Full Transcript
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfAZt3O0sLY
[00:11] Welcome to Proo. My name is Stan Preno. Uh.
[00:14] Welcome to Proo. My name is Stan Preno. Uh.
[00:17] This episode is a really important one.
[00:19] I'm going to be introducing you guys to the basic elements that make up any picture.
[00:22] We see everything around us in 3D and then we try to draw it on a two-dimensional surface.
[00:27] Of course, drawing an actual 3D world on paper is impossible.
[00:29] So we have to learn how to create the illusion of depth.
[00:31] Any picture can be broken down into the basic elements to create that illusion.
[00:36] It's kind of like the periodic table of elements for artists.
[00:41] Except lucky for us, it's a much smaller table of elements.
[00:43] So we can use these elements to show form and depth if we are realists or representational artists.
[00:49] But it really isn't just used to show form and depth.
[00:53] It could be used for anything.
[00:56] Any.
[01:01] it could be used for anything any picture that you can see anything around.
[01:03] picture that you can see anything around you can be broken up into these elements.
[01:06] you can be broken up into these elements an abstract watercolor painting a.
[01:08] an abstract watercolor painting a realistic portrait a photograph of a.
[01:10] realistic portrait a photograph of a sunset anything that you can see can be.
[01:13] sunset anything that you can see can be described with shape value color and.
[01:17] described with shape value color and Edge I would even argue that there are.
[01:19] Edge I would even argue that there are only three major elements shape color.
[01:22] only three major elements shape color and Edge because value is just a sub.
[01:26] and Edge because value is just a sub element of color but value is so.
[01:28] element of color but value is so important that artists have separated it.
[01:31] important that artists have separated it into its own element and when we're.
[01:34] into its own element and when we're drawing it's the only sub element of.
[01:36] drawing it's the only sub element of color that we can see and so we forget.
[01:39] color that we can see and so we forget about the concept of color for a drawing.
[01:42] about the concept of color for a drawing and we just save value when we start.
[01:45] and we just save value when we start painting we introduce the other two sub.
[01:47] painting we introduce the other two sub elements of color Hue and.
[01:50] elements of color Hue and chroma so let's go over these elements.
[01:52] one by one starting with shape shape is.
[01:55] one by one starting with shape shape is a concept that's familiar to most of us.
[01:58] a concept that's familiar to most of us it's the element we use to draw as kids.
[02:01] it's the element we use to draw as kids it's the area that something takes up.
[02:04] it's the area that something takes up it's the outline or the Contour of all.
[02:06] it's the outline or the Contour of all the pieces in the drawing but it's not.
[02:09] the pieces in the drawing but it's not limited to just the outline of the big.
[02:11] limited to just the outline of the big elements the smaller parts also have.
[02:14] elements the smaller parts also have specific shapes for the early stages of.
[02:17] specific shapes for the early stages of a drawing you want to develop your.
[02:19] a drawing you want to develop your ability to simplify a shape this is.
[02:22] important so that you can focus on the composition and the breakdown of the big.
[02:24] composition and the breakdown of the big picture getting distracted by the.
[02:26] picture getting distracted by the smaller details too early can hurt you.
[02:29] smaller details too early can hurt you in the long run working big to small is.
[02:31] in the long run working big to small is usually a good idea when simplifying.
[02:34] usually a good idea when simplifying think of geometric shapes squares.
[02:37] think of geometric shapes squares rectangles circles ovals triangles.
[02:40] rectangles circles ovals triangles diamonds crescents and so on these are.
[02:43] diamonds crescents and so on these are simple geometric shapes as opposed to.
[02:47] simple geometric shapes as opposed to complex organic ones for example this.
[02:49] complex shape of a leaf can be.
[02:53] complex shape of a leaf can be simplified in the earlier stages of a.
[02:55] simplified in the earlier stages of a drawing and then the details can be.
[02:57] drawing and then the details can be found in the later stages shape is the.
[02:59] found in the later stages shape is the most important element to convey the.
[03:02] most important element to convey the.
[03:04] most important element to convey the identity of an object these two shapes.
[03:08] identity of an object these two shapes are very different and symbolize two.
[03:10] are very different and symbolize two very different things they are not.
[03:12] very different things they are not three-dimensional but it's still very.
[03:14] three-dimensional but it's still very obvious what they represent just by.
[03:16] obvious what they represent just by looking at the shape that's why shape.
[03:19] looking at the shape that's why shape design is such an important skill to.
[03:21] design is such an important skill to practice and develop simply put shape.
[03:24] practice and develop simply put shape design is making shapes look good it's a.
