Drawing is a form of visual expression and is one of the major forms within the visual arts. There are a number of subcategories of drawing, including cartooning, and certain drawing methods or approaches, such as "doodling," may or may not be considered as part of "drawing" as a "fine art."

The word 'drawing' is used as both a verb and a noun:

Drawing (verb) is the act of making marks on a surface so as to create an image, form or shape.
The produced image is also called a drawing (noun). A quick, unrefined drawing may be defined as a sketch.
In simplistic terms, drawing is distinct from painting, perhaps more so in the Western view; East Asian art, which generally only uses brushes, has historically made less distinction between the two. Critics may praise a painter's ability to draw well, meaning that the shapes, especially of the human body, are well-articulated, or a drawing may be considered painterly.

Adding confusion, similar tools and media may be used in both tasks. Dry media normally associated with drawing, such as chalk, may be used in pastel painting. Drawing may be done with liquid media applied with brushes or pens. Similar supports likewise can serve both: painting generally involves the application of liquid paint onto prepared canvas or panels, but sometimes an underdrawing is drawn first on that same support. Drawing is generally concerned with the marking of lines and areas of tone onto paper, but watercolor painting uses a paper support. Traditional drawings were monochrome, or at least had little colour,[1] while modern coloured-pencil drawings may approach or cross the boundary (if there is one) between drawing and painting.

The term drawing suggests a process and intent that is distinct from the traditional act of painting. While there are drawings that are finished artworks, drawing is often exploratory, with considerable emphasis on observation, problem solving and composition, often as a means of preparation for a painting. In contrast, traditional painting is often a means of execution or finishing an artwork. It is fair to note that modern painters often incorporate methods of drawing in their painting process.



Madame Palmyre with Her Dog, 1897. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.Drawings may be representational, depicting objects, living beings, or scenes which the artist views, remembers, or imagines. They may be realistic to the point of lifelike resemblance (e.g. traditional portraits), architectural drawing or looser approximations of reality (e.g. sketches), and highly stylized (e.g. cartoons, caricatures), or abstract (e.g. automatic drawing, entoptic graphomania).


Media
The medium is the means by which ink, pigment, or color are delivered onto the drawing surface. Most drawing media are either dry (e.g. graphite, charcoal, pastels, Conté, silverpoint), or water-based (marker, pen and ink).[2] Watercolor pencils can be used dry like ordinary pencil, then moistened with a wet brush to get various painterly effects. Very rarely, artists have drawn with (usually decoded) invisible ink.


Materials
Paper comes in a variety of different sizes and qualities, ranging from newspaper grade for practice up to high quality and relatively expensive paper sometimes sold as individual sheets.[3] Papers can vary in texture, hue, acidity, and strength when wet. Smooth paper is good for rendering fine detail, but a more "toothy" paper will hold the drawing material better. Thus a more coarse material is useful for producing deeper contrast.

For pen and ink work, typing paper is often used for practice drawings, but heavier paper holds up better. Bristol board makes a hard surface that is especially good for ink or fine detailed graphite drawing. Coldpressed watercolor paper is sometimes favored for ink drawing due to its texture. Tracing vellum is often used for experimenting on top of a pencil drawing, prior to committing a technique to the final page.

Various tools are routinely used in the process of drawing. These include a pencil sharpener, sandpaper, kneaded eraser, blending stumps, and chamois. Other tools that sometimes prove useful are tracing paper, a circle compass, ruler, frisket film, fixative, and drafting tape. The use of an easel or slanted table reduces the distorting effects of perspective. Metalpointing can include copper, bronze, and even gold some of which metals can change color over time and produce interesting results.

One new tool for drawing is the computer's 'drawing option'. Contemporary artists have broadened the sphere of associations the term 'drawing' encompasses to include performance and multimedia work, employing the branches of trees as drawing instruments, and fashioning images with carbon deposit from smoke,[citation needed] in addition to working in a number of unconventional drawing mediums, such as blood.[4]




Applying media
Prior to working on an image, the artist will likely want to gain an understanding of how the various media will work. The different drawing implements can be tried on practice sheets in order to determine value and texture, and how to apply the implement in order to produce various effects.


