Pencil Magic: Landscape Drawing Techniques

220 Pages·25.986 MB·English

by  Phil Metzger

LANDSCAPE DRAWING
TECHNIQUES
Phil Metzger
NORTH LIGHT BOOKS
CINCINNATI, OHIO
www.artistsnetwork.com
About the Author
Phil Metzger has been painting and selling his artwork for
over thirty years. His work is included in thousands of
private and public collections and has earned him honors in
national and regional exhibitions. He teaches watercolor
painting and perspective drawing, and has written many
popular North Light Books.
Photo by Portraits by Precious Moments, Fredericksburg, VA
Pencil Magic. Copyright © 2004 by Phil Metzger. Manufactured in the
United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of this book may
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Includes bibliographical references and index. Ounces Grams 28.4
ISBN 1-58180-584-5 (alk. paper) Grams Ounces 0.04
I. Landscape drawing—Technique. 2. Pencil drawing—Technique.
I. Title.
NC795.M47 2004
743’.836—dc22 2003060953
Cover designed by Wendy Dunning
Production coordinated by Mark Griffin
Dedicated to Shirley and Charlie
and
To my kids, who are my role models
Three accomplished artists gave me an enormous
amount of help in cleaning up the manuscript. They
corrected my English, fixed my punctuation, organized
things better and critiqued the illustrations. They also
helped me get rid of the cornball things I sometimes
write—well, most of them. Sincere thanks to:
Marah Heidebrecht
Leah Henrici
Shirley Porter
And thanks to good buddy Michael David Brown,
renowned illustrator and painter, who years ago
introduced me to hatching, which is now my
favorite drawing technique.
iii
CHAPTER ONE page 1
TOOLS & MATERIALS
The tools are simple. Here’s
everything you need to get going.
CHAPTER TWO page 11
BASIC STROKES
A few basic ways of making a
pencil work for you.
CHAPTER THREE page 17
DRAWING STYLES
Quick sketches to finished
drawings—you choose the style.
CHAPTER FOUR page 23
MEASURING
How to figure out the relative sizes
of things.
CHAPTER FIVE page 31
LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS
Ways to draw the objects you
commonly see in a landscape.
CHAPTER SIX page 49
PERSPECTIVE
How to make your flat picture
look three-dimensional.
CHAPTER SEVEN page 81
DESIGN
How to lay out your drawing for
the best visual impact.
CHAPTER EIGHT page 101
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Start by choosing a subject
and end up with a fine drawing.
IV
CHAPTER NINE page 109
A SIMPLE STILL LIFE
CHAPTER TEN page 113
FARM BUILDINGS
CHAPTER ELEVEN page 123
CITY MONTAGE
CHAPTER TWELVE page 131
BARE TREES
CHAPTER THIRTEEN page 141
WOODS AND STREAM
CHAPTER FOURTEEN page 149
OLD HOUSE
CHAPTER FIFTEEN page 157
PEOPLE
CHAPTER SIXTEEN page 167
ANIMALS
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN page 175
OPEN LANDSCAPE
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN page 185
TREE CLOSE-UP
v
DETAILED CONTENTS
DEDICATION CHAPTER FOUR 23 CHAPTER EIGHT 101
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS MEASURING PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
• dividing your paper • choosing a subject
INTRODUCTION
• eyeballs and thumbs • narrowing the field
• measuring angles • marking your place
PART I: • using plumb lines • dividing your paper
• “horizontal” plumb lines • setting the light source
GETTING STARTED
• gridding • working on more than
• checking symmetry one drawing
CHAPTER ONE 1 • staying put • transferring a drawing
TOOLS & MATERIALS • matting and framing
• pencils CHAPTER FIVE 31 • working from photos
• drawing papers
LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS
• sketchbooks • trees
• tracing paper
• rocks PART II:
• masks
• water
DEMONSTRATIONS
• erasers and shields
• buildings
• stumps and tortillions
• shadows
• sharpeners CHAPTER NINE 109
• reflections
• bridges • skies A SIMPLE STILL LIFE
• transfer paper
• roads and paths
• mahlstick
• hills and fields CHAPTERTEN 113
• drawing boards
• odds and ends FARM BUILDINGS
• perspective jaws
• mirror
CHAPTER SIX 49
• pencil extender CHAPTER ELEVEN 123
PERSPECTIVE
• viewfinder CITYMONTAGE
• atmospheric perspective
• brush
• overlap
• carrying case CHAPTER TWELVE 131
• detail and edges
• shopping lists BARE TREES
• size and space
• modeling
CHAPTER TWO 11
• foreshortening CHAPTER THIRTEEN 141
BASIC STROKES
• linear perspective WOODS AND STREAM
• sharp strokes
• linear perspective
• chisel strokes
examples CHAPTER FOURTEEN 149
• flat strokes
• perspective problems
OLD HOUSE
• hatching and
• perspective summary
crosshatching
• continuous hatching CHAPTER SEVEN 81 CHAPTER FIFTEEN 157
and crosshatching DESIGN PEOPLE
• scribbles • shapes
• varied pressure, edges • values CHAPTER SIXTEEN 167
• directional strokes
• textures ANIMALS
• stippling
• line
• summary
• direction CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 175
OPEN LANDSCAPE
CHAPTER THREE 17
DRAWING STYLES
• quick sketches CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 185
• drawing through TREE CLOSE-UP
• visible corrections
• outline drawing BIBLIOGRAPHY 197
• blended-stroke drawing
GLOSSARY
199
• open-stroke drawing
INDEX
• combining strokes 205
VI
Y
ou can draw with anything—pen and ink, brush, charcoal, crayon,
colored pencil, pastel, silverpoint, whatever makes a mark on
paper—but probably the simplest medium is the pencil. It’s a magical tool.
Using just pencil and paper and very little else, you can render any subject
imaginable. Although in this book we’ 11 deal mostly with landscape draw¬
ing, there is no subject you can’t render with the pencil.
In Part I, we explore the mechanics of drawing— everything from choos¬
ing paper and pencils to designing a picture. Part II demonstrates in detail
the evolution of several drawings. I encourage you to copy them; to help
you get started I’ve included an outline, or template, for each.
Thanks for buying this book. I hope you’ll enjoy using it.
Phil Metzger
VII
OTHER BOOKS BY PHIL METZGER
Perspective Without Pain
Enliven Your Paintings with Light
The North Light Artist’s Guide to Materials and Techniques
Realistic Collage Art (with Michael Brown)
Perspective Secrets
How to Master Pencil Drawing
How You Can Sell Your Art or Craft For More Than You Ever
Dreamed Possible
The Artist’s Illustrated Encyclopedia:
techniques, materials and terms
Managing a Programming Project
Managing Programming People