U2 PDF Summary

Supplemental Resources Jean Fraisse domestika.
org
HOW TO
SIMULATE REALITY
WITH PAINTING
Supplemental Resources Jean Fraisse domestika.org
PAINTING IS
one of the four fundamental pillars of visual arts. It can and must be studied as a
separate skill, complementary to the others.
PAINTING
is the art of translating volumes, lights and colors that are visible in our reality into an illusion made
of flat shades. This is the purpose of this course: to understand how to achieve and master this
illusion.
IN THIS COURSE
we will study all the aspects of painting and explain all the key concepts of values, colors, volume
and light, that are necessary to create a successful painting.
VALUES:
THE ILLUSION
OF DEPTH
WE ARE PROGRAMMED
to perceive depth according to the contrasts created by values. We owe it to an evolutionary construction within our very
brain. It means that we will tend to associate difference in values with the feeling of distance and overlapping.
Supplemental Resources - Teacher’s name domestika.org
PAINTING IS A TRICK
We use our brain’s construction to create the illusion of depth and volume by representing contrasts in an
object or a scene, using a scale of values that ranges from black to white.
THE METHOD
We will apply a number to the values from black (0) to white (10). The higher the difference between
two numbers, the bigger the contrast.
BACK TO THE BASICS

Here is a little reminder of the fundamentals of drawing, a necessary skill for a painter as it the art of
representing the forms within reality.
ANGLES
The first key aspect to have in mind when drawing is the importance of angles. This means that a drawing will be accurate only when
all the lines and curves that we use to create the form of something will us the proper inclination.
PROPORTIONS
The other key of drawing is proportion. This means that for an object to look believable, we have to
respect the relationship between it’s different parts, like height, width and depth.
VOLUME
Drawing is the art of simulating reality with strokes made of lines and curves. But it will only be accurate and powerful if we
understand that it actually represents the outer borders of a volume, an object in a 3 dimensional space.
THE KEY TO ART

In the end, it’s the mastering of both drawing (representing form) and painting (representing of
volume), that will give us the ability to create imaginary worlds by mimicking reality.
HOW TO
USE VALUES
VALUE GROUPING
One of the first skill to acquire when learning to paint is to be able to understand that values work as groups. We have to
recognize which are dark, medium or light and paint them accurately to simulate reality successfully.
EXAMPLE
for instance, when painting a real life bust like this, we first have to analyze the value distribution.
EXAMPLE
When done precisely, the sole juxtaposition of 3 values representing the dark, medium and light
group, will suffice to represent the volume of a complex form like this one.
LIGHT:
HOW IT WORKS?
LIGHT
is a very complex phenomenon, but it’s basic mechanism is the following: it bounces on every
surface around us and this reflection is the one we perceive once it reaches our eye.
TWO TYPES OF LIGHT

Direct and indirect lighting are two different behaviours. It is very useful for a painter to know which
one to use, as they will define the clarity of the shadows, to light limit called “the terminator”
LIGHT AND COLOR

Light also creates color, using the very same principle. It is because light bounces off of an object
that we can perceive it’s color But there is another important concept to understand....
COLOR IS PHYSICS
A light ray is like a rainbow, it has all the colors on it. when bouncing on an object, this one will absorb all the colors,
except the one it is programed to reject. It’s this reflection we will see and that we will call it’s color.
THE PAINTING PROCESS

So painting is first identifying groups of values ordered by range (dark, medium and light), that will
create the structure of an object or scene. Then we will need to figure out the colors of each object.
Supplemental Resources - Teacher’s name domestika.org
Painting is a complicated thing as it

implies a lot of possibilities. But it can
be managed if we understand it’s
core principles: values, contrasts and
light. The rest is just a matter of how
to use these tools.

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Supplemental Resources Jean Fraisse domestika.

BACK TO THE BASICS

THE KEY TO ART

TWO TYPES OF LIGHT

LIGHT AND COLOR

THE PAINTING PROCESS

Painting is a complicated thing as it

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