Art materials. Subtleties of some processes
Each has its own characteristics: techniques, execution techniques and materials and tools used. The types of drawing and painting, the quality and accuracy of the image, as well as its aesthetic properties depend on what artistic materials the artist uses.
Drawing and painting: what is the difference?
Drawing is a type of graphics, which is a black and white or color image on paper, cardboard, made by hand. This concept includes both a simple drawing or sketch and complex paintings using perspective. For drawing, materials such as:
- simple graphite pencils;
- colour pencils;
- markers;
- ink, ink (applied to paper with pens or pens);
- sanguine;
- coal.
Drawing, unlike painting, has a wider application. The figure below shows graphs of functions of the form y. This presentation of educational material helps students and students better understand complex mathematical equations and their practical applications.
Drawing with pencils
One of the most used tools in fine art is a simple pencil. They are inexpensive. They do not require any special handling skills. Based on their hardness, they are divided into 3 types: soft (M, M2 or B, B2), medium hard (TM or BH) and hard (T, T2 or H, H2). With a pencil you can create all types of drawings: from a sketch to a photographic image.
How to use such a tool correctly? Gennady Li, in his book “Fundamentals of Academic Drawing,” advises beginning artists to use the softest (M2) pencil. This teaches you to be more responsible about your work and act more carefully. They learn to make lines and strokes with a light movement, barely touching the surface of the paper. A soft graphite mark is easier to erase with an eraser or a kneader (soft eraser). Even slight pressure makes the lines darker and thicker. Professionals can achieve the desired tonal ratio using the hardest (T2) pencil.
Techniques for working with pencils
Particular importance when working with pencils is given to the execution technique - shading. Contours are drawn not with long lines, but with short strokes. Also, shading darkens areas on a sheet of paper. It should convey not only the tone, but also the texture of the subject. In this case, the lines are placed parallel and tightly to each other.
The figure shows graphs of functions in the form of complex mathematical formulas, which are impossible to depict without the use of special tools and without taking your hand off the sheet. This can only be done by applying the image with short strokes. But it is precisely from such simple lines, ovals or sinusoids that all visible objects consist.
When working with colored pencils, the same tools and techniques are used as with simple graphite pencils. The main difference is that the drawing is colored.
Markers
These brightly colored sticks with hard shafts that leave rich color on the leaf are a recent development. Therefore, nothing is written about them in old drawing textbooks. Lines drawn with a felt-tip pen have an even, bold mark not only on the surface, but also on the back side of the sheet of paper. Therefore, it is not suitable for painting large areas. It is used for highlighting, loose color shading.
Felt-tip pens are used when you need to create a drawing in the form of signs and inscriptions. It is suitable for drawing graphs, especially if you need to draw several lines on them, displaying different functions or calculation results.
Ink, ink
Fountain and ballpoint pens, which use ink and ink as coloring pigments, are used not only in calligraphy, but also in drawing. In terms of their capabilities, they are not inferior to pencils, but they have some features. Ink and ink lie on paper or cardboard in smooth, monochromatic lines, regardless of the pressure applied. That is, the tone does not change. Therefore, they are rarely used when creating photographic three-dimensional images. But they are suitable for such types of drawing as sketching and sketching.
To work with the tool, you can use any paper, even writing paper. The ink is applied easily without scratching the paper, which often happens when working with a sharpened hard pencil.
Sanguine, coal
Sanguine is a type of clay. Sticks are made from it and fired. It has a red or brownish-brown color.
Coal gives black color. It is obtained by roasting birch or aspen branches in a closed oven. Compressed charcoal is made from simple charcoal.
Despite the fact that these are two different materials, the execution technique and types of patterns obtained with their help are the same. Artists often use both materials on the same sheet of cardboard along with chalk. To prevent the image from crumbling, it is treated with special adhesive fixatives. You should work with these materials carefully, as it will not be possible to erase what you have drawn. Even a smudge won’t help, and an eraser will simply smear everything into a muddy spot. See below for what the drawing made with charcoal or sanguine looks like.
Painting: tools, materials, technique
In painting, the main tool is the brush, and the materials used are watercolor, gouache, acrylic or oil paint. They are produced in sets of 3, 6, 9, 12 or more colors. To get the paint of the desired shade, they are mixed on a palette. A palette is a plastic or wooden board with grooves and a hole for your finger. If there is no such item, then you can use a porcelain plate instead.
The image is applied to cardboard, whatman paper or canvas. When using oil paint, they are primed with special gypsum-based compounds.
Watercolor
This is a water based paint. The peculiarity of this artistic material is that it is almost transparent. Apply it to cardboard or paper with squirrel hair brushes. There are two techniques for working with watercolors: on a dry or wet sheet of whatman paper.
