Drawing Textures with Shelly L. Solberg @ Pierpont Community & Technical College

Texture

See highlights and high-quality resources for advanced investigations.

Texture (an element of visual art and design) is the perceived surface quality of a work of art... characterized by its visual and physical properties... —

Texture at oogle Arts & Culture

Intro Video: Texture: 7 Elements of Art (7:24) —Lillian Gray

Intro (0:00)

Real or Implied Texture? (0:39)

Texture in 2 D Artworks (1:09)

Texture Techniques (3:24)

Texture in 3D Artworks (4:14)

Texture in Famous Paintings (4:51)

Improving Texture in Your Artworks (7:51)

Introduction

Texture: Element of Art & Design.

Actual Texture

Physical, Tactile Texture You Touch

Visual Texture

Lines to Create Implied Texture

Texture & Form

Marks to Create Value & Texture

Realistic Textures

Lines to Create Smooth Values

Setting a Ground

Starting with the Middle Values

Observation

Careful Observation of Texture

Rubbings

Rubbing Paper to Deposit Marks

Identify

Texture Techniques Example

Actual, Physical, Tactile Bubbles Texture

Physical Texture:

Physical, actual, tactile texture is the patterns of variations upon a solid surface. These can include -- but are not limited to - fur, canvas, wood grain, sand, leather, satin, eggshell, matte, or smooth surfaces such as metal or glass... —

Next, we will learn about "implied, visual" textures and common techniques to draw the illusion of "realistic" textures.

Visual Texture

Visual or implied texture is the illusion of having physical texture... —

Hatching Crosshatching Stippling Blending

are four of the most common line techniques used to create value and the "illusion" of space and texture on a form in a drawing and they can be applied with all drawing mediums. We begin with Hatching by Philinthecircle.

Hatching

Hatching (hachure in French) is an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects by drawing (or scribing) closely spaced parallel lines. (0:15)

Cross-hatching

Crosshatching at its simplest, a layer of linear hatching is laid over another layer at a 90° angle, to which further diagonal layers may be added. (0:15)

Stippling

Stippling is the creation of a pattern simulating varying degrees of solidity or shading by using small dots. Such a pattern may occur in nature. (0:20)

Blending

Blending is to combine or associate so that the separate constituents or the line of demarcation cannot be distinguished. (5:55)

Now that we have learned about some techniques to create texture, next, we will learn about "setting a ground" and how important it is to create realistic textures.

Drawing
Realistic Textures

Step 1

Setting a Ground Drawing Tutorial (10:20)
Ideally, the first step to creating realistic textures is to "set a ground".

"This technique enhances shading and shadows better than beginning with a blank white page. Instead of starting with an entire sheet at one end of the brightness spectrum, we attempt to start in the middle. This reduces the tendency to produce a final drawing that is unrealistically bright or washed out." —Mr. Henls

Start your drawing by sketching and blending with gentle pressure on the entire area of your paper or surface. Create a solid gray (1, 2, or 3 on your blended value scale below) or varying tones if needed (values 1 to 5). These tones should correlate with the direction of the light source; one side being darker than the other.

EP_Value-Scale_1920x524

Observation
& Imitation

Step 2

Carefully observe the actual, physical texture of wood, brick, metal, grass, leaves, and tree bark to imitate the three-dimensional characteristics (lines, patterns, etc.) of each to draw implied visual textures. For examples, refer to the wood, brick and bark demonstrations in the videos below:

Wood, Brick & Metal

Refer to Wood & Brick (9:59)
Dan Beardshaw

Grass, Leaves & Bark

Refer to Tree Bark (at 6:20)
Dan Beardshaw

Next, another way to create texture and have fun, is to create a "rubbing" or (frottage).

Texture Rubbings

Rubbing - Art Vocab Definition (0:22) -Philinthecircle. A rubbing (frottage) is a reproduction of the texture of a surface created by placing a piece of paper or similar material over the subject and then rubbing the paper with something to deposit marks, most commonly charcoal or pencil but also various forms of blotted and rolled ink, chalk, wax, and many other substances.

Next, identify the techniques you have learned by looking at St. Jerome in His Study, a famous engraving (detail) by Albrecht Durer.

Identify Techniques

St. Jerome in His Study (top intro image) engraving detail, c.1514, by Albrecht Durer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Saint Jerome, translator of the Bible, works peacefully at a slanted writing table, and his lion and dog slumber equally peacefully in the foreground. The light of his halo and the sunlight pouring in through the windows are in perfect equilibrium, and recurrent horizontals in the composition add to the pervasive sense of repose and harmony.

ENLARGE │ DETAILS │ VIDEO │ MORE ART │ ARTIST BIO

Vue Fine Art & Design Youtube Cover & Detail of Lyons Cathedral in France

Resources

Linked Info, Audio, Visual +

Below, is a small sample of information links coordinated with video playlists. Each link and video thumbnail takes you to the category on the Resource page. Once there, activate the links. Resources

Creative Commons Public Domain
0 1.0 Universal 0 1.0) License

Materials

Art Supplies +

Art Supply Warehouse

Cheap Joe's Art Stuff

Jerry's Artarama

U.S. Art Supply

Home at Menards

Development & Maintenance
Shelly Solberg

© Vue Fine Art & Design