(2) When drawing from photographs, choose high contrast, black-and-white
photographs as subject matter. Anything else has differences too subtle for the beginning artist
to distinguish and match. Stay away from color photos initially. It is much more difficult
transposing color to black, white, and grey.
(3) When drawing from life, pay close attention to your light source, intensity, and its
affect on your subject. If you are drawing outside, you must draw quickly. Limit yourself to two
hours on your subject. The time limit is due to the movement of the sun; great changes occur
in shade, shadow, and value patterns for more than a two-hour period. If it takes longer than
that to draw your subject, come back on successive days at the same time until you complete the
drawing. If you must, take a Polaroid picture for a reference in case you cannot return to the
location or the subject changes.
LESSON 2/LEARNING EVENT 6
Learning Event 6:
EXERCISE VISUAL VALUE SCALE
Use the formats on Appendix, page A-7 for this exercise. Your completed project should
look as below (fig 2-21). Leave the first square white, while making the last as black as the
pencil will allow. Using a number 2B pencil, shade the remaining blocks in even graduations,
pressing from light to dark. Each block should be one solid tone, each darker than the previous
one.
Shading can be achieved in many ways. For this exercise, use pencil to create
even tone variations within an area. To check the tonal differences, squint while looking at your
work. Squinting will assist you in seeing the tonal differences. Repeat this exercise using other
media and techniques as covered in the next lesson.
Figure 2-21. Visual value scale
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