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"Ballet in motion"
charcoal drawing by JRJ

  Color is usually limited to the painting classes: oil, acrylic and watercolor. In drawing, color is introduced with the use of conte crayon and toned or colored paper. We have started using the white conte to add a dimension and control to the drawings that we can't get with an eraser, and the drawings show the benefit. Color can be used indiscriminately as a value or it can be used to represent local color in the objects represented - either or both can benefit the drawing, but the single requirement is consistency. If it is used as a value substitute, it should be used for every instance of that same value in the drawing. If just local color, it should be limited to that use. Combining uses can make for confusion in the viewer trying to understand the reasoning behind the use - confusion in understanding the drawing. It is possible to use it to do both things, but small variations or inconsistencies stand out.

Seeing
"O"stencil oil crayon drawing by JRJ

Remember the "secret" tools. A kneaded eraser will lift conte almost completely. The chamois will add tone, and the stump, stomp or blender will produce a graded blend to give a soft toner or soft edge. Leave the best until last and the drawing builds to a climax, and so does your interest.

Color and white constitute a "push-pull" relationship with value - especially on toned paper. This is the preliminary to thinking in color, and thinking in paint. Using white as a painting element is the venue of all painting media except watercolor, which leaves the paper as the white.

Spatial Drawing

Atmospheric perspective also means using the mark making abilities of scale, focus and detail to make the illusory space move back on the page. Don't hesitate to experiment to see what you can acomplish.

Use the elements of composition to lead the eye of the viewer into the work, and around the objects or elements of your drawing.

"Three" B & W stone lithography print
drawn on stone with a litho crayon by JRJ

1 - 40 minute drawing -- Composition gesture, value / mass building, then detail - a fully developed drawing. Be conscious of the sequence form, and make the drawing interesting. Start with the same setup - use the class room interior - the background behind the set up to make a fully developed drawing.

Footnotes:

Bibliography - Mastering Atmosphere & Mood in Watercolor: The Critical Ingredients That Turn Paintings into Art - by Joseph Zbukvic, Robert A. Wade
Rendering in Pen and Ink - by Arthur L. Guptill, Susan E. Meyer (Editor)
The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing: A Contemporary Perspective on the Classical Tradition by Anthony Ryder
Figure Drawing Without a Model by Ron Tiner
The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression by Gary Faigin

Links - Lighting for 2_D work http://www.anweb.co.uk/l_04_d4/d4d06.htm
Technical studio photography http://www.powning.com/studio/photowrk.shtml