Creating Depth in Your Drawings

When we draw, we are trying to fit a 3-dimensional world onto a 2-dimensional surface.  It's quite a trick when you think about it.

Here are a few tips to help create the magic of depth in your drawings.

Overlapping 

When one object overlaps another, it's obviously in front.  You can see that happening in the drawing of apples on a table above.

Relative Size

Notice how the closest apple appears much larger than the distant apples.  This works from still life drawings to landscapes.  You can check it by measuring the apparent width of the near apple and comparing that measurement with the width of one of the distant apples.

Softening Edges & Contrast

We see softer edges and less contrast in objects that are farther away.  Notice how the little shed has crisp edges and high contrast, but the more distant trees are really just shapes without much detail, and the far hill is reduced to a single tone.

The photograph of the scene shows this clearly, but we can also exaggerate the effect in our drawings if we want to create more depth.

Converging Lines

Notice how the little lane is quite wide at the bottom of the frame, and narrows until the sides seem to almost touch towards the top of the drawing.  Parallel lines converge as they move towards the horizon.

Here's the reference photo for this drawing.  You can also see how the little trees to the right of the lane get smaller and closer together as they get more distant.

You see more detail in the nearest part of the scene -- the weeds at the bottom right & the tree shadows over the lane, vs the single tone for the distant forest and the simplified trees near the top of the hill. 

Foreshortening

Foreshortening can be maddening at times.  

You see something coming towards you (or receding away from you), and your brain believes it knows how to draw that simple object.  Yet, when you draw what your brain tells you is right, it looks wrong!

You might be drawing a simple object, but from a complicated perspective.  It's important to trust your eyes.  Look carefully!

Remember that the closest parts of the object will appear much bigger than you expect.  I drew the close end of the baguette 2x the size of the distant end.  You can measure this with your pencil or other straightedge, even a ruler if you like.   Measure it yourself on the photo below.

 Here's a post from another artist about how artists measure the things they draw using the pencil & thumb method:

 https://blog.artlounge.in/blog/2024/2/22/how-to-sketch-using-pencil-and-thumb-method

Notice the way lines converge.  

You can hold your pencil in the air in front of you and rotate it like the hands of a clock to get the correct angle, then lay the pencil on your paper in that angle and make a quick line to help you see where the line you draw should really go.

Remember that the foreshortened view shows you a compressed view of something.  

For instance, long loaves of bread will appear much shorter than you expect. Measure the width of the broken end of bread. Now compare the width to the length of that loaf.  I find that the length of the bread is almost 2x the width of the bread -- much shorter than you'd expect.

Negative space shapes.

 We call the area around the subject the negative space.  When you look at the shadows and shapes around the object you're drawing, it helps you to see the true shape of the foreshortened object.  You can compare these negative space shapes with the corresponding shapes in your drawing to make sure you got the shape of the object right.  

For instance, notice the V-shape between the two baguettes in the photo above. Notice that I got the distant V-shape between the loaves right in my drawing, but not the V-shape closer to the front.  It's easy to make mistakes. Double checking the negative space shapes helps you make a more accurate final drawing.

These negative space shapes help you to see if you've drawn the foreshortened object right.  If you have the same shape in your drawing, it's right! 

Foreshortened objects look weird!

Remember, after you get done with your drawing, the foreshortened object may still look weird.  Foreshortened views look strange.  Do the best you can; then take a break!

Come back a little later, and your drawing may look more natural to your eye.

Remember that all of these techniques take time and practice.  The more you draw, the more you learn.  I hope these techniques help you to create a sense of depth in your drawings!

Happy Creating!

Osher Figure Drawing with Model Jamie

We had a new model last Friday in Osher Figure Drawing class named Jamie.  She's quite skilled and creative, and she helped us to sharpen our ability to draw foreshortening.

We started with two-minute continuous line drawings of Jamie's expressive gestures.  Her poses were alive and sensitive, and we could see her background as a dancer shining through in her movements.

We moved on to two-minute foreshortening gestures.  Our goals were to

1) Find a foreshortened limb to focus on.

2) Draw the bone structure underneath the foreshortened limb and supporting area, 

noticing the shortened appearance of the foreshortened bit.

3) Draw the outer body around the bones.

