Line 2 - Tone, mark and pattern

Have an opinion on line when it comes to analysing illustration, it too is part of the message and tone an image is communicating.  

Tone, mark and pattern can be used to describe the behaviour of light and form through the processes of:

Hatching
Cross hatching
Scribbling
Shading 
Made marks
Patterns

It can also be used to show actual patterns on fabrics for example, or to represent complex information. 

PRESSURE - STROKE - DIRECTION - GESTURE

Commit to a line - be confident!

Look ahead on the page and visualise the direction of your line. 

Draw multiples to maintain a process of reflection and improvement. 

For this image, I used a graphite stick and I feel I have succeeded in exhausting the ways in which this material can be used to make different marks. Dashes, dots, hatching, scribble, tone and smudging all add to the busy aesthetic of the image. I was proud of the pattern I produced on the top she is wearing which was created by vertical lines using the side of the graphite stick (showing the creases in the fabric) which were then smudged with my fingers. The top she is wearing had white horizontal stripes so I dragged a rubber across the graphite in this direction to show that stripes were present. I think the waviness of the lines shows the movement and looseness of the fabric and I find it interesting to look at as a pattern in itself. 

I used pencils and biro for this drawing and varied my mark making techniques between scribbling, hatching, cross hatching and tone. This has worked well on the face and headscarf because the variation in marks makes the image more intriguing and interesting to explore. However, I feel that using a scribbling technique in biro for the shadow areas on the body has created some very dark shapes which should have been more subtle. Maybe if I had used pencil for the shadow and biro for the detail on the clothing, the detail of it would still be visible beneath the dark areas. 

 I feel this is one of my most successful images from this drawing exercise. I used ink and a brush which proved to be an effective combination for producing some interesting line work. I tried to vary the weight of my lines depending on what I wanted the most focus to be on - here I drew attention to the face and the garment with heavier lines. The mark making on the clothing is really simple but I think it works well in showing the draping of the fabric as I have changed the direction of the marks towards the bottom left corner. At first I thought the detail of the face was quite heavy but now I think it emphasises how scrunched up the model's face becomes as she pouts. 

I wanted to experiment with producing a shape of pattern rather than filling in an existing outline. I used stripes of permanent marker pen that was low on ink which gave this interesting line quality which looks dry and textured. I added detail of creases in the fabric later on but I now feel, for maximum impact from the shape, I should have left all detail out of this area. 

I dont feel this image was particularly successful as a whole as I am not happy with the proportions of the body but as I was looking back over my work from today, I realised that I am becoming a lot more confident with loosening my drawing style. I never would have previously thought of producing an image which strayed from its reference imagery so drastically as this but I feel that finding the confidence to do this will improve my work overall. I am slowly learning to take risks with how I make images and am starting to learn things from my successes and failures in doing so. I am really happy with the variation in marks I managed to include here and I think the boldness of the stripes contrasts nicely with the fainter brushstrokes on the clothing.