The "Value" of Drawing

When drawing in pencil or charcoal, you must translate the colors of nature into black and white.  To do this, you pretend that your eye is a camera loaded with black and white film, and it only sees colors as black, white, or various tones of gray.  These tones are called the “value” of an object.  To better determine the value of something you are about to draw, squint your eyes and determine if the object is close to white, a light gray, medium gray, dark gray, or black. 

A red apple would translate into a fairly dark, almost black shade of gray.  A green pear would become a medium gray in your drawing, and a lemon should probably be drawn as a very pale gray, almost white. 

Since there are hundreds of subtle variations of gray in the values of objects, most artists try to simplify a picture into just a few values, which make it easier to draw and produce a more satisfying pictorial design.  A great picture can be made by concentrating on just three values—almost white or very light gray, a medium gray, and a dark gray.  Add a few touches for detail, and you’ll have a great drawing!

Shape Up!

The key to successful drawing is to learn to draw things as you SEE them.  If they're round, draw them round--square draw them square.  If they're light, make them light.  Dark make them dark.  They once you learn the "craft" of drawing you can be creative and express yourself as an artist.  But there are some basics to learn first, and I can't emphasize enough the fact that learning to draw begins with learning to SEE.

Every object you see has a structure based either on the cube, the cylinder, the cone, or the sphere.  Any object is one or a combination of these four geometric solids, a solid being something with three dimensions:  height, width, and depth.

Even though all objects are based on these four solids, the shape is modified in various ways that depart from the strict geometrical form.  This fact, to me, simplifies drawing because I can determine which shape the object resembles and draw that shape, then modify it with whatever details I want to include.  The cube, for example, can be elongated to form an object resembling a quarter pound of butter.  Or, if you cut it into thirds, and it looks like a box you might wrap a gift inside.

Now take a box from your pantry and place it on a table.  Cubic shapes will vary but they all have a top, a bottom, and four sides.  The top will usually catch the most light.  The side closest to the light will be a medium in color or value, and the side away from the light will be the darkest.

Sit low in a chair and draw the box at eye level.  Then sit up straighter and straighter to draw it, and you’ll see more and more of the top of the box.  Notice how the corner of the object closest to you seems taller, and the sides and corners further from you seem shorter.  This phenomenon is what we call perspective—it’s what makes your drawings appear realistic, because things seem shorter as they vanish away from you.

Now draw one of your tables.  Start with a basic cube, then fill in the details, making certain that the leg closest to you is the longest, and those on the sides appear shorter.  As you concentrate on the perspective of an object, you will be able to draw it in such a way that it appears real.  Now practice, practice, practice!

Ready, Set, Draw!

Since I’m an artist, I would like to share with you a few basic principles of drawing.  The pencil is the most basic medium to learn with in producing art, so let’s start there.

In making any kind of drawing and a soft-lead pencil and a sketchpad, and I recommend a pad at least 9x12 inches in size.  If you are interested in drawing landscapes, then you will want to hold the pad horizontally as you draw.  Most landscapes show earth and sky, and the place where these two meet is called the horizon.  With few exceptions, it should never be placed midway between the top and bottom of your picture.  This will produce a static and boring picture.  The most satisfactory results are always achieved with the horizon somewhere below or above the center of the paper.

Also, symmetry vertically should be avoided.  It is balance, not symmetry that is pleasing to the eye, so place your “center of interest” (such as a house, an old barn, a boat, a twisted oak tree) on one side or the other of the center of the page.

As you look at the scene you are about to draw, you will notice that everything recedes toward the horizon.  Many things contribute to this effect—color and value graduations, the diminishing sizes of objects, such as trees, and the converging of parallel lines as they lead away from you.  So if you’re center of interest is an old shack, you might draw a meandering path of rock or dirt up to the structure.  Or you could sketch trees or shrubs or rocks that diminish in size as they go back.  Also, you might give more detail and perhaps stronger shadows to your center of interest, and hazier, grayer tones to the surrounding object, which will cause the viewer to look at all the drawing but continually settle on the main thing you want him or her to see.

I’ve found that art is a measure of talent but a lot more the amount of time one is willing to practice, so get outside and draw, draw, draw.  I bet you’ll improve with every sketch!

Wrap it Up!

Sometimes writing endings to stories is more difficult because the techniques aren’t so clear, but there are a few guidelines we can follow:

1.      The ending needs to make sense.

2.      It shouldn’t be anticlimactic.

3.      Don’t’ make it confusing.

4.      The conclusion should come when the interesting part of the story is over and occur on a high note.

5.      Story line shouldn’t disintegrate before the ending. Must have tension to the last page.  When action and suspense dominate, the climax must come at the end, preferably on the last page but at least in the final chapter.

6.      In an action packed story, don’t glide to the end.  Readers want that slam on the brakes ending.  You must maintain action and suspense to the last line.

7.      Tie up loose ends or major ones, like who was the murderer?  The reader should understand what has happened.  Endings that keep the reader in the dark are not effective.  For one thing, the reader will go away unsatisfied, and that will influence his attitude toward the writer, resulting in a long grudge.

Shakespeare always tied things up.  He never left a major unresolved question for the reader to ponder.  The only time a writer can get away with leaving a question unanswered is when it’s a pleasant question, and he or she wants us to decide how it ends, as in Gone With the Wind. 

However we end the story, the main thing is that the reader not feel cheated.  Expectations must be met!

           

Just Peachy!

Wow!  I made a Peach Pecan Praline pie for friends a few days ago, and it was awesome!  I would’ve taken a picture so you could see what it looked like, but to tell you the truth, the four of us inhaled it so quickly, the thought never crossed my mind until it was too late! ha 

I’ve never made one of these before—it was an experiment and a slight departure from my normal recipe for Apple Pecan Praline pie, but we actually liked it even more!