We built Jamie's foreshortened body from her skeleton up.

We were warmed up and ready to deal with more complexity.  Jamie took an hour-long pose, with breaks of course, and we delved into expressing her pose, foreshortening and all.

Many thanks to model Jamie. I could see the way her creativity inspired my students to draw lively, fresh compositions.

Osher Figure Drawing with Model Amelia

This week's focus of study was dealing with the challenge of foreshortening.  We warmed up with Amelia taking contrapposto standing poses for us-- the classic standing twist. By drawing with a continuous line, we could explore interior and exterior contours, and with our drawing implement always in contact with the paper, we could spend more time looking at Amelia and less at our paper.

We moved on to 4-minute wrapped-line drawings.  Rather than following the outer contours of Amelia's form, we imagined we were mapping the path of an ant crawling back and forth across Amelia, and so created a contour drawing.  This technique helps to understand the landscape of a foreshortened limb.

Amelia's final gesture of the series was quite foreshortened, giving us a great opportunity to test what we had been practicing.

We moved on to a 15-minute study of foreshortening -- the challenge of drawing a limb coming directly towards us.

We finished the class with a long pose of about 50 minutes (with breaks of course), and incorporated foreshortening into the pose as well as interesting background elements. 

Many thanks to model Amelia for a fantastic session with amazing contrapposto poses!

Osher Figure Drawing with Model Emily

We had a wonderful session studying foreshortening with model Emily last Friday.  We began with 3-minute gestures following Emily's structure.

Once we were warmed up, we approached foreshortening in the gestures through wrapped line drawings.  

I described wrapped line drawings to my students as tracing the path of an ant traveling back and forth over the surface of the model's body.  

Another term for the ant's path is cross contours.  By looking at the contours criss-crossing Emily's body, noticing where they piled up on top of each other, we could sense the foreshortening.

Adding an outer contour line and a shadow or two added enough depth and dimension to bring the figure to life.

We made a longer study of foreshortening with a 15-minute pose, and added a fabric drape to give us some practice drawing fabric, too.

We finished the class with a long pose of about an hour, with breaks for Emily.  Her pose incorporated foreshortening, fabric and a clear view of her face for those who were drawn to portraiture.

Many thanks to Emily for her beautiful poses and inspiration!

Osher Figure Drawing with Model Sophia

Friday's Osher Figure Drawing class brought us model Sophia, whose remarkable creativity and flexibility inspired us all.  We began with 3-minute gesture poses in which we focused on the skeletal underpinnings first, then added in contours and shading. 

We moved on to 4-minute poses, focused on drawing wrapped lines of cross-contours to help us understand how to express Sophia's foreshortened forms.

Sophia put a Herculean effort into the back bend pose below, with much of her body weight held by her right arm.  We shortened the pose length to 2 minutes, yet everyone managed to get a full drawing.  Energized by Sophia's effort, we artists drew faster, intent on capturing as much of Sophia's pose as we could.

We incorporated a study of drawing feet into our foreshortening theme, taking 10 minutes to draw Sophia's feet in a close-up study.

We finished the class with a long pose that included foreshortening and excellent lighting to show Sophia's contours.

Many thanks to model Sophia for inspiring us with her joyful spirit and expressive poses!

Osher Figure Drawing Class with Model Hector

We had a wonderfully creative session Friday with model Hector, who transported us to a magical woodland through his poses and the props he brought -- a forest backdrop, a fantastic headdress, woodland ferns, and mossy green fabric.

We began with wrapped line gestures, imagining that we were creating topographical maps for ants as we followed the cross-contours of Hector's body.

It's amazing to me how-- by drawing only interior lines -- we could express the volume of Hector's body, and the curve of his spine.

We began adding a few shadows, which immediately created depth and form.

We moved on to study foreshortening, sketching Hector's outstretched arm in profile.  Hector then moved his arm towards the camera to increase the foreshortening. At each step, we sketched for 2 minutes. Just for fun, he dangled a silk flower from his fingers.  

Feeling warmed up and ready to take on some foreshortening, we set up a long pose to draw, and incorporated all the amazing props Hector had brought to evoke the Green Man in his enchanted woodland home.

 Many thanks to model Hector for bringing the inspiration for an amazing session!