For this exercise I was asked first to choose a simple object and then use four different drawing tools to try and make four distinct grades of tone using cross hatching and spots and experimenting with the different marks used.
The image below shows the outcome of my experiments. I have noted under each image the tools used. I was surprised by this exercise as I had assumed I would find it quite easy, I was also apprehensive about the stippling as I felt it would be a chore. However, it was much harder than I had expected as I had to be quite free in my movements and not get bogged down in accuracy and detail; when cross hatching I found myself initially being rigid with self imposed rules as to the directions of the marks. In contrast I thoroughly enjoyed the stippling although it was the most time consuming. In summary I found that eventually loosening up my approach produced the best effects.
After this initial exercise I was asked to arrange 3 or 4 objects and make a very loose line drawing, then work fast using the hatching or spotting techniques to create tonal shadows.
I decided to use the ballpoint pen for this part and use cross hatching as the stippling would be more time consuming and I did not feel I could therefore ‘work fast’ as the brief requested. Initially I felt I was quite slow to get started but as I got into the work, again I felt I loosened up and was able to work much faster. I feel that perhaps more ‘warm up’ would have been helpful for me in the earlier exercise, rather than sticking rigidly to the guidelines of just 4 experiments.
The image below is the outcome of this exercise. Looking at the final result, I can see that some of the proportion is wrong, which irritates me and I find to commonly happen when working fast and producing sketches, but I think this is something I have to learn to accept, particularly as these exercises are about practising techniques and methods rather than producing final polished pieces.
Deborah McAulay 