[03:28] design is making shapes look good it's a bit arbitrary but you know it when you.
[03:31] bit arbitrary but you know it when you see it you could say that this shape is.
[03:33] see it you could say that this shape is better than this one because it's.
[03:35] better than this one because it's cleaner and more interesting it does a.
[03:38] cleaner and more interesting it does a better job of getting the point across.
[03:40] better job of getting the point across and doing so in a more interesting way.
[03:43] and doing so in a more interesting way now let's move on to color now I'm going.
[03:46] now let's move on to color now I'm going to go into color theory in a little bit.
[03:48] to go into color theory in a little bit more depth later since it's a very.
[03:51] more depth later since it's a very complex topic and it deserves its own.
[03:53] complex topic and it deserves its own episode and maybe even a whole series of.
[03:55] episode and maybe even a whole series of episodes uh but right now I'm just going.
[03:58] to go over the very very basic.
[04:00] color has three subcategories the Hue.
[04:03] color has three subcategories the Hue the chroma and the value for.
[04:06] The chroma and the value, for example, this color has a purple.
[04:09] Example, this color has a purple hue, the number eight.
[04:12] Hue, the number eight value and a medium.
[04:15] Value and a medium chroma hue is what we typically refer to.
[04:18] Chroma hue is what we typically refer to when we say color yellow, orange, red, blue.
[04:21] When we say color yellow, orange, red, blue, green, these are all hues.
[04:24] Green, these are all hues. Your traditional color wheel is an.
[04:26] Traditional color wheel is an arrangement of hues.
[04:29] If you shine a light through a prism.
[04:30] Through a prism, it will break up the light and reveal.
[04:32] It will break up the light and reveal the color spectrum, the same colors as.
[04:35] The color spectrum, the same colors as the rainbow and the same colors as the.
[04:38] The rainbow and the same colors as the color.
[04:39] Color wheel. The terms warm and cool are used.
[04:42] Wheel. The terms warm and cool are used to describe the two sides of the color.
[04:44] To describe the two sides of the color wheel. If you cut it in half, the warm.
[04:48] Wheel. If you cut it in half, the warm family shares orange as a common color.
[04:51] Family shares orange as a common color and the cool family shares blue as a.
[04:53] And the cool family shares blue as a common color. Think of fire being warm.
[04:56] Common color. Think of fire being warm and ice being.
[04:58] And ice being cool.
[05:02] Cool. Chroma refers to how pure or how gray the color is on one end you have.
[05:05] Gray. The color is on one end you have the high chroma colors that you see in.
[05:07] the high chroma colors that you see in the rainbow and on the other end you have the low chroma Grays with a gradual transition in some color wheels you'll have the high chroma colors on the outside with a gradiation towards gray in the center.
[05:19] you'll often hear people using the term neutralizing a color this just means lowering the chroma and bringing it closer to Gray.
[05:27] there's two ways you can do that the first is just adding gray to it as you'd expect this will bring it closer to gray.
[05:38] the other way is to add its complement or the color across from it on the color wheel mixing these two colors will result in a color between them half and half will theoretically make gray.
[05:51] now pigment isn't perfect so you usually don't get that exact perfect gray but you'll definitely bring it closer to gray depending on the ratio you mix will result in a color somewhere in between the two so if I just add a
[06:08] in between the two so if I just add a little bit of green to the red I'll still have a red just a lower chroma version.
[06:12] okay let's move on to value value is how light or dark a color is.
[06:19] value is how light or dark a color is there is an infinite amount of values.
[06:21] there is an infinite amount of values but artists like to simplify it to a finite scale 0 to 10.
[06:24] but artists like to simplify it to a finite scale 0 to 10 it's a lot more manageable that way and easier to communicate.
[06:30] manageable that way and easier to communicate a teacher might say make that shape one value darker and you'll know roughly about how much one value is.
[06:39] know roughly about how much one value is drawing with charcoal we don't see color since everything is grayscale or a better way to put it is we don't use Hue or chroma the only part of color that we see is value.
[06:48] we don't use Hue or chroma the only part of color that we see is value so many artists have separated value as its own element and say it's more important than the other elements of color.
[06:57] element and say it's more important than the other elements of color you you can have a very beautiful drawing without using Color just gray scale you don't need it to show a representation of what you're looking at you don't need it to
[07:08] you're looking at you don't need it to show form or depth so I think it's wise to practice drawing without color as a beginner.
[07:16] since it's one less ball you have to juggle once you get the hang of values then you can paint with color and go wild.
