To the left are two cylinders. The one
on top is drawing using what I call "contour lines" The bottom
cylinder uses random cross-hatching lines. Both are used to give the
cylinder a more 3-D and dimensional look. Which one do you think is
more successful?
While both
cylinder shapes look...well, cylindrical, I believe the top cylinder
looks more 3-D. That's because the "contour lines" go around
the cylinder, which emphasizes its roundness.
The bottom
drawing gives the cylinder a shadow, but it doesn't have as much of
a "3-D" look. The lines do nothing but suggest a tone. They can
suggest dark, less dark, medium, light - that's all they can do.
Actually, if you look at the bottom cylinder in a certain way, you
aren't sure if the rendering is really supposed to be a shadow, or
just a dark stripe down the side.
I personally
find myself using a certain amount of "dimensional" or "contour"
lines in my drawings, paintings - anything I create. I can feel the
depth and shape of the thing I am rendering, and some of my brush
strokes show that. Other brush strokes (or pencil lines, etc.) are
just used to indicate tone, to deepen the shadow. But there are
always "contour lines" in there somewhere, helping to give that
suggestion of depth.
This is not to
say that all drawings must use contour lines. Some artists
have fantastic rendering techniqes which don't allow them. Like -
painting everything in little dots, random hatches, and so forth. No
one technique is suitable for every artist.
But, when
drawing faces, I find that these contour lines to be so
alive. So I prefer to use
them. |