Ben
Tonight was the first night of drawing class and we practiced blind continuous line as well as continuous line drawing. I went on to explain if you continued on with describing the form in cross contour that you could end up with a likeness of the object being rendered. Where an object is rounded, your drawing implement has to caress that form and emulate roundness, where it is flat the medium has to flat line it. All an object really is is a whole lot of contour lines sitting next to one another. This is called modeling in the form of an object. I happened to check out Antsketch’s drawing for today and he had done the same technique with figure drawing. Two different takes on the same technique.
The following post has tried a continuous line drawing and posted it:
Leslie White 
23 Comments
That’s a great drawing. I like the use of contour but also, it seems to have tone. You should be happy with a work like that 🙂
Thanks, Antsketch. I was just happy we had done something similar and I admire your work very much. I wasn’t going to post this tonight until I saw yours. Thought if I linked us it would help give others a better idea of how to do this. The only way I could get tone in this was to make my contours shorter in the darker areas and work my pen back and forth getting the lines closer together. With a pencil I can always press with more pressure to make my line darker. Lighter areas, I spaced my lines furthur apart.
Beautiful drawing Leslie! How long did this take you?
Thanks, Jay. I did this in one sitting about an hour, maybe a little more. I was sitting on the couch and Ben was laying on the floor about a 30 degree angle from me. He was out, so I just kept going. I don’t know what size the image is but it was done on an 8×10 piece of paper, so it’s not huge but not real tiny either.
nice drawing and interesting lesson! I learn so much from stopping to visit your site.
I tried a blind contour drawing once after you mentioned it recently and I COULDN’T DO IT. I kept looking at the paper. It was hard!
Oh, and is this class one that you are taking or teaching?
Thanks,Carol, for the comment. With the blind contour, you have to tell yourself that this is only for practice. What you are concentrating on is feeling the contours around and across a form. Blind contour is not for the finished result. No expectations on results. It’s hard only because you are still going for that result. I’m teaching the class. You can also do continuous line contour looking.Try that.
That’s a great drawing! I’ve tried blind contour drawing a few times – trying to teach myself – and it always ended up a mess. I know it gets better with practice but as Carol mentioned it’s very difficult not to look at the paper. When I was learning to touch type in school many moons ago, my teacher covered our hands with a sheet of paper so we couldn’t see the keys. Perhaps covering your easel and hands with a sheet of paper would be an answer?
Thank-you, Heather. This drawing is not done blind. This was done looking. Maybe covering the hands will work. I still think the looking is related to that desire to have a good looking finished product. Blind drawing is for the artist to warm up and get a good look and feel of the object.
this is great, such a strong drawing
Hi Kokot. Thank-you.
Aaah, ok. It probably explains why the drawing looks so good! I’m very much learning just now.
As for covering the hands, I always found that a good slap on the wrists with a ruler was a great deterrent for not looking! I agree that looking is very much linked to a desire to have a good end result. I’d much rather see what I’m doing 🙂
You have a great blog, and I love your figure paintings, they are really lovely.
Thanks about the blog comment. I’m slowly figuring yours out. It is very interesting.
Thanks again, for a great post. I always learn when I come to your blog!
I love the way Ben turned out. You can see all the wonderful contours of his body. I have said I will practice this technique, but I haven’t yet. I will tho. It’s wonderful!
Thank-you, Beth. You did the line drawing of the landscape and I thought that was wonderful. I’m finishing up the whiskey print painting that you taught me. Will post soon.
Thanks for yet another educational post with great accompanying picture.
I know it’s impossible to see from my last post, but I penciled similar contour lines around the body form of my ‘monster’ as guidelines for when I inked in the scales – also using the same idea with something I’m currently working on.
Thank-you June. I think you do incredible line work. Much of what you do is so creative.
Leslie, your draftsmanship and technique are incredible. Nice, very nice.
Thanks, Tom.
Hey Leslie – your industry is inspiring – all of this work (I was going to say you have been working like a dog as they say round here but that would have been corny – and anyway the dogs I have seen seem to sleep A LOT) – I love your drawings – This is special work. S
Easier to draw and paint sleeping Mias and Bens….Ha! I love to draw. If I didn’t get to draw my paintings in line, first, I’d be doing more drawings. Thanks for commenting on this, Stephen.
The drawing is amazing, i really learn a lot. Never thought drawing by pencil can be such a challenge, will try it out sometime and let you know the result.
Thanks, Francis. Start with some continuous line drawings first and then work your way into the form by following the rises and fall of the subject’s surface, telling yourself that you are feeling that surface with the point of your pencil. You’ll do fine.
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