Line drawing in sanguine by Leonardo da VinciThe stroke of the drawing implement can be used to control the appearance of the image. Ink drawings typically use hatching, which consists of groups of parallel lines. [5] Cross-hatching uses hatching in two or more different directions to create a darker tone. Broken hatching, or lines with intermittent breaks, is used to form lighter tones, and by controlling the density of the breaks a graduation of tone can be achieved. Stippling, uses dots to produce tone, texture or shade.

Sketch drawings use similar techniques, although with pencils and drawing sticks continuous variations in tone can be achieved. For best results the lines in a sketch are typically drawn to follow the contour curves of the surface, thus producing a depth effect. When drawing hair, the lines of the sketch follow the direction of the hair growth.

Typically a drawing will be filled in based on which hand the artist favors. A right-handed artist will want to draw from left to right in order to avoid smearing the image. Sometimes the artist will want to leave a section of the image blank while filling in the remainder of the picture. A frisket can be used for this purpose. The shape of the area to be preserved is cut out of the frisket, and the resulting shape is then applied to the drawing surface. This will protect the surface from receiving any stray marks before it is ready to be filled in.

Another method to preserve a section of the image is to apply a spray-on fixative to the surface. This will hold loose material more firmly to the sheet and prevent it from smearing. However the fixative spray typically uses chemicals that can negatively affect the respiratory system, so it should be employed in a well-ventilated area such as outdoors.


Tone
Shading is the technique of varying the tonal values on the paper to represent the shade of the material as well as the placement of the shadows. Careful attention to reflected light, shadows, and highlights can result in a very realistic rendition of the image.

Blending uses an implement to soften or spread the original drawing strokes. Blending is most easily done with a medium that does not immediately fix itself, such as graphite, chalk, or charcoal, although freshly applied ink can be smudged, wet or dry, for some effects. For shading and blending, the artist can use a blending stump, tissue, a kneaded eraser, a fingertip, or any combination of them. A piece of chamois is useful for creating smooth textures, and for removing material to lighten the tone. Continuous tone can be achieved with graphite on a smooth surface without blending, but the technique is laborious, involving small circular or oval strokes with a somewhat blunt point.

Shading techniques that also introduce texture to the drawing include hatching and stippling. There are a number of other methods for producing texture in the picture: in addition to choosing a suitable paper, the type of drawing material and the drawing technique will result in different textures. Texture can be made to appear more realistic when it is drawn next to a contrasting texture; a coarse texture will be more obvious when placed next to a smoothly blended area. A similar effect can be achieved by drawing different tones in close proximity; a light edge next to a dark background will stand out to the eye, and almost appear to float above the surface.


Layout
Measuring the dimensions of a subject while blocking in the drawing is an important step in producing a realistic rendition of the aertically can be used to measure the angles of different sides. These angles can be reproduced on the drawing surface and then rechecked to make sure they are accurate. Another form of measurement is to compare the relative sizes of different parts of the subject with each other. A finger placed at a point along the drawing implement can be used to compare that dimension with other parts of the image.

When attempting to draw a complicated shape such as a human figure, it is helpful at first to represent the form with a set of primitive shapes. Almost any form can be represented by some combination of the cube, sphere, cylinder, and cone. Once these basic shapes have been assembled into a likeness, then the drawing can be refined into a more accurate and polished form. The lines of the primitive shapes are removed and replaced by the final likeness.

A more refined art of figure drawing relies upon the artist possessing a deep understanding of anatomy and the human proportions. A trained artist is familiar with the skeleton structure, joint location, muscle placement, tendon movement, and how the different parts work together during movement. This allows the artist to render more natural poses that do not appear artificially stiff. The artist is also familiar with how the proportions vary depending on the age of the subject, particularly when drawing a portrait.


Perspective
Linear perspective is a method of portraying objects on a flat surface so that the dimensions shrink with distance. The parallel, straight edges of any object, whether a building or a table, will follow lines that eventually converge at infinity. Typically this point of convergence will be along the horizon, as buildings are built level with the flat surface. When multiple structures are aligned with each other, such as buildings along a street, the horizontal tops and bottoms of the structures will all typically converge at a vanishing point.