Even a small child who has picked up a brush for the first time can work on dry cardboard or paper. An image is drawn with a simple pencil. Usually at this stage of work such types of drawing as sketch and draft are used. Light areas are painted first, then dark areas. This is done so that the colors do not mix. Errors are corrected by rubbing the paper with a sponge or brush soaked in water.
Drawing on wet Whatman paper is much more difficult. Only an artist with extensive experience working with this technique can perform work with The drawing shows the appearance of objects with streaks of paint, an almost transparent play of light. To do this, paint is applied in circles, gradually darkening the corresponding areas. The white parts of objects are not painted over.
Gouache
To work with gouache paints, use brushes with synthetic bristles. It lays down in an even, opaque layer. It is applied to paper or cardboard. The technique of working with gouache is the same as when working with watercolors on dry paper, but with some features. Since it is opaque, a different, but different color can be applied to a layer of paint. Excess gouache in the painting, as well as mistakes made during the work, are eliminated using a scraper (the corner of a ruler will do) or a damp brush. Applied in a thick layer, it cracks when dried. If the excess is not removed, then it may fall off.
Gouache dried in a jar is diluted with water to a creamy consistency. Since the paint quickly fades in the sun and rubs off, such paintings must be hung in places inaccessible to direct sunlight under glass.
Oil paint
Most of the paintings in the Hermitage and Tretyakov Gallery are painted in oil. The advantage of oil paint is that it practically does not fade in the sun, but takes a long time to dry. It can be applied either pointwise, when strokes of different colors are placed side by side, or in layers. Errors and/or excess paint are removed with a palette knife. A palette knife is a special spatula. Sometimes it is used to apply paint. It produces an unusual artistic effect when it is laid out in blocks.
They use not only thick, but also liquid oil paint. To liquefy it, add vegetable oil (sunflower, corn, flaxseed, etc.). It is applied in layers. This technique is called the glaze method. A striking example of what a painting made in this way looks like is “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper” by A. I. Kuindzhi. The moon seems to glow.
An oil painting takes about a year to dry. If the glaze method was used, then each layer dries for about six months. The drying process can be speeded up by adding a solvent, such as turpentine or white spirit, to the paint. Then the paint will dry in 2-3 days, and the surface of the painting will become matte. To prevent the surface from cracking during drying, cover it with damp rags.
Acrylic paints
Acrylic paints are a modern art material. With their help, artists create paintings that are close in their graphic parameters to photography, with the same clarity and brilliance. They dry quickly. When working with the same techniques are used as when working with oil.
Artists, along with traditional materials, use modern ones and combine them. It is not always possible to determine and explain what types of drawings are obtained. For example, a watercolor still life, where the contours of objects are highlighted with a felt-tip pen. What artistic material was used to paint the picture? What type of drawings can it be classified as? But it is not so important how and with what to draw, the main thing is that drawing brings pleasure not only to the artist, but also to the audience.
Art materials have a direct impact on the client's artistic work:
They encourage him to see and touch;
They generate emotional uplift and awareness; being themselves particles of reality, these materials help the client to come into contact with it.
Promote a dynamic interaction between the creator and the artistic material to occur.
The task of the art therapist- find out which material causes the client’s greatest expressiveness. Thus, the free choice of material is the most important driving force in the process of artistic work [ Kopytin A.I. Theory and practice of art therapy].
Art therapists need to understand properties of various visual materials, as well as in what cases the use of certain materials is most appropriate and when it is undesirable.
Basic set of materials for the creative process
Paints, pencils, wax crayons, pastels;
Magazines, newspapers, wallpaper, paper napkins, colored paper, foil, film, candy boxes, postcards, braid, strings, textiles;
Natural materials - bark, leaves and seeds of plants, flowers, feathers, branches, moss, pebbles;
Clay, plasticine, wood, plastic, special dough;
Drawing paper of different formats and shades, cardboard;
Brushes of different sizes, sponges for painting large spaces, scissors, threads, pieces of wool, buttons, different types of adhesives, tape.
Main groups of materials
1) shapeless materials that allow you to create three-dimensional images;
2) materials that have a certain shape;
3) objects that have a certain shape that can be used as materials.
Let's consider the main groups of materials and their properties.
Group 1 - shapeless materials, allowing you to create three-dimensional images. Various soft and hard shapeless materials can be used to create three-dimensional images from them. The features of artistic products are determined by the properties of the material to the extent that it influences the artistic concept and the work process itself.
Soft materials , such as paints, drawing supplies, clay and sand mixed with water, do not have a specific shape and allow different types of playful manipulation, and can also be used to create artistic objects, paintings or sculptures.
