Choosing a Canvas + Finalizing Your Composition
In the last post, I mentioned a few things about composition and suggested a few things to think about when composing for a portrait. Another factor that may affect your composition will be your canvas size and proportion. It is important to consider whether or not your photo is composed in such a way that you will not be able to crop it, or conversely, if you have some wiggle room on any or several of the sides. If your image is not one that can be cropped, you will need to look for a canvas with the same proportions as your image. If there is some wiggle room, you can choose your canvas to your liking and then proceed to finalize your composition. Either way, there are a few things to think about in the process. Let's discuss them using my photograph as an example.
This was the original photo:
My client (who also happens to be my father) has a particular place in mind where he will be hanging this portrait. Currently he has a painting in the location that is 20 inches tall by 30 inches wide, and we both confirmed that shooting for a similar size with this portrait would be preferable in this particular location. With this in mind, I started with an idea of the canvas size and adjusted my composition accordingly. Note: You may not be able to find a canvas with the exact proportion to your image (i.e. a 20x28 canvas for your 5x7 photo) without getting a custom canvas built, so cropping or adjusting your composition may be inevitable.
When I went to my local art store, they did not sell 20"x30"canvases, the size my dad and I had discussed. So I had to chose between buying one of the two closest sizes; a 22"x28" and a 24"x30", or ordering a canvas online. I discussed it with my dad and we decided on the 24"x30". For this tutorial, I will be using the above sizes as examples to show what sort of difference your canvas proportion actually makes.
First, I want to show you why getting a canvas that is the same proportion (or cropping to create the right proportion) is so important. If you were to take a photograph like mine (with the proportion 5/7; 5 inches tall and 7 inches wide) and simply stretch it to fit any canvas you happen to pick up, you will inevitably end up with some distortions, and they usually aren't very flattering, let me tell you. Below I have taken my photograph and stretched it to fit the three canvas sizes we had discussed. You can quickly see the distortion created. This is why stretching to fit instead of enlarging proportionately is a big "no no".
Note: to find the proportion of your image or canvas, create a fraction by taking the height over the width and then simplifying it down. Examples: The 20x30 canvas has the proportion 2/3, the 22x28 is 11/14, and the 24x30 is 4/5. We can tell from this that none of the canvases were the exact proportion of my 5x7 photo. However, if they would have had canvases available at these sizes: 10x14, 15x21, 20x28, etc. (any dimensions that can be simplified to 5/7, or, any dimensions created by multiplying the same number to both 5 and 7) I could have snatched it up and been ready to go immediately. Because this was not the case, I know I will have to work with the composition a little.
To create a compelling composition, filling the entire canvas, you will either need to crop, zoom, or be willing to come up with reasonable solutions to fill in gaps created by the placement of your image. Below you can see possibilities for cropping and for leaving gaps on each canvas size we were considering.
I eventually went with the top example of cropping, though now that I have decided to change the background entirely, I realize it may have been better to use the second one down (creating more space on either side of my sisters).
Also, be aware that you will need to be careful not to create any unnecessary areas of tension when finalizing your composition. These areas usually occur when an edge of the subject comes too close to the edge of the canvas. My sister's arm is a good example. Here, Lindsay's arm sits right up against the edge of the canvas, causing visual tension. You want to avoid this where possible.
Instead, try shifting the image to where her arm either goes all the way off the canvas or pull it in far enough that the tension is lessened.
The Under Drawing
As I have mentioned before, gridding is something I do pretty frequently, though not every time. Some people consider gridding to be a form of cheating. Many of these same people use other implements to make comparative measurements without considering it cheating, so I say, use what you need to get your proportions and measurements correct, and let haters be haters. There is still a great degree of inaccuracy possible when using a grid, so I find their argument unfounded anyway. Moving on...
You can grid in a number of ways. All a grid does is create reference lines and points from which you can adjust a drawing to make it more accurate. The more accurate your under drawing, the less tweaking you will need to do later, and the better likeness you will be able to achieve.
