Bruce Lee
11-20-2008, 07:39 AM
DRAWING CONVINCING ROCKS: ADVICE AND HELPFUL HINTS
PART ONE: A ROCKY ROAD
When we think of drawing stone objects, it is important to think of the characteristics of stone in order to properly convey this information visually. The obvious things come to mind: stones are solid and are usually very hard. Sometimes they can be very smooth from water and wind weathering, but often stones are very rough to the touch. Stones are often quite heavy and very bulky. Stone shapes can vary greatly. Stones can be jagged triangular affairs, or they can be very box-like or even rounded.
Common Stone Characteristics:
-HARD SURFACE
-ROUGH or SMOOTH TEXTURE
-BULK and MASS
-SHAPE and SIZE varies
It's Sedimentary, My Dear Watson
Rocks are divided into three types: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. 75-80% of the Earth's rocks are of the sedimentary variety. Sandstone, shale, limestone and chalk are common types of sedimentary rock. These rocks accumulate on the Earth's surface and are formed from sand, mud, and dust particles deposited via fluids, under the influence of gravity. Sedimentary rocks have a layered structure, and these horizontal layers are called strata. As sedimentary rocks are the most common rocks found on the surface of the planet, it stands to reason that these will be the rocks that you will draw most often.
Shadow Dancing
Rocks can be any shape and size. What makes a drawing of a rock look like a rock has to do primarily with lighting. Solid black shadows offer artists opportunities to give objects dimension and weight. When drawing rocky objects, strong light and shadow is an artist's best weapon. In addition to supplying weight, dimension and form, shadow areas also offer up great opportunities to add textures, such as a few white dots or the occasional surface crack or strata break.
In FIGURE 1 (below), I've drawn a grouping of boulders and jagged stones. Notice how the use of heavy black shadow adds weight and dimension. Also note that the black shadows are not rendered as completely solid black shapes. Strategically, I've left bits of white amid the jetty shadows to imply levels of strata, to depict cracks, and to suggest roughness. In a nutshell, small bits of white negative space in the shadows add extra visual support, conveying a feeling of stone texture.
Cracking Up and Restraint
So what about all that white space left in the rock? Just as you should leave some white space coming through the black shadow areas of the rocks, you should also add a little black to the negative space of the rock's surface. Putting in a few texture dots here and there is usually a good idea, but be careful to add in just a few of these. Don't overdo it.
If you want, you can add a hint of a crack or imply a shelving layer of strata also, but a little goes a long way. In FIGURE 1 below, notice that I have added a few texture dots and a few cracks here and there inside the negative white space of the individual stones. I used restraint, though, because having some empty white space in the rocks is highly desirable and very necessary to maintain depth of field. Ever see a drawing of Ben Grimm in which every single individual stone on his body has been textured? It's not pretty.
Over-texturing flattens objects and creates visual chaos that is distracting to the eye. You don't want that when you draw Ben Grimm, or when you draw stones. You want your work to have contrast and a good balance of black, white and gray. Texture in moderation. That's key to making things work.
FIGURE 1:
http://www.lostonwallace.com/rocks.jpg
PART TWO: A QUICK STEP-BY-STEP TO DRAWING MOUNTAINS
The numbers at the beginning of the four paragraphs below correspond to the numbers on the images on the mountain drawings below.
1) Here I've drawn in the contour lines of some high mountains in the Himalayas. At this stage of the game I'm only concerned with drawing some basic shapes. The outlines don't have to be tight. Since I'm trying to draw the Himalayas, I'm striving to draw tall, jagged peaks.
2) Now I determine where the light source will be placed. Choosing the sunlight to come in from the upper right hand corner, I'll begin to lightly pencil in some shadow areas on the side of the mountains facing away from the sun. Since I plan to finish this image in ink, the shadows can be rendered loosely and lightly. Notice that I'm leaving gaps of white space in some of the shadow areas.
3) I begin the inks by loosely filling in the shadow areas, leaving plenty small white shapes inside of the black shadow areas for the sake of texture. These bits of white amid the shadows will create the look of raised surfaces, which will help convey a rough rock surface to the mountains.