Hard materials , such as stone, metal and wood, are used to create three-dimensional images and to carve various images on their surface. The level of mental development of the client and his skills in using different materials determines the features of the artistic product he creates. With a high level of artistic skill and technical skill, metal or stone sculptures can be created that combine high durability with significant expressiveness, allowing the depiction of the human body, fabric, etc.
Group 2 - materials that have a certain shape. These materials, taking into account their properties, are included in the visual process unchanged. The qualities of certain materials, without any explanation, can be associated with emotional states, indicating certain events for the author. For example, transparent cellophane, thin translucent paper, silk, sand, gravel or sawdust can be included in the visual work unchanged and evoke in the client certain feelings and associations associated with the different qualities of these materials: a feeling of lightness, tenderness, roughness and etc.
Group 3 - objects that have a certain shape and are used as materials. Natural or man-made objects or parts thereof can be used as materials in the process of artistic creativity. At the same time, they retain their previous content to a certain extent. Old buttons or watch parts are sometimes used to create clay compositions in order to create prints with them, or to make some kind of mosaic.
The meaning of these objects in artistic work is determined by their function, color, characteristics of the materials from which they are made, complementing the associations with certain feelings and memories. However, when included in a work of art, they retain a certain content, determined by their previous function, the associations of the author and their new role in the context of the finished work.
Another classification of materials, used in art therapy, is based on their specific properties, how they are typically used, and the feelings and images they are capable of evoking in a person. The choice of material is of great importance, as it indicates conflict situations and the degree of readiness for emotional self-expression. If the choice of materials is not very large and the material is transformed in such a way that it takes on the properties of another material, this indicates that clients require a different material to express their state of mind.
A novice artist needs to know well the materials with which he will deal when drawing, master the technique of working with them and constantly study their properties. This knowledge will help you avoid many mistakes that are inevitable for a young artist who does not yet have sufficient experience.
Pencil
The first thing every beginner tries to draw with is. But in order to use all the properties that a pencil has that are useful for an artist, you need to acquire some knowledge. An artist can make a pencil an obedient tool in his hands, extract from it all the richness of its color possibilities, or use it only for sketches.
Drawing pencils come in different hardnesses and shades. Hard pencils are most often used in drawing, but in drawing it is preferable to use soft or medium-hard pencils, which provide greater possibilities for color transitions and different shades.
The best pencils are made from graphite (a type of crystalline carbon). Graphite drawing pencils are usually produced under numbers: 1st - the softest, 2nd - medium and 3rd - hard.
The highest grade of drawing pencils has fourteen hardness numbers: from 1 to 6H - hard, from 1 to 6B - soft and 1-2 - medium.
A good soft pencil is “negro” - a soft, very black pencil with a pleasant velvety tone. Pencils of varying degrees of softness are quite suitable for educational work.
For pencil sketches, you can use any type of paper in white or other light shades; for long-term and serious drawings, you need paper with a high degree of roughness (Whatman paper, half-Whatman paper, “Alexandrian” paper).
Coal
Most often used for quick sketches, although it can also be used for long finished drawings. In addition, the initial contours of figures and objects for a painting done with oil paints are usually applied with charcoal. Charcoal is prepared from birch sticks.
You can cook charcoal yourself. To do this, fill an empty tin can with even, smooth birch sticks, close the lid tightly, cover the jar with clay or putty and place it in the oven for several hours on the hot coals left after the fire.
For many people, charcoal is convenient because it is easily brushed off the paper and allows for numerous corrections in the drawing. This property of coal makes it indispensable for initial quick sketches and sketches.
You can only work with charcoal on rough paper, as it does not stick to smooth paper and crumbles.
For initial charcoal sketches, you can use any paper, even low-quality wrapping paper. For long-term charcoal drawings, you need good rough paper (Whatman paper, Alexandrian paper, etc.).
The disadvantage of coal is that at the slightest shock or shock it is shaken off the paper and requires special fastening for long-term storage.
The simplest “old-fashioned” method of fixing is to spray with liquid milk in which a small amount of sugar is dissolved (a quarter spoon of granulated sugar for half a glass of milk). When fixing, the drawing is placed horizontally on the table and not sprayed too heavily, otherwise large drops of liquid can spoil the drawing. After the paper has dried, you should repeat the fastening again.
Sangina
You can also use sanguine for drawing. - This is a fairly soft pencil, with a thicker lead, usually brownish-red in color, without a wooden frame.
Mascara
In addition to pencil and charcoal, ink is also used for sketches and drawings, but working with ink requires great precision and confidence in the drawing, since a drawing made with ink is difficult to correct (the ink does not erase or wash off).
