Chapter 3
The frontispiece was made from a free-hand crayon which was executed on Steinbach crayon paper with a magic lantern outline. This shows the stipple effect in the face and drapery, and a broken line effect in the background. The student will notice the difference between this illustration and that facing page 81, which was made from a bromide crayon. In the bromide crayon the shadows are dark and strong, while in this they are lighter and more transparent.
FILLING IN THE FREE-HAND CRAYON.
Having your crayon outline already made on the mounted strainer, lay the latter down on the table face up, and proceed to put in a pumice stone background with the crayon sauce according to instructions hereafter given on page 70 for producing that kind of background, making sure that you go entirely over the outline. Then place the strainer on the easel, and after putting in the cloud effect take the chamois block in your left hand, and, with a tortillon stump in your right, put in the shadows in a strong, clear and decided manner. Commencing on the hair, put in the broader shadows first, working the stump in the same direction that the lines of the hair go, and endeavor to give the soft flow that the hair should have, avoiding making lines or any attempt to make individual hairs. The eyebrows should then be put in in the same way as the hair, care being taken to preserve the form; then the eyes, beginning with the upper lids, putting in the lines between the eye and the lid, and also the second line forming the lid. Do not line in the lower lid between the eye and the lid, but put in the under line of the lower lid. Next form the pupil, placing it in the centre of the iris, making it very dark; then the iris, noticing in particular that the upper lid throws a shadow on the top of the iris; then the shading of the nose and nostrils and shadows under the nose. The mouth is the next important feature, and, as there are no decided lines in it, you must put in none, but have the degrees of light and shade form the mouth. Begin with the corners, and notice carefully that here lies nearly the whole expression of the lower part of the face; next treat the central point of the lips and complete the mouth; then make the shadows around the mouth and chin, after which, put in the ears, and then model up the face, making all the shadows broad and decided, leaving the details for the finishing touches, but being careful in the modeling to retain all of the values. Next put in the clothes with the large stump, sweeping it gently across the lights in different directions, allowing the lines to cross each other occasionally. Carefully preserve the form in this, giving the proper shape to the lapels of the coat or folds in the dress, and to the arms. Avoid detail and do not carry the clothes as far down as you want them to show in the finished picture. Lace work should not have too much detail, but be made somewhat indistinct; only show a few of the forms out sharp and defined, giving the pattern.
LINE EFFECT.
This can be produced in crayon portraits made over a photographic enlargement, or in free-hand crayons after the filling in just described has been done. The lines are drawn to cross one another so as to leave diamond shaped spaces. One of the important things in this style of finishing is the line of direction, by which is meant the lines or grains that represent the object to be drawn. We say that wood is cross-grained, meaning that the grains or fibers of the wood run crosswise. If we were to represent a straight board in crayon drawing, we would draw straight lines running lengthwise of the board, unless it should have some cross-grained places in it, as that is the way the grain of the board would be. If we should take the same board and bend it in the form of a circle, we would in order to represent the board in that position, draw lines running in a circle to correspond with the grain and position of the board. The idea to be impressed is, that when we want to represent an object with crayon and that object is flat, we draw straight lines to represent its surface; and when the object is round or partly so, we draw curved lines, conforming them to the surface of the object. Light and shade in nature have each their different qualities. Light expresses form while shade obscures it; consequently, in the light places of an object we will see its grain or texture, and that grain or texture will gradually become obscured as it enters the shadow until it is entirely lost in the deepest shadows. This grain will not show in nature as decided where the strongest lights are as it will in the half shadows; and, therefore, in the crayon representation the grain effect should show more decided in the half shadows. If your crayon is not true in this respect, it will appear coarse and fail to please as a work of art on account of its falsity to nature. The line effect is produced throughout the whole picture, in the background, face and dress.
