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Hand Drawing Number Two

January 1, 2006 By: Paul2 Comments

Posted 17th January 2006

Hand drawing number two

This one is a more economical drawing than the last one.

Once I’d done the outline, in the same wayas the last one, I had half a mind to leave it with no shading at all since it looked kind of completeas it was. When I did put the shading in and suggested some of the tones, I kept it pretty light becauseI didn’t want to detract from the line, some of which I like, especially around the top of the hand wherethe 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 faras 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 thethumb 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 lastjoint of the fingers and the nails is edge shadow, also on the bottom of the thumb and behind the knuckleof the thumb.

Mid tone:

Well there isn’t too much mid tone in this drawing, but the area around the base of the thumb iskind 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 highlightsaren’t really differentiated. If I’d done this on toned paper I would have added a few highlights inwhite pastel. Later on I’ll do some on toned paper in charcoal and white chalk, highlights will stand outmore.

Given the fact that the mid tone and highlight are pretty much the same on this drawing, just whitepaper, I obviously haven’t been thinking about it enough.

Twenty drawings of hands

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About Paul

I'm a (mostly) self-taught artist. I paint realism in oils, mostly still life. I share my work, my evolving process and what knowledge I've gained on my own learning journey here, in the hope that it might help you along on
yours.

Comments

  1. 1

    Oli Richings says

    February 20, 2013 at 3:00 pm

    Hi,
    my name is Oli and I am currently doing an art GCSE at school. One of the tasks we have been set is to research an artist that does work similar to what we are doing. I found this picture and it links to the work that I am doing. If you wouldn’t mind, could I have some of your influences and possibly a short biography on you?
    Thankyou

    Reply
  2. 2

    Emily says

    October 13, 2013 at 3:51 pm

    This is the percfet post for me to find at this time

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Paul

I'm a (mostly) self-taught artist. I paint realism in oils, mostly still life. I share my work, my evolving process and what knowledge I've gained on my own learning journey here, in the hope that it might help you on yours.
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