Sustained Study in Crayon

Sustained Study 5 (Clothed) - Modelled Drawing
18 August 2012
Conté Crayon on Paper
53cm x 27cm (21" x 10.5")

Section 17 of the Natural Way to Draw introduces exercises using black and white Conté crayons.

The Sustained Study in Crayon is a variation on the original Sustained Study exercise (see Section 13 and Sustained Study 3).

The instructions for the first two studies (the extended gesture study and the contour study) are the same as in the original exercise. The extended gesture study is drawn in pencil on paper. The contour study is drawn in pencil on tracing paper laid over the gesture study.

The modelled study is different. In the original sustained study, the modelled study is drawn in pencil on tracing paper laid over the contour study. In this exercise, the contour drawing is transferred to some cheap grey construction paper using the time-honoured technique of scribbling on the back of the tracing paper, laying it on the grey paper and drawing over the lines. The modelling is done in black and white.

The modelling technique is the same as in previous studies except the light areas are modelled in white and the dark areas modelled in black.

Sustained Study 5 (Nude) - Modelled Drawing
12 August 2012
Conté Crayon on Paper
53cm x 27cm (21" x 10.5")

The Conté crayons are great for modelling, but there is a danger the results are too pretty. On a couple of occasions, I found myself trying to create an attractive drawing. I had to remind myself that these are exercises. The objective is to focus on the model not the drawing and to imagine touching every part of the form. If the resulting drawing looks presentable, it is a bonus; it is not the goal of the exercise.