ART RESOURCES

GRAPHITE VALUE DRAWING

MAKING MARKS AND BLENDING
Description: A look at different grips for mark making and a variety of graphite application techniques. Suggested Materials: 2B graphite pencil, kneaded eraser and Stonehenge drawing paper.

ELEMENTS OF ART

Lines can be heavy, delicate, curvy, straight, zig-zag, thick, thin, etc. In this video, see how artists use line to create an expressive nature in their work, particularly with self portraiture.

Shapes are areas enclosed by lines, and sometimes filled with color, texture or patterns. They generally fall into two categories: geometric and organic. Watch the video below to learn more about the difference through the magic of fruit and still life artwork.

Light defines objects and literally enables us to see things. Values can be better understood when they are visualized as a scale or gradient. Different values can be created by lightening or darkening hue. High contrast imagery has few tonal values between black and white. Low contrast has a lot of grey tones in between the darkest black and brightest white. This video explores value through black-and-white photography.

When shapes achieve the third dimension of depth (real or perceived), they become forms. Light and shadow effects help to create the illusion. So can the way they are drawn, arranged or move through space. Many artists use a tromp l’oeil (“fool the eye”) approach to make two-dimensional drawings appear to have three dimensions.

Color is integral to many artworks and can affect mood, form and perception. The primary colors are red, yellow and blue. Secondary colors, which are made by combining primary colors, are green, purple and orange. In this video, you discover the Color Field painters from the ’50s and ’60s who treated color as their main subject.

Real and implied textures are used to add dimension to a work of art. In the Art School video about texture, see how artists use this element in different ways.

Space plays a role in every artwork, but no artwork demonstrates the use of space more than site-specific artwork, which is made to fit a particular location. Like form, space can also be real or implied.