Constructing an Image (Or how to make a cake)

Drawing is drawing whether done with a pen and paper, a stick in the mud or a mouse and the computer. The better your understanding of how to make a good drawing the better your ability to work with line, shape, tone, color, texture, scale, composition, etc. If you want your image to be cohesive, dynamic and visually engaging you will have to know how to deal with these issues because there is no other option. More info on the specifics and examples of drawing fundamentals can be found on my other blog here. For this example however I'm going to stress one simple concept: WORK LOOSE BEFORE YOU WORK TIGHT (i.e. don't put on the icing until the cake is baked).


A quick gesture of your subject and environment will empower you to make big decisions in just a few quick seconds. The speed of the gesture will help you to make interesting decisions before you know you are even making them. Although this is just a first step the major formal relationships should be developing here.


The immediate next step I used was to stay loose but to make my initial underdrawing more specific through an application of color and tone. Some of the intuitive and split-second decisions made during these first 2 steps will play a major role in the development of the rest of the work.


I now started using my underdrawing as an armature on which to build my photographic elements. The looseness of the marks allows the photographic pieces to fall into place in a far more natural way than had you started without an underdrawing.


As the piece develops I focus on more and more specific parts (torso first, then arms then hands, then fingers, then fingernails). Remember large to small. Don't invest in the details yet. Details in drawing are the icing on the cake. Put them on too early and it's like icing a cake that has not yet been baked! It's an equally bad approach.


Final steps involve more detail work, and some additional decorative elements that help create a sense of space. Decoration is easy. Details are relatively easy as well. It's the bulk of the cooking, mixing all the ingredients together and heating everything to the right temperature in just the right kind of pan that will determine how good your cake is. The frosting and candles are just additional compliments. Happy baking.