INTRODUCTION

The goal of this project is to create a representational drawing of a section inside Toronto's Union Station.  We are to incorporate the principles of drawing we learned in the course such as perspective, tonal control, and proper use of the elements of drawing such as contour, construction, texture and value.

MATERIALS

Heavyweight Vellum Drawing Paper

Graphite Pencils:  HB, 2H

Canson (Mi-Teintes) Paper

Ruler

CREATIVE PROCESS

The Great Hall inside Union Station was the selected location, and there were a few sites that were viable.  I chose the area with the 2 pillars, a sunken wall behind, and a hanging light torch because I believed that it would be easy to show all the elements and principles of drawing for representational work.  The area is relatively small so it was perfect for exploring the details in-depth.  The ceiling for instance was made of square patterns that were getting hit by the light torch at an angle and therefore creating some cool shadows to work with -- excellent for rendering value.  The hanging light torch itself was a lot of fun to explore, in terms of how to create not just the torch itself, but also how to show the illusion of the light radiating from it on a 2D surface.

PRODUCTION METHODS/WORKFLOW

The first step is a visual research/study of line and perspective on-site at Union Station.  I got the rough preliminary sketches done with graphite on vellum paper.

After the preliminary sketches are done, I drew the image again with graphite but this time in accurate 2-point perspective

The approved graphite sketch in perspective was then transposed onto 2 canson papers of different colors (the purpose of this was for us to select which color would be best suited to our own personal preference with regards to our upcoming visual research on light and shadows study). 

After the image was transposed on to the canson papers, we went back to the site at Union Station for a visual study of light and shadows.  Using pencil crayons, I tried my best to render the details of the pillars and area as close as possible to its natural state, while showing the effects of light and cast shadow, and using tonal control and value.  I did this on both of the canson papers.

The last step of the workflow is to render the image on a bigger sized canson paper mounted on a board.  The final image is done in perspective, and respecting the elements and principles of drawing.

FINAL WORK

CONCLUSION

I had a really great time drawing this project and I believe it is a culmination of what we learned in class over the last 4 months.  It is nice to bring it all together and execute it in one piece.  It took a big deal of time to finish it all, but this taught me an important lesson: that in order to create good representational work, we must pay attention to the process and not the final product.  I could have done the perspective better, especially with respect to the bricks on the wall behind the pillars; it is definitely something that I can improve on in upcoming projects.  I rendered the colours, lines, and values at a pretty good level, and I am extremely happy with the overall finish.