[07:21] but I don't want to make it seem like color isn't important it is colors are beautiful and quite often it's what will catch the ey of somebody looking at your artwork.
[07:30] it could set off an emotional response that a grayscale drawing just can't do.
[07:35] but as the artist you must understand that if you don't get the values right the rest of the colors won't look right so focus on accuracy of values and that will allow you to experiment with color and bend the color.
[07:49] so that's your color Basics 101 maybe not even 101 more like 102.
[07:56] so let's move on to Edge Edge is a transition between two shapes it doesn't have to be the edge of a volume the shapes within the volume have edges too.
[08:05] the types of edges range from sharp
[08:11] The types of edges range from sharp to extremely soft with an infinite amount in between.
[08:17] But to simplify it, we've come up with four types of edges: sharp, firm, soft, and lost.
[08:26] A sharp edge is a very sudden transition between two shapes; it's sharp like a razor blade.
[08:35] There is no transition; it's a sudden change.
[08:37] A firm edge is almost hard, but has a very small gradation.
[08:44] You'll typically see firm edges on tendons and joints.
[08:46] A soft edge is a very smooth transition between two shapes.
[08:53] You'll see a longer gradation.
[08:55] Soft edges are like clouds or baby butts.
[08:59] A lost edge is one that is so soft that you can't see it anymore.
[09:05] It's frequently used in areas where the values of two forms are close together.
[09:07] And a really soft edge would merge the two volumes.
[09:13] soft Edge would merge the two volumes.
[09:15] together every time you're drawing or painting you need to have an intuitive checklist of elements to identify what is the shape color and Edge and within color what is the Hue the chroma and the value to make this intuitive you have to train your brain to intentionally think about these things as you're analyzing the subject eventually you don't have to force it anymore and it just becomes part of your observation process for example as you look at this Clementine and You observe the shadow ask yourself what is the shape is it circular rectangular triangular Etc in this case it's a crescent if you simp simplify it and something like this when you look at the details what is the value on a scale of 0 to 10 and more importantly what is the value in relationship to all the other values in the picture this Shadow is the
[10:16] values in the picture this Shadow is the darkest part of the picture so if you
[10:18] darkest part of the picture so if you want your picture to have the full range
[10:20] want your picture to have the full range of values from 0 to 10 you have to make
[10:23] of values from 0 to 10 you have to make it a value zero the top part of the
[10:26] it a value zero the top part of the shadow on the Clementine is about one
[10:29] shadow on the Clementine is about one value lighter than under the Clementine
[10:33] value lighter than under the Clementine the reflected light down here is another
[10:35] the reflected light down here is another one to two values
[10:37] one to two values lighter instead of the full value range
[10:40] lighter instead of the full value range from 0 to 10 you can choose to go for a
[10:43] from 0 to 10 you can choose to go for a narrower value range say 3 to 7 in that
[10:47] narrower value range say 3 to 7 in that case this darkest part would be a three
[10:51] case this darkest part would be a three and the Highlight would be a seven and
[10:53] and the Highlight would be a seven and accommodate the other values to fit
[10:55] accommodate the other values to fit within that range so it's the
[10:58] within that range so it's the relationships between all the values in
[11:00] relationships between all the values in the picture that really matter the next
[11:03] the picture that really matter the next question is what is the Hue even though
[11:06] question is what is the Hue even though it's an orange Clementine not all the
[11:08] it's an orange Clementine not all the colors on it are orange I'm seeing a
[11:11] colors on it are orange I'm seeing a transition from Orange on the light side
[11:14] transition from Orange on the light side to a redder Hue on the shadow
[11:16] to a redder hue on the shadow side what is the side what is the chroma it's somewhere in the middle.
[11:22] chroma it's somewhere in the middle probably a little closer to the high chroma side and the edge is firm on the left side and softer on the right.
[11:32] the ability to see and properly identify these elements is a skill it's a sense that you need to develop at first you will struggle to see these subtleties.
[11:40] but just as a musician tunes her ear to hear notes and compose those notes into a symphony you too can train your eye and the ability to see these subtleties and you'll be able to view the world through an artist's eye.
[11:55] as with most things it's about repetition repetition repetition through practice.
[12:03] before you go I want to thank everybody who bought my portrait drawing DVD.
[12:07] you guys have been really really supportive and I owe you a big thank you.
[12:12] if you don't have one yet and want to learn more just go to pro.com dvd1.
[12:16] so again thank you guys so much I'm
[12:19] DVD1, so again, thank you guys so much. I'm really lucky to be able to do this. Hey.
[12:22] Really lucky to be able to do this. Hey.
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