Hand Drawing Number Two
17th January 2006
This one is a more economical drawing than the last one.
Once I'd done the outline, in the same way as the last one, I had half a mind to leave it with no shading at all since it looked kind of complete as it was. When I did put the shading in and suggested some of the tones, I kept it pretty light because I didn't want to detract from the line, some of which I like, especially around the top of the hand where the index finger is bent round.
I've been thinking more lately about the four elements of light and shadow in drawing: the cast shadow, the edge shadow, the mid tone and the highlight. It's a standard way of looking at drawing form which as far as I'm aware goes back to the Renaissance, maybe before.
Cast shadow:
A cast shadow is a shadow on one object cast by another. The shadow on the middle finger under the thumb is a cast shadow, there's also one cast by the little finger on the palm of the hand below it.
Edge shadow:
This is a shadow cast on an object because it's facing away from the light. The area between the last joint of the fingers and the nails is edge shadow, also on the bottom of the thumb and behind the knuckle of the thumb.
Mid tone:
Well there isn't too much mid tone in this drawing, but the area around the base of the thumb is kind of a mid tone. Or an edge shadow, or a bit of both.
Highlight:
This one is pretty obvious, its the, erm, highlights. On this drawing, the mid tone and the highlights aren't really differentiated. If I'd done this on toned paper I would have added a few highlights in white pastel. Later on I'll do some on toned paper in charcoal and white chalk, highlights will stand out more.
Given the fact that the mid tone and highlight are pretty much the same on this drawing, just white paper, I obviously haven't been thinking about it enough.