Two point perspective drawing.When both the fronts and sides of a building are drawn, then the parallel lines forming a side converge at a second point along the horizon (which may be off the drawing paper.) This is a "two-point perspective". Converging the vertical lines to a point in the sky then produces a "three-point perspective".

Depth can also be portrayed by several techniques in addition to the perspective approach above. Objects of similar size should appear ever smaller the further they are from the viewer. Thus the back wheel of a cart will appear slightly smaller than the front wheel. Depth can be portrayed through the use of texture. As the texture of an object gets further away it becomes more compressed and busy, taking on an entirely different character than if it was close. Depth can also be portrayed by reducing the amount of contrast of more distant objects, and also by making the colors more pale. This will reproduce the effect of atmospheric haze, and cause the eye to focus primarily on objects drawn in the foreground.


Artistry

Chiaroscuro study drawing by BouguereauThe composition of the image is an important element in producing an interesting work of artistic merit. The artist plans the placement of elements in the art in order to communicate ideas and feelings with the viewer. The composition can determine the focus of the art, and result in a harmonious whole that is aesthetically appealing and stimulating.

The illumination of the subject is also a key element in creating an artistic piece, and the interplay of light and shadow is a valuable method in the artist's toolbox. The placement of the light sources can make a considerable difference in the type of message that is being presented. Multiple light sources can wash out any wrinkles in a person's face, for instance, and give a more youthful appearance. In contrast, a single light source, such as harsh daylight, can serve to highlight any texture or interesting features.

When drawing an object or figure, the skilled artist pays attention to both the area within the silhouette and what lies outside. The exterior is termed the negative space, and can be as important in the representation as the figure. Objects placed in the background of the figure should appear properly placed wherever they can be viewed.

A study is a draft drawing that is made in preparation for a planned final image. Studies can be used to determine the appearance of specific parts of the completed image, or for experimenting with the best approach for accomplishing the end goal. However a well-crafted study can be a piece of art in its own right, and many hours of careful work can go into completing a study.


Traditional color theory

Complementary colors
Main article: Complementary color
When it comes to the mixing of color of paint, Newton’s color wheel is often used to describe complementary colors, which are colors which cancel each other's hue to produce an achromatic (white, gray or black) mixture. Newton offered as a conjecture that colors exactly opposite one another on the hue circle cancel out each other's hue, but it was demonstrated in the 19th century that this is a basic fact of color vision.

A key assumption in Newton's hue circle was that the "fiery" or maximum saturated hues are located on the outer circumference of the circle, while achromatic white is at the center. Then the saturation of the mixture of two spectral hues was predicted by the straight line between them; the mixture of three colors was predicted by the "center of gravity" or centroid of three triangle points, and so on.

According to traditional color theory, which is derived from paint mixtures, yellow mixed with purple, scarlet mixed with blue, or magenta mixed with green produces an equivalent gray and are the painter's complementary colors. These contrasts form the basis of Chevreul's law of color contrast: colors that appear together will be altered as if mixed with the complementary color of the other color. Thus, a piece of yellow fabric placed on a blue background will appear tinted orange, because orange is the complementary color to blue.

Unfortunately, the artists' primary colors are not the same as complementary colors defined by light mixtures, called visual complementary colors. Here the complement of purple is green, and the complement of yellow is blue. This discrepancy becomes important when color theory is applied across media. Digital color management uses a hue circle defined around the additive RGB primary colors, as these are the hues of the phosphors or diodes that create computer pixels, and the colors in a computer monitor are additive mixtures of light, not subtractive mixtures of paints.