STIPPLE EFFECT
_On a photographic enlargement or a free-hand crayon after the outline and masses of light and shade have been made with the tortillon stump, as explained on page 55._
When putting in a background with the pumice stone as described in the fourth method on page 70, treat the whole surface of the paper with pumice stone in order to raise the grain of the paper, but go over the face lightly. Then place the strainer on which the portrait is mounted on the easel, and put in the shadows with the tortillon stump, producing the lights with the eraser; finish with the No. 0 crayon. But instead of producing a diamond effect, as you did with the lines, you now want to have a stipple effect, which is that of small black and white spots; the paper producing the white spots, and the crayon the black ones. To produce this make the lines in the shadows and half-shadows, but not in the light places, in the manner shown in the illustration on the following page; instead of crossing them to form diamonds, using short lines and varying their direction and intersection with reference to the ultimate effect; then rub them with the end of the finger. In finishing, gradually divide up all the small light parts with the pencil and the dark with the eraser: if it is necessary at any time to rub the crayon, use the end of the finger instead of the cotton. Be careful not to get too much crayon on the paper, that is, you must not "force up" or be compelled to make the shadows too dark by the use of the crayon; they should be made as dark as necessary with the stump before finishing. Should you find in finishing that they are not dark enough, use the stump to make them darker, as the pencil is only intended to give the stipple effect, and should be used in a very light and delicate way. Continue the process of finishing according to the directions hereafter given for bromide enlargements. The foregoing illustration is the first or ground work for the stipple effect produced by the aid of the fingers. To obtain this effect without rubbing with the fingers, make small black dots, instead of the lines shown above, until the desired effect is produced. The latter method results in a coarser stipple effect, but it requires a much longer time and is more difficult than the former.
BACKGROUNDS--GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
Always commence the portrait by putting in the background. Among the four different methods which I have given, the student can make his own selection. For myself, I prefer the last two mentioned.
There can be no definite rule given for the lights and shadows in the backgrounds, as every portrait will need a characteristic background adapted to the subject. There should always be a nice disposition of light and shade, the light coming against the dark side of the face and the dark against the light side, and generally a cast shadow. What this is may be learned by setting a cast (or any other object) near the wall, letting the light strike it at an angle of 90 degrees, and noticing the size and position of the shadow thrown on the wall. The cast shadow in your background must not be too near the head, as simplicity should be one of the principles of the background, and this can only be attained by breadth of light and shade. The background is of secondary importance, and should not intrude itself on the portrait in its effect of lines or light and shade. Backgrounds for half or full length figures need especial study in their effect of lines, and one who intends to succeed in making them properly should study linear composition in Burnet's essay on Composition,[A] especially the following passages. "Composition is the art of arranging figures or objects so as to adapt them to any particular subject. In composition four requisites are necessary--that the story be well told, that it possess a good general form, that it be so arranged as to be capable of receiving a proper effect of light and shade, and that it be susceptible of an agreeable disposition of color. The form of a composition is best suggested by the subject or design, as the fitness of the adaptation ought to appear to emanate from the circumstances themselves; hence the variety of compositions.
"To secure a good general form in composition, it is necessary that it should be as simple as possible. Whether this is to be produced by a breadth of light and shade, which is often the case with Rembrandt, even on a most complicated outline, or by the simple arrangement of color, as we often find in Titian, or by the construction of the group, evident in many of Raphael's works, must depend upon the taste of the artist. It is sufficient to direct the younger students to this particular, their minds being generally carried away by notions of variety and contrasts.
"In giving a few examples of composition, I have confined myself to the four simple and principal forms, not only from their being most palpable, but also from their possessing a decided character, which is at all times desirable. To those who imagine that such rules tend to fetter genius, I shall merely quote Sir Joshua Reynolds, whose works, if properly understood, render all other writings on the subject of painting superfluous: 'It must of necessity be that even works of genius, like every other effect, as they must have their causes, must likewise have their rules. It cannot be by chance that excellencies are produced with any constancy or any certainty, for this is not the nature of chance; but the rules by which men of extraordinary points, and such as are called men of genius, work, are either such as they discover by their own peculiar observations, or are of such nice texture as not easily to admit being expressed in words; especially as artists are not very frequently skillful in that mode of communicating ideas. Unsubstantial, however, as these rules may seem, and difficult as it may be to convey them in writing, they are still seen and felt in the mind of the artist, and he works from them with as much certainty as if they were embodied, as I may say, upon paper. It is true these refined principles cannot be always palpable, like the more gross rules of art, yet it does not follow but that the mind may be put in such a train that it shall perceive, by a kind of scientific sense, that propriety which words, particularly words of unpractised writers such as we are, can but very feebly suggest.' (Sixth Discourse)."
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote A: Essays on Art, by John Burnet, New York, E. L. Wilson.]
FIRST METHOD OF MAKING THE BACKGROUND--STUMP EFFECT.
