Figure Drawing Techniques...5

Black and white figure drawings can lead to succesful figure drawings in color. Black and white allows you to focus on proportion and a range of value. When you add color, there is a whole new element that you must study in order to use it succesfully.

The color phenomenon that I want to talk about here is the relationship of blue and red, and how the pairing of blue and red can enhance a drawing.

In this figure drawing, there were two different light sources falling accross the figure. If I treated the light the same way on both sides of the figure, the figure would have appeared flat. By choosing to have a warm (red) side and a cool blue side, it adds dimension to the figure.

Red and blue have a jarring personality - take a bright true blue and place it next to a true red and your eye vibrates a little. The eye does not read red and blue in the same way, causing a vibration (this phenomenon always makes me think of 3D glasses). As artists we can use this to our advantage.

When you have a highlight, such as the one on her hand, you can make the white highlight "pop" a little by using a shade of red on one side and a shade of blue on the other.

Highlights will appear brighter if you use a warm color on one side and a cool color on the other.

Fellow artists - have you used red and blue with a purpose? Share your work and your technique! Post a comment and a link to your work!