Theory of three primary colors
[edit] Warm vs. cool colors
Main article: Color temperature
The distinction between warm and cool colors has been important since at least the late 18th century but is generally not remarked in modern color science or colorimetry. The contrast, as traced by etymologies in the Oxford English Dictionary, seems related to the observed contrast in landscape light, between the "warm" colors associated with daylight or sunset and the "cool" colors associated with a gray or overcast day. Warm colors are often said to be hues from red through yellow, browns and tans included; cool colors are often said to be the hues from blue green through blue violet, most grays included. There is historical disagreement about the colors that anchor the polarity, but 19th century sources put the peak contrast between red orange and greenish blue. This concept is related to the color temperature of "visible light", an important consideration in photography, television and desktop publishing. The determination of whether a color appears warm or cool is relative. Any color can be made to appear warm or cool by its context with other colors.

Color theory has ascribed perceptual and psychological effects to this contrast. Warm colors are said to advance or appear more active in a painting, while cool colors tend to recede; used in interior design or fashion, warm colors are said to arouse or stimulate the viewer, while cool colors calm and relax. Most of these effects, to the extent they are real, can be attributed to the higher saturation and lighter value of warm pigments in contrast to cool pigments. Thus, brown is a dark, unsaturated warm color that few people think of as visually active or psychologically arousing.





The hottest radiating bodies (e.g. stars) have a cool color while the less hot bodies radiate with a warm color.
It is interesting to compare the traditional association of color with temperature with that of a theoretical radiating black body, where the assosciation of color with temperature is reversed. For instance, the hottest stars are blue and the coolest are red.


Achromatic colors
Any color that lacks strong chromatic content is said to be unsaturated, achromatic, or near neutral. Pure achromatic colors include black, white and all grays; near neutrals include browns, tans, pastels and darker colors. Near neutrals can be of any hue or lightness.

Neutrals are obtained by mixing pure colors with either white or black, or by mixing two complementary colors. In color theory, neutral colors are colors easily modified by adjacent more saturated colors and they appear to take on the hue complementary to the saturated color. Next to a bright red couch, a gray wall will appear distinctly greenish.

Black and white have long been known to combine well with almost any other colors; black increases the apparent saturation or brightness of colors paired with it, and white shows off all hues to equal effect.[citation needed]


Tints and shades
Main article: Tints and shades
When mixing colored light (additive color models), the achromatic mixture of spectrally balanced red, green and blue (RGB) is always white, not gray or black. When we mix colorants, such as the pigments in paint mixtures, mixing colors produces a color which is always darker and lower in chroma, or saturation, than the parent colors. This moves the mixed color toward a neutral color—a gray or near-black. Lights are made brighter or dimmer by adjusting their brightness, or energy level; in painting, lightness is adjusted through mixture with white, black or a color's complement.

It is common among some painters to darken a paint color by adding black paint, producing colors called shades. This can cause colors such as yellows, reds and oranges, to shift in hue, usually toward the greenish or bluish part of the spectrum. However it not always the best way to darken a color for representational painting. Another practice is to darken a color using its opposite, or complementary, color (eg. purplish-red added to yellowish-green to darken and neutralize it without a shift in hue). This practice can neutralize a color without a shift in hue, and darken it if the additive color is darker than the parent color. To lighten a color, a painter can add white, which makes what is called a tint. White can also cause a shift towards blue when mixed with reds and oranges, notably, and this tendency can be corrected with the addition of a small amount of an adjacent color to bring the hue of the mixture back in line with the parent color (eg. adding a small amount of orange to a mixture of red and white will correct the tendency of this mixture to shift slightly towards the blue end of the spectrum).

An extension of the color wheel: the color sphere. Colors nearest the center or the poles are most achromatic. Colors of the same lightness and saturation are of the same nuance. Colors of the same hue, but of different value, are said to be tints and shades. Colors of the same hue and value, but of varying saturation, are called tones.

Split primary colors
In painting and other visual arts, two-dimensional color wheels or three-dimensional color solids are used as tools to teach beginners the essential relationships between colors. The organization of colors in a particular color model depends on the purpose of that model: some models show relationships based on Human color perception, whereas others are based on the color mixing properties of a particular medium such as a computer display or set of paints.

