Black and White Charcoal with Colored Emphasis
Vocabulary
Here's some vocab to get you started when it comes to charcoal drawings! You may know some of them, but some may be new...
Charcoal - drawing tools that consist of burnt and compressed wood that creates a chalky texture and appearance on the paper. Charcoal comes in a variety of colors, hardness, and softness.
Colored Pencil - pencils that have a core with colored pigment, typically with a waxy finish.
Value = lights and darks of a color that show depth and dimension in a 2D work of art…. Highlights and shadows that can be achieve literally in a 3D work of art or through shading techniques in a 2D work of art.
Emphasis = the Principle of Art that focuses on focus... an area is emphasized for a purpose through either color, texture, size, or other element. The area of emphasis is a portion of purpose that is meant to grab the viewer's attention in a way that enhances the meaning of the art.
Texture = literal texture in which the surface of art is intentionally uneven through organic means or planned pattern (i.e. rough, bumpy, geometric pattern, etc.). Texture in two-dimensional drawings is added through the use of line
Composition = the placement and arrangement of artistic elements, the “ingredients”, in a work of art to create an visually aesthetic piece of artwork that can elicit an emotion from the viewer, whether positive or negative. “Putting together” pieces of a concept that create a unique and original visual experience
Charcoal Utensils
Have you ever worked with charcoal before? If you haven't, it can be extremely messy! Blending with charcoal is very easy; however, the dust needs to be controlled or you will have a mess all over your paper.
Charcoal is compressed, burnt wood that comes in a variety of forms, hardnesses, softnesses, and tones. Charcoal can be form in stick, block, and pencil form from the soft and wispy vine charcoal to the thick and dark charcoal tear-away pencils
Using charcoal takes a considerable amount of control despite the ease in which it blends and smooths on the surface of the paper.
Drawing by Kylee Surike, UHS class of 2016
Emphasis
Emphasis is a Principle of Art that defines the purpose of creating a focal point or a point of interest within a work of art for a specific reason. Emphasis is created in a variety of ways using the Elements of Art: color, line, texture, shape, size, etc.
If you see a painting that is comprised of several soft pillows beside a cactus, your eye is drawn to the cactus. Why is there a cactus amongst pillows? What message does that give off? Is it alluding to the "thorn on the roses" concept? Every rose has its thorn? Or maybe that even within a kind and compassionate person lies a dark and jagged side?
What about the sculpture of gold and silver metal with a rusted and oxidized metal slab adorning the top? The gold and silver are polished, nice and smooth, buffed to reflect yourself, but the oxidized and antique-looking piece at the top must mean something... that no matter how much we take care ourselves during our life that inevitably we end up old and die? Or perhaps that perhaps beauty isn't skin deep?
Emphasis in a work of art usually goes hand in hand with symbolism. There's a symbolic reason that a part of a piece of art is standing out to grab your attention. There's a purpose.
TURN IT IN
For your drawing, you will create a charcoal drawing using black and white that has an area of emphasis. Consider a concept with the subject matter before drawing. Is there a meaning behind the emphasized area? What is it? Why is it there? How could you convey your idea through emphasis? Your emphasized area or object is to be done using colored pencils. The colored pencils only serve as the medium, but what if the colored area IS the cactus and the pillows ARE the black and white? What if the beautifully buffed precious metals are the black and white and the oxidized scrap on top IS the colored pencil? THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!
Plan your concepts, consider the composition and what you're going to draw, figure out which area or objects need to be emphasized and why, and then begin to draw after you discuss it with me.