Develop the Tonal
Range (continued)
The short neck of the vase is more fully formed with the addition of
shapes of darker tone to the sides of the neck of the vase (as shown
here). These shapes on either side of the neck seem roughly triangular.
When you add tone with your pencil, keep the edges soft. Do not use a
line of any sort to suggest the end of the shadow area. If you do, you will
flatten out the form and will not be able to achieve the roundness of the
form.
The middle of the neck of the vase was also in shadow. This was not a
deep shadow but was certainly a darker tone than any tone in the light
area. Therefore, a soft tone was added to the tone that was already on the
paper. While the artist added the tone, he kept standing away from his
drawing to check all of the tones at a distance. This is very important. If
you do this often, you can see and correct mistakes before they become
very large mistakes!
The artist noticed that the light area of the vase gradually darkens as it
approaches the shadow area. This darker area within the light area is
called the half tone. Careful observation and rendering of the half tone is
crucial to successfully render the vase’s volume. The quality of this half
tone will describe whether the form turns gradually or abruptly. As more
graphite was added, the artist used a tortillon (see page 17) and his finger
to smooth out the transition from one tone to the next.
For larger areas, you can use a chamois cloth or paper towel. If you use
your finger, make sure your hands are clean; otherwise, your skin’s natural
oils will mix with the graphite, making it difficult to remove later. Graphite
has been erased in rough triangular shapes around the outer edges of the
vase to emphasize the shadow on the bottom of the vase and to prepare
for the rendition of the other objects.
The Half Tones