To produce the stump effect, rub the chamois block in the box of crayon sauce, and then with the large grey paper stump commence by putting in the darkest parts and the cast shadow. Use the broad end of the stump, moving it over the surface of the paper with an even and uniform pressure, so that you will not make any dark spots. Make broad lines and have them cross each other so as to form diamond shaped spaces, using considerable care and a very light touch in the lighter places. Finish with the large rubber eraser, cutting it so that it will make white lines about the same width as the black lines made with the stump. Have these light lines run into the dark ones in some places, and use the rubber so as to produce a dashing effect.
SECOND METHOD OF MAKING THE BACKGROUND.
Take a handful of cotton batting, rub it in the box of crayon sauce, and then on a piece of paper before applying it to the crayon paper to make the background, being careful to avoid rubbing harder in some places than others, as dark spots are likely to be caused in that way. Commence by rubbing in close to the face and work out towards the edge of the paper. Let the darkest part be closest to the face, shading out in the form of a circle about six or eight inches from the face, according to the subject, the upper line of the arc coming a little above the head. Then make the cast shadow and finish with the large rubber eraser, putting the lights, or cloud effect, as it is called, in the background. When doing this, place the strainer high enough on the easel to bring the centre of the picture on a level with your eyes, then standing in front of it and about six feet off, decide upon your plan of light and shade. After you have put in the first of the lights, step back to the former position, and see if it gives the proper effect. Continue this method of working until the background is entirely completed.
THIRD METHOD OF MAKING THE BACKGROUND--LINE EFFECT.
With the cotton and crayon sauce as in the preceding method, put in the dark places and cast shadow, but not as dark as you want them when finished; then with the crayon point No. 2 put in three sets of lines thus:--
Do not carry out the lines as far as the background will extend when finished. The lines should be one-quarter of an inch apart in life-size portraits, and a little closer in smaller sizes. As a rule the lines are a little further apart in the background than in the face. These lines need not be horizontal, crossed by oblique ones at obtuse angles, but they can be curved lines, if desired, provided they cross each other so as to leave diamond shaped spaces. After the lines are in rub a piece of clean cotton over them all, using pressure enough to subdue them to the degree of indistinctness desired; then finish with the large eraser and crayon point No. 2, putting in the cloud effect. Such lines as show too prominently you subdue with the nigrivorine eraser. If there are any light places, make them dark with the crayon.
The background should be very indistinct on the edges, and be vignetted in the shape of an oblong, having some very light clouds above and on either side of the head. Let there be a nice contrast between the face and the background, having light come against dark and dark against light; that is, when one side of the face is dark and one side light, have the background light against the dark side, and dark against the light side; when light and shade are about equal on both sides of the face, have the background about the same shade on both sides, without too decided a cast shadow. If you have a subject that has gray hair, have the background darker than it would be otherwise. The background should never be darker at any place than the shadows in the face, and close to the face it must be a shade between the light and half shadows. Never resort to the practice of leaving the background white, as this will only give a hard, stiff appearance. Clean off the outside edges of the background with a clean piece of cotton and the pumice stone.
FOURTH METHOD OF MAKING THE BACKGROUND--STIPPLE EFFECT.
Lay a piece of manilla paper on the table about twelve inches larger on each edge than your strainer, placing the strainer on it face up; rub a handful of cotton batting first in the crayon sauce and then on the manilla paper to remove any foreign substance. Then apply the cotton with a circular motion to the crayon paper to make the background desired. Next sprinkle the pulverized pumice stone over the entire background, and go over this with the fingers in a circular movement, using them flat from the second joint to the ends; then lift the strainer up, and, resting it on the edge, jar off all the pumice stone, and when this is done, lay it down again and rub it off with a clean piece of cotton. Now rub the fingers in the crayon sauce, keeping them flat so that it will adhere evenly to them, and go over the background lightly as when rubbing in the pumice stone and you will produce a nice stipple effect. Finally, place the strainer on the easel, and finish according to the directions given for finishing crayons made on bromide enlargements.
Of course it will need considerable experience before you can succeed in doing this perfectly, but patience and perseverance will ultimately accomplish the desired end. There are two matters of importance to be borne in mind in making these backgrounds--first, do not have any small, hard pieces of crayon on the cotton when you rub it on the paper, and second, use the fingers in as flat a position as possible, for if you do not have them flat down on the paper you are likely to make dark spots in the background.
FACE--LINE EFFECT.
