plate no. 6904
Portrait of a Papal Legate
Jean Fouquet, 1460
some experience helpful
Recreating this drawing will help students develop skills in hatching, cross-hatching, and rendering form using tonal variations. It also provides practice in capturing likeness and understanding facial proportions.
technical profile
palette complexity
1
brushwork visibility
5
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
4
study guide
est. 12 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Lightly sketch the overall composition and proportions of the figure.
- step 02
Define the major shapes of the head, hat, and clothing.
- step 03
Begin adding details to the face, focusing on the eyes, nose, and mouth.
- step 04
Use hatching and cross-hatching to build up tonal values and create form.
- step 05
Pay attention to the direction of the hatching to suggest the contours of the face and clothing.
- step 06
Add darker values in the shadows to create contrast and depth.
- step 07
Refine the details and adjust the tonal values as needed.
- step 08
Add the text in the upper right corner.
color palette
primary · sepia · ivory black
secondary ·
Vary the pressure and density of the silverpoint or pencil to achieve different tonal values.
techniques
- ·hatching
- ·cross-hatching
- ·contour drawing
- ·tonal rendering
- ·line weight variation
common pitfalls
- →Not establishing accurate proportions in the initial sketch.
- →Creating flat, lifeless forms by not varying the tonal values.
- →Making the hatching too uniform and lacking direction.
- →Overworking the drawing and losing the freshness of the line work.
materials
surface · smooth drawing paper
required
- ·Silverpoint or graphite pencil (2H or harder)
- ·Prepared paper or smooth drawing paper
- ·Eraser
- ·Kneaded eraser
- ·Blending stump or tortillon
- ·Fixative spray
optional
- ·ruler
- ·compass
- ·magnifying glass
Using a prepared paper for silverpoint will yield the best results. If using graphite, choose a smooth paper with minimal texture.
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