemisphere mode to the sub-dominant right-hemishpehre mode. It was also important to take note of personal feelings and thoughts and to reflect on my own drawing and thinking process experience.

Deliverables

Series A: Discovering the life of line, abstraction & mark-making

Exercise A1: