Elements of Drawing

          In the last class, we learned very basic concepts about drawing and creating space on a flat surface. Line is a fundamental tool to create contour line, shading and value. Moreover, hatching and crosshatching are techniques that help to give more contrast to the drawing . For instance, Leonardo Da Vinci in the Head of Leda stresses hatching and crosshatching . As we can see Da Vinci uses a group of lines in one direction using the same pressure and, at the same time Da Vinci uses the same lines to contrast light values and dark values. In the other hand, crosshatching is a very important part of this drawing because Da Vinci contrasts the darkness of the hair with the lightness of the hairstyle, face and body. To achieve that kind of darkness is necessary a HB pencil or 2B. A clear case of value in the head of this woman are the eyes looking down and her head turned to the left.

         The next Leonardo Da Vinci’s drawing is a great example for foreground, middleground, background, relative size, overlapping and linear perspective which are the complement of basic drawing. Foreground plays an important role in the drawing’s analysis since the drawing has many objects on the table. For example, the transparent glasses depicted, which were not know in the first century A.D. Leonardo Da Vinci reveals us overlapping with the incredible set of reactions of his twelve followers. In the middleground, Leonardo Da Vinci show us extension effect in the rectangular room using linear perspective from the middle point of the drawing. The mountainous landscape beyond the windows is the background. This masterpiece is complemented by symmetrical forms like the windows, the ceiling, tablecloth and the floor.

           Finally, two points perspective drawing was the last subject of the last class. One horizon and two vanishing points are the key if we want to add some realism to a drawing. In addition, this technique helps us to create an illusion of a three dimensional space on a two dimensional surface.