Rendering in Light and draw ing made in light and shade seeks to express the values of the masses as modified by the effect of sunlight and shadow. It is the most realistic of all the methods of pictorial repre sentation in monochrome, as it depicts all the characteristics of the subject with the excep tion of its actual color. (Fig. 5).
Pictorial In order to ex press his idea perfectly and beautifully, whether it be in still-life, landscape or animal drawing, the artist must use in his work the fundamental principles underlying good arrangement of lines and masses in a picture, known as pic torial composition. These principles are: 1. Dominance, which requires that there be one object or centre in a picture of major interest, having the strongest emphasis or accentuation and all other objects subordinate.
2. Opposition, which requires that the vari ous elements in a composition show contrast and variety of line, shape, and value.
3. Balance, which requires that there be such an adjustment of these contrasts that the whole effect will be harmonious.
In the charcoal drawing, (Sheep Entering a Barn,* by the famous Dutch painter Anton Mauve (Fig. 6), we have an example of good composition. The eye first discerns the prin cipal elements, namely, the old man and the sheep, because they occupy a dominant posi tion (near the centre), and their values are accentuated at the expense of the other details, which are purposely kept subdued. Besides, a little scrutiny will reveal that the picture also has ample contrast and variety in line, shape, and tone, and perfect balance of its various attractive forces.
Mediums Used in Of the vari ous materials used in drawing, the most im portant are lead-pencil, ink and charcoal, each having its special qualities and limitations.
The has always been a favorite with artists in mak , ing preparatory studies for their pictures, and a number in the past, as Lalanne, Ingres, Rousseau and Legros, have used it as an inde pendent means of expression. The technique
of lead-pencil drawing is very simple. For ordinary outline work a medium soft pencil is used, held by the thumb and fore-finger three or four inches from the point so that it has the support of the middle finger. The shading is rendered by means of broad intermingled strokes of a soft pencil (4B). held sideways under the fingers. This method is known as pencil-painting. (Fig. 5).
Ink Drawing.— There are three kinds of ink rendering: pure line drawing, made with a pen; tone drawing produced with a brush; and combination drawing of lines supplemented by tones.
In a pure line drawing in ink, the draughts man seeks to render the light and dark values in his subject by means of pen strokes of graded widths. For this purpose India ink and pens of special make are used. (Fig. 7).
An ink tone drawing is made with washes produced by means of a sable or camel's hair brush and India ink, diluted with quantities of water according to the intensity of the tones desired.
Combining lines and tones in an ink draw ing is now very popular with artists, as this method is capable of producing highly inter esting effects.
Charcoal Drawing.— One of charcoal's admirable characteristics is that it produces a wide range of subtle grays. Its pale tones are semi-transparent silvery grays, so useful in depicting aerial perspective, and its dark tones are rich and velvety, extremely valuable in landscape and figure drawing generally.
Its chief quality, however, lies in the fact that it is easily removed, enabling the artist to alter the arrangement of the masses as he composes. These changes are done with the chamois skin and kneaded rubber.
When completed, the drawing can be made permanent by spraying with a solution of white shellac and alcohol, called fixative.