Unfortunately, when used in practice, the CMY primary colors often result in color mixtures that lack vibrancy or are relatively unsaturated, especially in the secondary colors: oranges, greens and purples.[citation needed] During the 18th century a specific expedient for this problem intended to preserve the theoretical importance of primary colors was devised: the three primary colors were "split" into a warm and cool pair. Thus, primary yellow was split into a "warm" (orangish) and "cool" (greenish) pair of yellows; red was split into a warm (scarlet) and cool (carmine) pair, and blue into warm (ultramarine) and cool (cerulean). Now saturated mixtures were made by mixing the adjacent primary pairs: saturated orange from warm yellow and red (orangish yellow and scarlet). Dull mixtures were made by mixing opposing members of the pair: dull orange from cool yellow and cool red (greenish yellow and carmine).

This system is still popular among contemporary painters, as it is basically a simplified version of Newton's geometrical rule that colors closer together on the hue circle will produce more vibrant mixtures. However, with the range of contemporary paints available, many artists simply add more paints to their palette as desired for a variety of practical reasons. For example, they may add a scarlet, purple and/or green paint to expand the mixable gamut; and they include one or more dark colors (especially "earth" colors such as yellow ochre or burnt sienna) simply because they are convenient to have premixed. Printers commonly augment a CYMK palette with spot (trademark specific) ink colors.



Color theory has long had the goal of predicting or specifying the color combinations that would work well together or appear harmonious. The color wheel has been adopted as a tool for defining these basic relationships. Some theorists and artists believe juxtapositions of complementary colors are said to produce a strong contrast or tension, because they annihilate each other when mixed; others believe the juxtapositions of complementary colors produce harmonious color interactions. Colors next to each other on the color wheel are called analogous colors. They tend to produce a single-hued or a dominant color experience. Harmony has been sought in combinations other than these two. A split complementary color scheme employs a range of analogous hues, "split" from a basic key color, with the complementary color as contrast. A triadic color scheme adopts any three colors approximately equidistant around the hue circle. Printers or photographers sometimes employ a duotone color scheme, generated as value gradations in black and a single colored ink or color filter; painters sometimes refer to the same effect as a monochromatic color scheme.

The color wheel harmonies have had limited practical application, simply because the impact of the color combinations is quite different, depending on the colors involved: the contrast between the complementary colors purple and green is much less strident than the contrast between red and turquoise. They can suggest useful color combinations in fashion or interior design, but much also depends on the tastes, lifestyle and cultural norms of the consumer. When the schemes have proven effective, this is often because of fundamental contrast is between warm and cool hues (in this instance meaning hues on the opposite sides of the color wheel), contrast of value with darks and lights, contrast of saturated and unsaturated colors, or contrast of extension, when one color is extended over a large area contrasting another color extended over a very small area.

In the 20th century color theory attempted to link colors to particular emotional or subjective associations: red is an arousing, sensual, feminine color; blue is a contemplative, serene, masculine color, and so on. This project has failed for several reasons, the most important being that cultural color associations play the dominant role in abstract color associations, and the impact of color in design is always affected by the context.


Current status
Color theory has not developed an explicit explanation of how specific media affect color appearance: colors have always been defined in the abstract, and whether the colors were inks or paints, oils or watercolors, transparencies or reflecting prints, computer displays or movie theaters, was not considered especially relevant.[citation needed] Josef Albers investigated the effects of relative contrast and color saturation on the illusion of transparency, but this is an exception to the rule.

A second omission has been in the effects of context on color appearance, for example the increase in tonal contrast and saturation that is produced by an increase in scene illumination (Stevens effect and Hunt effect), or the effect on image tonal contrast induced by the lightness of the image surround (Bartleson-Breneman effect). These effects appear, for example, when art galleries spotlight a painting hung on a dimly lit wall, making the colors in the painting appear more vibrant; or when a photographic print appears to have greater contrast when displayed on a white rather than black background.

Recently color scientists have made great strides in modeling and controlling the effects of material attributes of paints determining the best way to map one device gamut onto another (represent the appearance of a photographic image on a color computer monitor), and the complex effects of context—especially surround colors and luminance contrasts—on color perception. This understanding is currently embodied in the disciplines of color imaging, color reproduction, paint formulation, and so on.