Line Work

The Rhinoceros, Albrecht Dürer, 1515

The last portrait in the series of portraits (Collage and Ink) that you have been doing is the Line Portrait. It is the third variation in the portrait series and it is very much like it sounds. You will complete one last picture of the face that you have been working with using just line. Your line work will be similar to as if you were designing for a wood-cut print.

In class you will receive a paper that breaks down Albrecht Dürer's The Rhinoceros and shows the different variations of line that he used to create the overall look of his print. Some things for you to keep in mind are:

• Your line work should be controlled, carefully spaced and drawn with deliberation
  
• You can use a variety of different types of line to emphasise shape and form
• Your line work should enhance the image, even though it is exaggerated in its deliberation it should not be so abstract as to be unbelievable
• The line should follow the natural contours of the facial features, hair, clothing etc.
• Using line only you will create value (areas of light and dark) in your drawing
  

Black and White

Last week all of you were set the challenge of completing a Collage Portrait during class time. The time limitations forced you to make quick decisions and to work continuously without debating your choices too much.


This week you will be taking the same image from last week and creating a black and white copy of it using only white paper and ink. The concepts are similar - shape and form will be chosen to represent features in the portrait. The big difference here is that you will be working with only black and white. Nuances will be further blurred; you are not creating a line drawing, but something closer to a "stamp". As you can see from the example, detailing is once again simplified, but the overall contours and shapes of the face, hair, eyes, mouth, nose, and chin are still evident.