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Texture Analysis

7:09 PM, Wednesday January 13th 2021

I have finished the Texture Analysis exercise relying on my understanding of the instructions, but there is one question that is nagging me.

In this image I clearly see the difference between the two approaches, but in the box on the right it seems to me that a small hint of the outline is shown, and the same happens with the big protrusions from the fried chicken. Just enough to give the cast shadows some context. Is it allowed to draw a small portion of the form that cast the shadow? Is it what they call an hard edge?

I mean: if I draw the cast shadow of a nose without the smallest hint of the plane that projects it, wouldn't it be difficult to read as a shadow at all?

Thank you in advance!

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11:11 PM, Thursday January 14th 2021
edited at 11:24 PM, Jan 14th 2021

I think you're slightly misunderstanding. You don't just draw the shadow the form casts on what's around it, but also them shadows cast on the form itself by its own change in shape. In your nose example there will be shadows on the nose where it turns away from the light. These should be included and should describe the form without an outline.

That is unless I'm the one who's misunderstood. I'm still working on the texture section myself, so perhaps someone more experienced can way in to verify/correct what I said.

Edit for clarity: I read the quote

"Instead of drawing the forms themselves, you should be drawing the impact they have on their surroundings - that is, the shadows they cast."

as saying "cast shadows instead of outlines" rather than a statement that you shouldn't shade in the shadows of a form, as that would not fit with the demonstration.

edited at 11:24 PM, Jan 14th 2021
8:47 AM, Friday January 15th 2021

What you say in the first paragraph is what I thought intuitively looking at the examples, especially the cover of the cast shadows video, where the silhouette of the box is clearly defined.

I understand that internal lines are implied and I see it works great on the page, but what I miss are the analytical reasons behind those lines of the silhouette.

If I can offer a humble critique, I suspect this section leaves some students wondering if talent is a factor after all because it's hard to think about analytical solutions without a broader knowledge of what is the purpose of lines in a drawing and how different marks communicate light and shadow.

But yeah, we deal with these dark moments and push forward determined to get it right sooner or later, which is a valuable lesson.

Thank you very much for your answer

2:10 AM, Sunday January 17th 2021
edited at 2:10 AM, Jan 17th 2021

My bad. I guess I don't have any practical advice to offer then. For what it's worth I'm feeling the same whiplash at the texture analysis section. It's surprising there's so much talk about the overlapping forms and none about the texture section. Perhaps I'll see why when I get to them, but I suspect it's because those with previous art experience have done similar texture exercises, while the overlapping forms are new to many.

If you're feeling discouraged remember that this is just supposed to be an introduction. Uncomfortable clearly says he doesn't necessarily expect competent results yet. He introduced it to us so we can begin practicing, nothing more.

edited at 2:10 AM, Jan 17th 2021
8:55 AM, Sunday January 17th 2021

You're right, I should put this subject aside for now and look forward.

Thank you and good luck with the Lesson!

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8:13 PM, Wednesday January 13th 2021

As long as you don't enclose it in lines it's ok, shadows enclosing forms are used in the example homework

8:17 PM, Wednesday January 13th 2021

I'll keep it in mind, thx!

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10:16 AM, Friday January 15th 2021

There's a Sinix video called "Drawing like a Painter" that your nose example reminded me of. In the video he draws several recognisable portraits using only the shadows cast by different parts of the face. What we're doing is significantly less complicated than a face, but the concept of using the shadow a form casts in order to define how that form sits in space is the same. There's also this image that I found in some of the lesson 2 critiques that also demonstrates that you can have something that approaches a line but is still actually a shadow shape.

2:32 PM, Friday January 15th 2021

I see now, it's about looking at the world in terms of shapes and shapes only. It's exciting, but also a huge paradigm shift. I hope DaB will expand on this subject in the future.

Thank you Meta

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