Gridding on the Computer
I used Photoshop to grid off my reference photo because I already own and am familiar with the program, making it quick and painless for me. If you have Photoshop, continue reading and I will walk you through how I do it. If not, skip down to "Gridding by Hand" below.
To start, open a new file the same size as you canvas. This is very important. You can change the size, as long as the proportions stay the same, but you will have to do more math later on. A trick I use on occasion, if the image quality isn't fantastic, is to make a file the right size but lower resolution, or I change to centimeters. You will also want to turn on "rulers" (command + R).
I choose the size of my grid depending on the number of people in the portrait and the size of my canvas. If I have a large canvas, but only one person who takes up the majority of the composition, I tend to make my grid much larger than if I have a couple of people on a small canvas. Because this portrait is of three people, and relatively large, I chose to do 2" squares. With my 24"x 30" canvas, I ended up with 15 squares across and 12 squares down.
To create a guideline, click on the ruler itself and drag away from it. A guideline will follow your mouse and will be placed wherever your mouse is released–so just drag it to the point on the ruler where you want the next gridline to be and release your click. Remember that if you want a vertical line, drag from the ruler on the left hand side. If you want a horizontal line, drag from the top ruler. It is as easy as that.
Can't figure it out, that's okay! It is not necessary for you to grid your reference image on the computer because you can always do it by hand! You are going to have to grid your canvas by hand, anyway, so it may just be easier to print out your image. Just make sure it is cropped to the right proportions for your final composition.
Gridding by Hand - either on your reference image or your canvas
What you will need:
1. Your printed reference photo or canvas. It is best to print two copies of your reference photo if you are planning to paint from a printed reference. If you only need it for your under drawing, and will be using a monitor or iPad to paint from (as I do) one copy will be fine. I say this because using your gridded reference photo to paint from becomes frustrating. Not only do all the lines become distracting, but it will also make it difficult to see things that the lines may be covering up. Attempting to erase the lines will only be trouble as well. It really is best just to print out two copies.
2. The largest manageable ruler you have, or a ruler and a long straight edge. Now, if your drawing is only an 8x10, there is obviously no need to pull out a yard stick, a 12 inch ruler will be fine. However, if you are painting on a canvas that is larger than the average ruler, a yard stick may be your best bet. A t-square is really useful for gridding off canvases as well, so if you have one of those laying around, grab it. Choose what is most appropriate for your specific project.
3. A pencil. I would suggest a harder lead, like a 2H or 4H if you have them, just because they make lighter lines which will be easier to paint over. See my post that discusses pencil leads here. If you do not have drawing pencils, your scantron-friendly #2 will do just fine, but be careful to press lightly.
4. A calculator. This is only necessary if you don't love doing math in your head.
Getting started:
1. Decide what size grid you will be drawing. At what increment will you be placing your lines?
2. Hold your ruler at the top of your image/canvas running across, with 0 at the very edge. Making sure to stay level, place a mark at each interval you decided all the way across the image/canvas. Do this again along the bottom edge of your image/canvas. If your ruler or straight edge is not long enough to connect the marks from top to bottom, you will need to create more marks across the center of the canvas, and connect the top and middle marks, then continue from the middle to the bottom. (This is why I mentioned the largest manageable ruler you have.) Connect each corresponding mark to create straight lines from top to bottom.
3. Turn your image/canvas 90 degrees and do the same thing again. Make a mark at each interval you chose on the top, bottom, and potentially across the center. Then connect the corresponding marks.
4. Adjusting for the size difference, do the same thing to your canvas if you haven't already. You want to have the same number of overall squares, not necessarily the same size squares. If your canvas is 3x bigger than your reference photo, the squares should also be 3x bigger. Make sense?
Beginning the Underdrawing
What you will be drawing:
For your underdrawing you will be drawing contour lines and shadow/highlight shapes to use for reference when painting.
