In this project, we traced out the negative shapes from a combined figure drawing and stools drawing and transferred them to create two collages: White Figure on a black background and an Ambiguous Figure/Ground composition.
Figure Drawing
For two classes, we focused on figure drawings using pencil and charcoal. In the beginning, we started off by doing quick gesture drawings on newsprint pad using charcoal.
After that, we moved on to drawing longer poses on the drawing pad using pencil.
Stools Drawing
The following class, we drew a still-life of stools on a drawing pad focusing on accuracy of the structure, space, and proportions.
Combining the Figure and Stool Drawings
After completing the stools drawing and choosing a figure drawing, we went to Arnhold Hall to scan the drawings and combine them using Photoshop. I rotated the figure and tilted the stools to create a composition that would have a lot of negative shapes.
Creating Combo Compositions
I printed the composition out on Tabloid size paper and traced 12 negative shapes in a white Bristol paper using graphite transfer paper. Then, I selected all the shapes and pasted them into another Illustrator file with two 10×10″ artboards and two 10×10″ black squares. I then used my white shapes to create the final compositions of the White Figure and Ambiguous Figure. In the “Ambiguous” piece, the idea was to carve up the space so that it was unclear which was the figure and which was the background.
Negative Shapes Tracing
After getting some feedback, I traced the same 12 negative shapes on Illustrator using the pen tool. Then, I selected the whole image and paste it onto another Illustrator file. On the new Illustrator file, I created 2 10×10″ artboards with black 10×10″ box on top of them. Using the negative shapes, I dragged them onto the artboards to create the final composition of the White Figure and Ambiguous Figure.
Final White Figure
Final Ambiguous Figure