If you’d care to create this fantastic dessert, here’s what you do.  However, I must warn you—don’t tackle this recipe if you want something easy and fast! 

First of all, I made my normal top and bottom crust with the recipe that follows:

           

2 cups flour

            1 teaspoon salt

            3/4 cup Crisco

            4 tablespoons water

Mix flour and salt together in a bowl.  Add Crisco and cut in with a pastry blender until well mixed.  Add water and knead.  Roll out about 1/8 in. thick on wax paper, wrap crust around rolling pin, lift dough, and place in pie plate.  Press dough around top with thumbs against index fingers to form a finished look.

Then peel and cut up about 8 to 10 peaches.  Taste them first and be sure they’re sweet peaches, or the outcome might not be what you want.  Next add one tablespoon lemon juice and mix well.  Then add 3/4 cup white granulated sugar, a pinch of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.  I cook this mixture about 3 to 4 minutes in the microwave before pouring it into the piecrust to make sure the peaches get done. 

Next cut strips of crust about one inch wide and lay them across the top of the pie in a crisscross pattern.  Bake the pie at 375º for about 35 minutes or until the top crust is lightly browned and the peaches are bubbling.  Before removing pie from the oven, melt half of a stick of butter in a small saucepan, then add 3/4 cup brown sugar and cook together until sugar dissolves.  Next add two tablespoons of milk and one cup of pecans (I use halves and break a few to make them smaller) and bring to a boil, cooking a few minutes until it begins to slightly thicken.  Take the pie from the oven and pour mixture over the top of it, spreading the nuts evenly, then return pie to oven.  Bake for 5 to 7 minutes at 350° or until bubbly.  Remove and cool before serving.  Tell everyone you’re actually from Georgia and enjoy the praise!

           

Keep Up the Pace!

Now I want to talk to you about pacing in writing a story.  It means two things: smooth, even writing without long boring stretches of narrative and scenes that build to a satisfying climax.  But remember . . . you can’t hold the reader’s attention at a high level constantly.  There has to be down time in between exciting scenes for the action or suspense to stand out.  When I do a painting, I detail certain things and fade out others, so the viewer will look where I want him to look.  His eyes can rest on the softer areas then come back to the main subject.  But if I were to paint details equally into every square inch of the canvas, then total detail means no detail at all.  When everything is equal, nothing stands out.  It’s the same with writing.  We have to build then rest then build then rest, and the building should continually grow until we reach the climax of the story.

           

If we tell too many exciting things at the beginning, readers expectations are raised unnaturally high, and the rest of the book might seem dull.

If we concentrate things in the middle, then what comes at the end might seem a sad anticlimax.

If we concentrate things at the end, the change of pace might be so overwhelming as to seem contrived like the writer is trying to fix the story in the last few pages.

            Here are some keys to pacing:

1.      Don’t pick up the story threads too quickly.

2.      Let uncertainty fester in the reader.

3.      Stretch out rescues and solutions.

4.      Don’t give things away too quickly—a hint here, a hint there, but no clear cute solutions—nothing so specific that the reader can figure it out.

Leave Your Readers Hanging

Last time I wrote about creating a great opener to your story.  Now I’m going to talk about writing the body of your novel. 

One way to entertain readers is to excite them, and one way to excite them is to leave them in the middle of a conflict at the end of a chapter.  We call it a hook or a cliffhanger.  The way we do that is to move the story forward to an exciting point . . . or something they’ll be curious about . . . and stopping. Think conflict, dilemma, surprise.  We can even end the chapter and not get back to what happened for a number of pages

. . . maybe not even until a chapter or two later.  We’ve left them hanging by not showing what happens next.  They wonder.  They may even guess, but they don’t know!  And that’s why they’ll read on.  Curiosity is a strong force.  The other side of that coin is that we can only leave them hanging for a limited time; otherwise the dilemma ceases to have impact, and they lose faith is us, the writers.

My girls took tennis lessons when they were young, when they were young, and I remember one thing the instructor taught them to encourage them to stay with the game and convince them it was not hard.  She said, “You only have to get the ball over the net ONE more time than your opponent does.”  I LOVE THAT!!!  I’ve since applied that to my writing.  I only have to get the reader to turn ONE more page . . . just one more, and I’ve succeeded in taking them to the end of the book.

We can also leave our readers hanging in the middle of a scene, as well as at the end of a scene or chapter.  We can even do it in the middle of a paragraph.  What about this?

We settled comfortably on the sofa, and Alex took a final puff on his pipe before tapping its contents into a coffee table ashtray.  Outside, the snow continued to fall heavily, thickly, and we knew no one would be leaving before morning.  Alex furrowed his brow and looked up.  “Here’s the way it was done,” he begins.  “I’ve figured it out . .”              

Suddenly, an eerie screech came from upstairs, followed by a crash and a thump.

“Oh, no.”  Alex stopped.  “We’ve got to help.” He jumped up and ran to the stairs.

Our readers are left hanging.  We’ve interrupted our suspense with some action.   If we insert too much action, we shatter the delicate mood of anxiety we have tried to cultivate.  Action is direct and forceful while suspense if whispy and vague.  For the most part we keep them separate except when we want to leave the reader hanging.

Here’s a good technique:

1.      Begin with something dramatic to establish conflict.

2.      Stop at a point the reader doesn’t expect.

3.      Know that the reader is intrigued but don’t give away the answer.

4.      Shift gears.  If you were doing suspense, switch to action; if action, change to suspense.

5.      Follow the shift to its conclusion.  And remember, it must ADD to the story.  If it doesn’t, then forget about it.