What are contour lines? They are boundary lines–the lines most people draw without thinking. For instance, the line that separates the boundaries of my hair with the background. Now, there is not an actual black line that runs around my hair that keeps it separated from the space behind me. But the fact is, there is a boundary there and it creates an important distinction–this is where my hair stops, and the background begins. Nearly every line seen in a coloring book is a contour line. Think about creating the coloring book version of your image on your canvas. Again, even though you are drawing lines, it is best to think about these lines as boundary lines, not actual lines, because when you are painting, there may be only a slight shift in color or tone, and a line would not accurately represent that boundary.
I also mentioned shadow and highlight shapes. If your subject is smiling, there is a very good chance they will have some shadows defining their cheeks, running from their nose to their mouth. The shape of this shadow is dependent on the shape their cheek makes when they smile, and therefore is something relatively unique to them. Anything that is unique to a person is something you need to carefully consider and try to capture as accurately as possible. It is an opportunity for you to achieve likeness. Instead of drawing a single line in these places, consider drawing the shape that the shadow makes. This is helpful when trying to remember how far to go with the shadow tone. (Where does it start and stop?) These are also boundary lines, and can be considered contours, though they may not be the first ones you think to draw.
Getting Started:
To begin, I usually find a location where one of my subject's contour lines runs almost directly through an intersection on the grid. I start there and begin filling in the grid, contour line by contour line or box by box.
When drawing in general, you want to train yourself to pay just as much attention to the formation of the negative space shapes as the positive space shapes. This means, not only are you wanting to create the right shape for your subject, but also the right shape for the background behind and around your subject. I'll give you an example.
You not only want to be looking at the shapes that make up, say, the sweater that Brooke is wearing, or the shape of my arm...
...you also want to be paying attention to the shapes that are formed between my arm and her sweater, or between my arm and my blouse.
Now, if you are going to err, it is best to err on the side of the negative shapes, because the positive shape is your subject, and that could get offensive. :) But you get my point, paying attention to the contours of negative spaces should also help you in creating better positive space contours. Just another push and pull that I like.
Another helpful tidbit:
When drawing your contour lines, imagine that every box is divided up even further, like into quarters or eighths. This will help you when you are trying to determine how far a contour line should travel into any one of your grid boxes. Think, "Okay, this line comes down from the left corner to about the center of this box and then slopes down to where it hits the right side about a quarter of the way up." As you get more comfortable, you will not have to think this critically and your brain will begin making all the necessary evaluations and comparisons for you as you go.
For my portrait, I started with the side of my hair, because it travelled down one of my gridlines. Then I moved over, watching both the positive and negative shapes as I drew Lindsay's head. I bypassed her face until the end.
Once I had all of the general contours around our faces and hair, I moved to our bodies.
I finished the underdrawing, propped it up, and pulled out my phone to take a snapshot of it for this tutorial. By the time I had unlocked by phone and pulled up the camera app, I saw this on the screen...
#rolobombing
This was the completed underdrawing. It always looks a little weird, but that is usually because you have lines in places that don't look right without the corresponding tone on either side. Check back over your drawing once you have finished, making sure things are placed as accurately as possible. This way, even if it looks weird, you can be confident you have everything in its place and are ready to go.
I hope you found this helpful. Please leave any feedback, questions or comments below.
Note: Contour line only underdrawing has been common practice for me for years. Just recently, however, I have seen other ways of doing it–using charcoal or pencil to create a tonal under drawing instead of simple contours, then fixing it to the canvas with a fixative or retouching varnish before painting over it. I am likely to start using this new method because it seems to give more opportunity to make compositional and tonal adjustments before diving into the actual painting. It also seems like it will remove some of the "weird" factor that I mentioned contour drawings sometimes have without their corresponding tonal values. I'll see how this goes for me and hope to do a separate tutorial for it later.
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