Introduction to Contour Lines Author:Brenda Hoddinott Now everyone can draw! Introduction to Contour Lines is a comprehensive program of study and practice with a focus on contour drawing skills and techniques. This curriculum is designed for all art students, from absolute beginners who want an in-depth drawing program, to experienced artists who want to build a more solid foundation of fundamenta... more »l skills. This book is divided into four parts, each of which includes resources and activities. More than 550 illustrations enhance the text to make it more comprehensible and enjoyable. Part 1: Drawing the Line
Contour lines serve as the foundation for constructing diverse types of artworks and are the base on which all drawing styles and techniques are built. Advancing your contour drawing abilities is beneficial to whatever art aspirations you may have. Part 2: From Lines to Shapes
Lines are used to draw shapes, and shapes are used to create drawings of objects and living beings. The lines and shapes that make up all drawing subjects provide clues for rendering their proportions accurately. The goal of an artist is to unlock these clues by thoroughly examining the lines and spaces that make up a subject?s various shapes. These clues can then be employed to successfully render visually accurate artworks. Part 3: From Shapes to Drawings
Finally! Time to put your new skills into action and draw some objects and living beings. The process for creating a basic contour drawing is similar for all subjects: examine the subject to identify shapes, sketch the shapes with feathered lines, and create the final outlines with continuous lines. Part 4: From Traditional to Digital
Any subject that can be drawn with traditional media can also be drawn with digital media. Traditional artists prefer hand-drawing their artworks with such mediums as pencils, markers, or pens on paper. Digital artists prefer to create artworks with digital tools in computer software. And commercial artists often combine both traditional and digital techniques. The cartoons in this part can be rendered with graphite pencils, a fine tip marker, or computer software such as Photoshop. As cartoons are not intended to be realistic, you can focus entirely on strengthening your contour drawing skills.« less