4) Since this is the Himalayas, I have gone back in and added a little more negative space near the summit of the peaks to imply snow caps. I'm careful to create both large and small shapes, and try to leave small black shapes within the areas of white. The Himalayan mountains are huge peaks, and are therefore very detailed affairs, so it's okay for the mountains to be a little busy in places. As long as a fair amount of negative space is left for contrast, things will read okay to the eye.
http://www.lostonwallace.com/mountains.jpg
PART ONE: A ROCKY ROAD
When we think of drawing stone objects, it is important to think of the characteristics of stone in order to properly convey this information visually. The obvious things come to mind: stones are solid and are usually very hard. Sometimes they can be very smooth from water and wind weathering, but often stones are very rough to the touch. Stones are often quite heavy and very bulky. Stone shapes can vary greatly. Stones can be jagged triangular affairs, or they can be very box-like or even rounded.
Common Stone Characteristics:
-HARD SURFACE
-ROUGH or SMOOTH TEXTURE
-BULK and MASS
-SHAPE and SIZE varies
It's Sedimentary, My Dear Watson
Rocks are divided into three types: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. 75-80% of the Earth's rocks are of the sedimentary variety. Sandstone, shale, limestone and chalk are common types of sedimentary rock. These rocks accumulate on the Earth's surface and are formed from sand, mud, and dust particles deposited via fluids, under the influence of gravity. Sedimentary rocks have a layered structure, and these horizontal layers are called strata. As sedimentary rocks are the most common rocks found on the surface of the planet, it stands to reason that these will be the rocks that you will draw most often.
Shadow Dancing
Rocks can be any shape and size. What makes a drawing of a rock look like a rock has to do primarily with lighting. Solid black shadows offer artists opportunities to give objects dimension and weight. When drawing rocky objects, strong light and shadow is an artist's best weapon. In addition to supplying weight, dimension and form, shadow areas also offer up great opportunities to add textures, such as a few white dots or the occasional surface crack or strata break.
In FIGURE 1 (below), I've drawn a grouping of boulders and jagged stones. Notice how the use of heavy black shadow adds weight and dimension. Also note that the black shadows are not rendered as completely solid black shapes. Strategically, I've left bits of white amid the jetty shadows to imply levels of strata, to depict cracks, and to suggest roughness. In a nutshell, small bits of white negative space in the shadows add extra visual support, conveying a feeling of stone texture.
Cracking Up and Restraint
So what about all that white space left in the rock? Just as you should leave some white space coming through the black shadow areas of the rocks, you should also add a little black to the negative space of the rock's surface. Putting in a few texture dots here and there is usually a good idea, but be careful to add in just a few of these. Don't overdo it.
If you want, you can add a hint of a crack or imply a shelving layer of strata also, but a little goes a long way. In FIGURE 1 below, notice that I have added a few texture dots and a few cracks here and there inside the negative white space of the individual stones. I used restraint, though, because having some empty white space in the rocks is highly desirable and very necessary to maintain depth of field. Ever see a drawing of Ben Grimm in which every single individual stone on his body has been textured? It's not pretty.
Over-texturing flattens objects and creates visual chaos that is distracting to the eye. You don't want that when you draw Ben Grimm, or when you draw stones. You want your work to have contrast and a good balance of black, white and gray. Texture in moderation. That's key to making things work.
FIGURE 1:
http://www.lostonwallace.com/rocks.jpg
PART TWO: A QUICK STEP-BY-STEP TO DRAWING MOUNTAINS
The numbers at the beginning of the four paragraphs below correspond to the numbers on the images on the mountain drawings below.
1) Here I've drawn in the contour lines of some high mountains in the Himalayas. At this stage of the game I'm only concerned with drawing some basic shapes. The outlines don't have to be tight. Since I'm trying to draw the Himalayas, I'm striving to draw tall, jagged peaks.
2) Now I determine where the light source will be placed. Choosing the sunlight to come in from the upper right hand corner, I'll begin to lightly pencil in some shadow areas on the side of the mountains facing away from the sun. Since I plan to finish this image in ink, the shadows can be rendered loosely and lightly. Notice that I'm leaving gaps of white space in some of the shadow areas.
3) I begin the inks by loosely filling in the shadow areas, leaving plenty small white shapes inside of the black shadow areas for the sake of texture. These bits of white amid the shadows will create the look of raised surfaces, which will help convey a rough rock surface to the mountains.
4) Since this is the Himalayas, I have gone back in and added a little more negative space near the summit of the peaks to imply snow caps. I'm careful to create both large and small shapes, and try to leave small black shapes within the areas of white. The Himalayan mountains are huge peaks, and are therefore very detailed affairs, so it's okay for the mountains to be a little busy in places. As long as a fair amount of negative space is left for contrast, things will read okay to the eye.
http://www.lostonwallace.com/mountains.jpg