Contour drawings only consist of lines and have very little detail. There are three kinds of break lines used in drawings.

(Talk about the lines as you draw them)Įach student should be provided with an object to study and draw (older students might try drawing portraits this way either of themselves or a partner) Have them practice on a scratch piece of paper first before making the final drawing on whatever material you select in whatever medium you choose. A contour drawing refers to an object or model outline without any shading, tone, or texture. Give brief demonstration drawing an object on the board. Emphasize that the “looking and seeing of the object” is the most important part because you want to try your best to draw what you really see in front of you, and not rely on what you think is there. Try one together: examine a simple object and discuss the kinds of line observed. Blind Contour: The act of drawing an object without actually looking to the paper, with the purpose of analysis the object and drawing what you see, and not. But he also does more simple studies of single objects. Continuous contour lines create a smooth, flowing effect, while you can use broken contour lines to suggest texture or movement. They can be either continuous or broken and vary in thickness. Some of these scenes are very detailed and have many people and objects in them. A contour drawing is done when the artist looks intently at the EDGES of an object, but rarely looks at the paper while the pencil moves. Contour lines are external lines and the most basic type of line, and they are used to define the edge of an object. contour drawing, version of outline drawing, in which the artist, looking closely at the contour of an object, transfers it in one continuous line to paper. (Show static examples) He draws the contours, or outlines, of his artworks by never taking his pencil off the paper – by continuously drawing a single line. Emmanuel Claudais is a Canadian artist who works in continuous contour. There are many artists who use this technique to practice with and some artists who only work in contour. The drawing will be made of one continuous line and we will draw the outlines, or contours of the object. “continuous contour drawing” means drawing a picture continuously without picking up our pencil from the paper. Introduce “continuous contour” concept – define terms:Ĭontinuous – to keep going without stoppingĬontour – an outline that defines the shape of an object In this lithograph portrait of Berthe Morisot (1872-74). Discussion: what kind of lines do we see in the world? The meaning of CONTOUR is an outline especially of a curving or irregular figure : shape also : the line representing this outline. Contour lines Lines that are used to define the shape or form of an object or to show key details are called outlines or contour lines.

Define contour line drawing