Subtractive Figure Drawing 2012/13

The human form has been studied, drawn, and sculpted throughout history. It is easy to understand, then, why figure drawing is an art class staple. Drawing the human figure allows students to practice proportions and synthesize the relationships between form and light and challenges them to capture the illusion of three dimensions on a two dimensional picture plane.

Students were challenged to “draw with light," erasing highlights from a pre-charcoaled background. 

Instead of working with black lines and shading on a white surface, students were challenged to “draw with light.” To make it even more challenging, the “drawing” was done with an eraser. After a solid layer of black charcoal was applied to the paper, highlights and mid-tones were created by removing the charcoal to varying degrees.