Hello everyone! Welcome back to our workshop videos to become Leonardo’s assistant!
In the previous videos, we talked about Leonardo’s sketchbook and perspective - a technique widely used in the Renaissance time -.
If you missed the previous videos, you can find them on our Facebook group “Gli Allievi di Leonardo” or on our Youtube channel, by clicking here or here.
[BECOME LEONARDO’S ASSISTANT 3 DRAW LIKE A MASTER]
[Presented by: Leonardo a Milano art experiences for art lovers]
In today’s workshop, we are learning how to copy Leonardo’s drawings using an easy method.
Nowadays, if you want to learn to draw or paint you join a painting class or enroll in art school.
Instead, in the XV century, anyone who wanted to learn how to draw had to become a master’s assistant in his atelier.
There, children and young boys had the opportunity to follow the work of the most prominent masters of that time.
In the artists’ studio, they learnt how to draw, how to prepare colours from raw materials, and more.
One of the most common exercises they had to do was copying the masters’ drawings; just as we are doing today.
Are you ready? Let me show you the tools we are working with today.
[WE WILL NEED:
SHEETS OF PAPER:
We can work on the sketchbook that we created in the first workshop, as well as on other sheets of paper that you can paste later on the sketchbook;
SET SQUARES or A RULER;
A PENCIL and AN ERASER;
TRACING PAPER;
MARKERS, COLOURED PENCILS OR WATERCOLOURS to draw and paint]
[music]
[REQUIRED TOOLS: SHEETS OF PAPER (FROM OUR SKETCHBOOK OR NEW ONES); SET SQUARES (OR A RULER); A PENCIL AND A RUBBER; TRACING PAPER; MARKERS, COLOURED PENCILS OR WATERCOLOURS]
During this ongoing emergency, you might not have tracing paper available, so I’m going to show you other techniques that will allow you to obtain the same final result.
Finally, we’ll need one of Leonardo’s drawings to copy.
You can find it either online or in books.
For example, I printed one of his “WOMAN’S PROFILE” now in the AMBROSIANA LIBRARY in MILAN.
You can download this picture for free on the ABBONAMENTO MUSEI website. You will find the link to this website in the description box below.
Let me explain to you one last thing before getting started!
If you observe this drawing closely you will notice that there is an eye drawn in the right bottom corner.
Why is it there?
If you want to know the answer to this question, go look for it on our Facebook group “Gli Allievi di Leonardo”.
There, you will find a beautiful description of this drawing written by our friend and scholar Marco Versiero and you will solve this mystery!
Alternatively, if you can’t print this picture or you don’t have books about Leonardo available at your house, don’t worry because you can use any picture that you like!
STEP 1: Let’s draw the grid
[ALTERNATIVE TOOLS YOU CAN USE INSTEAD OF TRACING PAPER: PARCHMENT PAPER; TRANSPARENT FOLDER; CLINGFILM; TRANSPARENT PLASTIC FILMS]
As I was explaining to you before, the ideal tool to sketch the grid is tracing paper, but you can also use other tools to achieve the same final result.
For example, you can use PARCHMENT PAPER. It is more opaque but easy to use.
You can draw on it with a pencil.
Or you can use a TRANSPARENT FOLDER.
You only need one of the two layers, so it’s up to you to decide whether to split it in half or insert the picture inside the two layers.
You can also use CLINGFILM,
or firm TRANSPARENT PLASTIC FILMS that are generally used as food or toy packaging.
On these surfaces, it’s better to use permanent markers.
Furthermore, you can stick the drawing you want to copy onto a window with duct tape.
On this layer, you can stick with duct tape a white sheet of paper.
The light that seeps in from the window will make it more transparent and you will be able to look through it and copy the drawing.
First, you have to sketch the grid.
Then, you’ll need another sheet to move to the second step.
If you don’t have these tools available and you can’t use the light that seeps in from the window, you can sketch the grid directly on the picture you want to copy.
[music]
Whatever method you choose, your grid will always have to be made of square-shaped slots.
It’s up to you to decide the dimension of these slots depending on the kind of drawing you are copying and your skills.
The smaller the slots are, the easier it is to copy the smallest details.
The biggest the slots are, the more freedom of drawing you will have.
Mine measure about 1cm per side.
Finally, number the slots as if they were a board to play battleship
[music]
[NUMBERS on the vertical axis and LETTERS on the horizontal axis] [music]
STEP 2: Let’s prepare the sheet on which we’ll draw
On the sheet on which you’ll draw freehand, draw another grid - identical to the one you drew on tracing paper -
[music]
[NUMBERS on the vertical axis and LETTERS on the horizontal axis] [music]
STEP 3: Let’s copy the measures and draw
Now that we marked the reference points, let’s copy the details [DUCT TAPE TO FIX THE SHEET].
For example, if the line in the original picture in the slot 8A follows this trend (as I’m showing you),
we will copy it as it is in slot 8A of our white sheet
[music]
STEP 4: Let’s trace over the outlines and erase the grid
Now we need to trace over the outlines with a pen or a marker of any colour (as we did in the last video)
so our drawing won’t be erased when we erase the grid.
Only after finishing this step you can erase the grid and colour the picture
[music]
With this last step, we have finished our third online workshop to become Leonardo’s assistant!
Using the grid we created, you can copy many other pictures as well!
[MORE EXAMPLES OF LEONARDO’S DRAWINGS: “LA SCAPIGLIATA”, NATIONAL GALLERY OF PARMA; “PORTRAIT OF A MAN IN RED CHALK”, BIBLIOTECA REALE IN TURIN]
When you feel more confident, you can stop using the grid and try to draw freehand, and I’m sure you’ll quickly improve your drawing skills!
[OTHER THAN PAINTINGS OR STATUES, MILANESE MUSEUMS OWN MANY CURIOUS ARTWORKS THAT WE CAN COPY] [music]
[THE FASCINATING JAPANESE MASKS IN THE MUSEUM OF CULTURES (MUDEC) IN MILAN] [music]
[OR THE AFRICAN MASKS IN ARTS AND SCIENCE MUSEUM!] [music]
[AS WELL AS THE ANCIENT DRESSES AND ACCESSORIES IN PALAZZO MORANDO’S COLLECTION] [music]
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Let us know what you think!
You can also join our Facebook group “Gli Allievi di Leonardo”.
Spread the word and get to work!
We are looking forward to seeing the final result of your works. Bye!
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