Aim: At this stage I thought it might be valuable to show how we can combine shading and texture in the one drawing. Later we shall be doing more work on this but for now it is sufficient to show the student what they will be able to do if they apply themselves to the lessons so far. All the techniques are already described.

Scraperboard is a board made of a backing, a layer of compressed whiting/adhesive mix (approx 1mm thick) then covered with a film of black indian ink. An incredibly fine white line is etched with a stylus as it is dragged across the surface. The flat edges of the stylus are sharpened and used to scrape larger areas clean of the ink. The boards can be bought already made as can the stylus and other tools for the scraping process.

In earlier days, when I was possessed by a steady hand and keen eyesight, I produced an exhibition of 28 scraperboard drawings of which the drawing below is but one example I have scanned from an old exhibition invitation cover.

Alas, none remain in my possession and I needed to search my records for the one shown to scan it and show it to you as an example of 'drawing with texture'.

I used little 'cyphers' or curves(below)for the wollen texture of the pullover(very similar to the furry tennis ball in the previous lesson) and straight lines (single hatching) for the skin texture. There was little opportunity for 'cross hatching in this drawing apart from the hair when a confused tangle is required.

You will note how the skin can be textured either along the folds, as in the forehead, or across the folds as in the nose and cheeks. This produces a 'dynamic tension' that can be used to emphasise roundness or flatness. For those students who decide to advance into painting it is useful to realize this same 'directional line' is the direction the painter would employ with the brush to give the human body appropiate 'dynamic tension'.


 

Full size approx 10" by 12" in private ownership(heaven knows where it is now for, at the time, it was purchased by a restaurant owner for $300 and free meals whenever I was desperately hungry, which was quite often in those days!)

By John Hagan
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