plate no. 0617
Nude Girl Combing Her Hair
Paul-Albert Besnard, 1887
some experience helpful
Recreating this etching will help students understand line work, shading with hatching and cross-hatching, and creating form using only value changes.
technical profile
palette complexity
2
brushwork visibility
5
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
3
study guide
est. 8 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Lightly sketch the basic figure proportions and pose.
- step 02
Outline the main shapes of the body, hair, and arms.
- step 03
Begin adding vertical lines to create the background.
- step 04
Use hatching and cross-hatching to build up darker values in the background and around the figure.
- step 05
Add fine lines to define the contours of the body and hair.
- step 06
Use stippling to create texture on the skin.
- step 07
Refine the details of the face and hands.
- step 08
Add final touches to the shading and line work to achieve the desired depth and contrast.
color palette
primary · sepia · raw umber
secondary · ivory black
Vary the intensity of the sepia tone by diluting it with water or mixing it with small amounts of raw umber or ivory black.
techniques
- ·hatching
- ·cross-hatching
- ·stippling
- ·contour drawing
- ·line variation
common pitfalls
- →Overworking the lines and creating a muddy effect.
- →Failing to vary the line weight and creating a flat image.
- →Not paying attention to the direction of the lines and creating a confusing texture.
- →Inaccurate proportions of the figure.
materials
surface · Drawing paper
required
- ·Drawing paper
- ·Pencil (HB)
- ·Fine liner pens (various sizes)
- ·Eraser
- ·Reference image
optional
- ·Ruler
- ·Magnifying glass
- ·Tracing paper
Experiment with different pen sizes and line weights to achieve a variety of effects.
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