Visual Arts Teacher Simone

Everything in the world has VOLUME

VOLUME is the amount of 3 DIMENSIONAL SPACE occupied by an object.

Even though the world is 3 DIMENSIONAL, we represent it through FLAT images, like paintings, photographs, drawings, etc.

Artists use different methods to represent 3 DIMENSIONAL SPACE and VOLUME on a flat surface, like a paper or a canvas.

These “visual tricks” give the impression of space and volume.

Artists can use the following methods to create the illusion of volume and space:

1. PERSPECTIVE

2. SIZE

3. SUPERPOSITION

4. LIGHT AND SHADOW ▪ CHIAROSCURO

Conical perspective is a technique used by artists to represent 3 dimensional space.

There are 4 elements: The HORIZON LINE, PERPECTIVE LINES, the VANISHING POINT and the POINT OF VIEW.

The HORIZON LINE is an imaginary or real horizontal line, sometimes referred to as eye level, which divides your line of vision when you look straight ahead

2) PERSPECTIVE LINES are straight lines, drawn from the edges of objects, back into distant space, until they come together at the horizon.

3) The VANISHING POINT is the point where are the perspective lines meet and disappear.

4) The POINT OF VIEW is the position of the spectator with respect to the scene observed.

from above from below

Objects close to us appear big, and objects far from us appear small. This is a basic aspect of conical perspective.

Artists change the size of objects in order to create the effect of a three-dimensional scene.

The superposition is when one object covers part of another.

Our brain interpets that the object that is covered is FARTHER AWAY and the object that covers is CLOSER.

Artists use superposition in order to create the effect of 3-dimensional space.

Draw a WINTER landscape with CONICAL PERSPECTIVE.

Draw a WINTER landscape with CONICAL PERSPECTIVE, like CLAUDE MONET. Use pencil colors.

Cut out the objects, people, etc from magazine.

Use VARIATIONS IN SIZE and SUPERPOSITION to create the effect of 3D space. For example:

Light, which allows us to see objects, has a secondary effect– shadow.

An illuminated object will have zones of both light and shadow, which augments a three-dimensional effect.

There are two types of shadow:

Core shadow: is the shadow that an object casts on itself.

Cast shadow: is the shadow that an object casts on the floor or the objects around it.

Core shadow

Cast shadow

There are other areas of light and shadow.

Identify the part of the shadow

Highlight

Core shadow

Reflected light

Cast shadow

Light source

Chiaroscuro: is a technique to recreate the progression of light to shadow (light to dark) of an object.

This helps give an effect of three dimensions.

Project: Charcoal object studies. Explanation: We will use CHARCOAL to

create a drawing of a 3D object. We must focus on the shadows and highlights of the object.

Step 1:

Example: