The brief

This exercise is a test of how few marks a drawing needs to communicate enough for the viewer to get a sense of what is happening in the picture.

Conduct some quick studies of an object or scene using minimal number of marks and/or shapes.  You could begin by “allowing” yourself a set number of lines and then reducing it to just three or four lines in each drawing or doing the same with a set number of solid shapes.  Ask yourself how few marks/shapes you need to get a clear sense of what is happening in the image? 

Drawing 1

In Figure 1, I sketched a woman behind her laptop with as few lines as possible.  I even joined lines, such as the line coming from her shoulder and going into her laptop.  My image is slightly distorted, but I decided to leave my mistakes for observation purposes.  The drawing on the far right is only four lines but fails to communicate what is happening in the picture.

Drawings 2, 3 and 4

I sketched the woman with the braids working on her laptop in the two top drawings.  The first drawing gives a sense of what is happening in the picture, although the second drawing on the right is more successful because it shows her braids which is a focus element in this picture. I’ve noticed that it is important to follow the subtle contours of the subject in limited line drawings.  Every slight curve of the line gives the viewer information.  I have taken note of the white space (the triangle between her forearm and body.  I only sketched one arm and one braid to depict what the woman looks like and allow the viewer to fill in the missing information.

The drawing on the bottom left is a woman drinking coffee while looking to her right.  In this sketch, I indicated that she is wearing a suit by using a single line from her shoulder to her waist.  The main focus is her hand holding the coffee cup which portrays the narrative of what is happening in the picture.  The white space under her armpit shows the viewer how her arm is lifted while holding the cup.  I like how this line shape of her armpit repeats in a mirrored neckline of her top. 

The drawing on the bottom right is a woman reading while drinking coffee.  Again, I left my mistakes in, and although the drawing is wonky, it still accurately indicates what is happening in the picture.  Including the action areas in the drawing such as the hands and the head’s direction helps tell the story with a few lines.  Instead of drawing each element separately, I sketched the negative space with one line above her hair, arm and coffee cup.

Drawings 5 and 6

The drawing on the left is a woman sitting at a counter, but I feel I could’ve sketched her legs with better contour and shape to make it look more like legs, even though her legs have very straight outlines in the photo.  This is where interpretive drawing comes in – to edit or exaggerate the image to tell the story more effectively.

The drawing on the right does not show that this woman has braids, so I will draw it differently the second time.  The braids and coffee are the focus points of this image. The negative space (the triangle under the hands) works well to give the image instant shape.  The arms should be longer, but the more I practice drawing sketches like this, the better my proportions will get. I find the proportion to be more accurate when I establish the position of the hands first and then add the arms.

Drawings 7 and 8

The outline of these images gives just enough information about what is happening in these scenes. It was necessary to draw some of the outlines of the clothes and hair to provide clues about what the woman looks like and what clothes she is wearing, but these images can be reduced to a silhouette and the narrative will remain clear.

Drawings 9 and 10

It wasn’t necessary to draw the complete chess set to show the viewer what was happening in these two pictures.  However, the emotion of the first figure on the left is not that clear.  Drawing the face in this story will be essential as her expression is an important part of the narrative.  The second figure on the right shows emotion in her hands covering her face and I can get away with not drawing her face in this instance.

Reflecting on this exercise

• Note what key elements in the image tell the story and include those in your drawing.
• A single line can give the viewer a lot of information, such as the wrinkles in a shirt, the shape of a leg or the contour of several elements combined.  It is important to be aware of how your lines curve to include those small clues.
• Focus on contours and negative shapes to reduce the lines in your drawing.
• Use interpretive drawing to emphasise and make elements clearer to tell the story effectively.
• Make the most of each line by considering where and how you place that line.