Monochrome watercolor (monochrome monotype)
The material for drawing can also be used, during which the artist does not set himself the task of conveying the color diversity of the reality around him, limiting himself to conveying the shape, volume, relative lightness and character of what is depicted.
Pastels
This is painting with dry paints prepared in the form of pencils that do not have a wooden frame. Dry paint is rubbed into the rough surface of the paper. To work with pastels, you need a large selection of pencils of various tones and halftones, since the ability to mix one color with another, as well as with white in pastels, is extremely limited. You can work with pastels not only on rough paper, but also on a canvas specially primed for pastels, which must be glued to a board or cardboard to avoid shaking.
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There are a variety of artistic materials:
Paintings Paints (watercolor, acrylic, gouache, tempera, oil), dry pigments, primed and unprimed canvases and other bases for painting, paper of various textures, brushes and palette knives, airbrushes, varnishes, thinners, oils, primers, sizing and other related materials.
Charts Pastel, sanguine, sepia, sauce, charcoal, graphite, pencils (colored, watercolor, black graphite and pastel).
Modeling and modeling Plasticine, clay, plastic, self-hardening masses, ceramic powder, casting molds.
Hobby materials Fabric paints and markers (auxiliary materials and fabrics); paints for glass, ceramics, wood, metal and other surfaces; texture acrylic pastes; paints and varnishes for gilding; materials for making dolls: paper glue, plastic, frames, wigs, eyes, glasses, needles and mohair for feltnadel; paints and kits for body art, markers for tattooing.
As you know, paper is mainly made from a mass of specially processed wood fibers with the addition of minerals (kaolin, chalk) and sizing agents, dyes, etc. According to legend, paper was invented in China in the 1st century. BC. It was made from tree bast, and in the 2nd century. AD - made of silk fibers, which is why its Latin name is associated. The secrets of paper production became known in Europe only several centuries later. It was made mainly from linen rags and began to be used for drawing from the 14th century.
There are different types of paper. To work with a pencil or paints, you need thick white paper - whatman paper or half-whatman paper - the highest grade of paper with a rough surface, it is durable and well-glued. Named after the owner of the English paper mill J. Whatman.
Paper coated with an even layer of chalk with a small amount of binders is coated or chalk paper. She accepts paint well, strokes and lines become distinct, and the ink goes on very smoothly and tightly. But the most important thing is that the finished drawing can be retouched, that is, making changes and corrections using a needle, scalpel, knife, etc. Here even such a new technical technique arises as a white line and a stroke on a black background, which is reminiscent of engraving (the principle of linocut).
It's good to draw on colored paper. This tradition of the old masters has great meaning and rich technical possibilities. Colored paper gives the drawing a tonal environment; it can be used to work with both dark and light colors at the same time. You can prepare such paper yourself: rub finely crushed pastel or some other coloring powder evenly over the entire sheet with a cotton swab.
Drawing paper can be different. Thicker drawing paper is good for drawing with medium-soft graphite pencils and for pen; rough paper - for very soft graphite pencils, for sanguine, sauce, charcoal. Whatman paper works well when working with both a brush and a pencil. Wrapping paper (not glossy, dark yellow or brown), as well as the back of wallpaper, are convenient for sketching with a soft pencil, chalk or charcoal. There is so-called laminated cardboard (Bristol). It is a hard and smooth white cardboard. Well suited for pen and ink work.
Watercolor paper, as the name suggests, is designed for working with watercolors. This paper is quite thick and has various types of textures: “canvas”, “shell”, etc.
Pastel paper has a soft embossed surface and a large selection of light colors (pastel).
There are ready-made sketchbooks with watercolor, pastel, etc. paper, but it’s still better to make your own homemade sketchbook with different types of paper to gain practical experience. You can also use a small A5 notebook with white sheets or a sketchbook with a spring and a thick cover, which is convenient for use on the road or for daily sketches (for example, nature, city life or the metro)
When drawing using a tablet, the paper must be properly secured. To do this, the paper is cut strictly straight and fixed on a drawing tablet with buttons. For long-term drawing, paper is pulled onto the tablet as follows. The edges of the paper, 1.5–2 cm wide, are bent at right angles; the inside of the paper is moistened with water so that the folded edges remain dry. When the paper is well moistened, it is pressed against the tablet, the curved edges are smeared with wood dextrin or other glue and glued to the sides of the tablet. In this case, the paper should be stretched, smoothing from the center to the edges.
To make various drawings, the most preferred are graphite and colored pencils, felt-tip pens, watercolors, ink, sauce, crayons, as well as charcoal, sanguine and pastels.