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SHAPES are made by tone, line, texture or colour
SHAPES can be 2d or 3d
SHAPES with volume and shading are known as 3d FORMS
In everyday life – there are 2 types of shapes: organic & geometric
In drawing – there are 2 more shapes: Positive & Negative shape
Positive shape refers to the shape of the object drawn
Negative shape refers to the space surrounding the positive shape
NB! NEGATIVE shapes are not
always found in the background.
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DID YOU KNOW ???
a building is basically a cube
a tree-trunk is actually a cylinder and
a mountain is a variation of a cone
Every geometric shape can be reduced to its basic form.
4 RULES OF SHAPE
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Draw large shapes first, then smaller shapes
Your initial shape can be quite simple
e.g. the bottle has a simple outer shape,
but lots of complex inner shapes
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Next, draw “enrichment” shapes
e.g. shadows, highlights, reflections, patterns and textures
The outer shape
is drawn first
By squinting, we can make all
shapes fall into a pattern of either
light or dark, thus simplifying both
physical and enrichment shapes for
easier initial drawing.
Some of the highlights are
picked out with an eraser
Enrichment shapes are built up patiently, but it’s
enjoyable work if you’ve drawn your large shapes
well. Note that some edges are hard and others soft.
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Tie shapes together
Now you need to bring the shapes together into
a unified whole e.g. objects that are touching and
sharing space. In the example alongside, the artist
creates a unified pattern by interlocking the markings
on the cows’ backs. Note how a feeling of protection
is evoked by the dense black figures interconnected
in a circle, in the example below.
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When you see a “trapped” shape – draw it.
A trapped shape is one which is enclosed by another shape.
(Some trapped shapes are negative shapes but this is not always the case)
By doing this, you automatically draw the next shape. Look at the example below
By drawing shape no. 3 (her face) you automatically get the outer shape of the hair and hand.
Similarly, by drawing shape no. 2, you also draw a portion of the woman’s profile.
1
2
The woman’s face is made
up of 4 basic shapes
3
4
ART THEORY
Artists who use shape in their works
Kandinsky: Abstract of different shapes
Picasso: Interlocking shapes
Dali: Distorted portrait
Don’t get confused
between positive and
negative shapes.
EXERCISES
1.
Refer to the page with four columns. In the first column are 2D forms
we commonly see – the circle, square, triangle & rectangle. The second column lists
the names of the objects as 3D forms. The circle becomes a sphere & the square
becomes a cube. The triangle can become a pyramid or a cone, while the rectangle
can become a rectangular prism or a cylinder.
a.
Draw the forms in the second column – making them 3D.
b.
In the third column, redraw the shapes as you did in column two – adding shading.
c.
In the fourth column, redraw the shapes again – now adding shadows.
Remember to note where your light source is – the dots are the lightsource
2.
Refer to the handout with the white vase / black faces:
Starting on the top left (or top right if you are left handed)
copy the black image from top to bottom.
Then do the same from the top left.
3.
A still-life will be set up in class.
a.
Draw only the negative shapes in-between and around the positive shapes.
b.
Now shade in the negative shapes with pencil
(you should see the positive shape emerging)
NB! DON’T draw the objects themselves!