Commence on the hair with the crayon point No. 2, and put in all the shadows and half-shadows, carefully preserving the lines of direction, but avoid working over the lights more than necessary; then with the crayon point No. 1 strengthen all the shadows about the eyebrows, the eyes, the mouth, the chin and the ears. Next put the lines in the face. The following illustration shows the lines before they are rubbed. It will be well to remember that only two sets of lines are used in the face, as shown in the illustration, and the same number in the dress, while there are three sets required in the background. The lines in the face should be a little closer than those in the background, while those in the dress are about the same as those in the background.
In the effect of the lines in the face lie the chief merit and beauty of this method of crayon work. When properly drawn, the lines represent and give the grain of the flesh in a very beautiful broken effect. They are drawn so as to leave spaces shaped like diamonds, but in the finishing should be so treated as to lose their regularity, and to have the effect of "broken diamonds." If you will examine the back of the wrist joint when your hand is bent slightly backward, you will see more clearly what is meant by the term "broken diamonds" in the slight ridges which show the grain of the flesh. Begin with the forehead, using the crayon point No. 1, and put in one set of lines straight across, but curving downwards as the forehead commences to round off towards the hair at the sides; then one more set of lines in the direction that will produce the diamond spaces, continuing these two sets of lines throughout the face. These lines intersecting at the proper angles will indicate the grain of the flesh, if the line of direction be carefully followed. Remembering that the face is not a flat surface, make the lines darker in the shadows and lighter as they approach the lights. The high lights on the forehead, the nose, the highest point of the chin, and around the mouth, should, however, have no lines over them.
Having put in these lines take a small handful of cotton, and rub the hair and face over both the high lights and shadows, the motion following the line of direction; that is, being straight across the forehead, curving towards the hair at the sides, and circular on the cheeks. Care should be exercised not to rub too hard, it being a common fault of the beginner to rub the paper too much, and produce a dirty effect. The lines should be merely rubbed until they are somewhat blurred and indistinct. Remember that the crayon portrait is made on the surface of the paper, and not rubbed into it. After it has thus been treated with the cotton, go over the shadows with the crayon point No. 1, and rub again with the cotton.
The face of the crayon will now be about three shades darker in the lights than it should be when finished, and not quite dark enough in the shadows. Finish it with the No. 0 crayon and nigrivorine eraser, using the latter wherever a lighter effect is required; also break up the regularity of the diamond spaces, and whenever a line shows too prominently subdue it with the eraser.
If you would succeed in making good crayon portraits, it will be necessary for you to cultivate a light touch with the crayon in finishing.
The eraser is one of the principal instruments employed in making crayon portraits, and is used the same as if it were a crayon pencil, that is, on that principle, the difference being that you make white lines with it instead of black ones. Keep the eraser to a sharp point in the following manner: take a piece of emery paper about three inches square, and place it in the left hand between the index and second fingers, holding the fingers about half an inch apart, and bending the paper to fit between them; then rub the eraser in the crease thus formed, holding it at an acute angle. Sometimes it is necessary to sharpen the eraser with a knife or a pair of scissors before rubbing it on the emery paper. In working with the eraser on the crayon paper do not rub hard enough to remove all the crayon from the surface of the paper, except in producing the high lights and the white of drapery. Notice in particular in finishing the hair that where it touches the forehead there are no lines, as the light and shade should blend together so nicely as to leave no decided line between them.
DRESS--LINE EFFECT.
The above illustration represents the effect of the lines in the dress. In putting them in let every fold, sleeve and lapel have lines of its own, that is, lines differing in direction so as to discriminate it from the other parts of the clothing. These distinctive lines will lose themselves in the wrinkles, in shadows, and in the next fold, where the lines will have a different direction. The illustration is very crude, as it shows the lines before they are rubbed with cotton; after that process they have quite a different appearance. In men's clothing the lines may be drawn a little farther apart than in the treatment of the finer texture of ladies' garments. After you have put in the lines with the crayon point No. 2, go over them with a piece of cotton previously rubbed in the crayon sauce, and then complete this part of the work by the use of a dull eraser for the smaller lights, and the chamois for the broad lights.
The crayon is now in good condition for finishing, which you will proceed to do by the use of No. 0 Conte crayon and the nigrivorine eraser, softening the lights with the former and the shadows with the latter, until you have the whole portrait subdued, and no decided lines of light and shade. Of course throughout these processes you must pay close attention to all the characteristic points in the likeness, so that the crayon will be a true and life-like reproduction. Do not sit too close to the crayon in finishing; if you do, you will be disappointed when you come to look at it from a slight distance, and will not find at all that enchantment which distance is said to lend to the view, as the crayon will disclose a spotty effect, and too great a contrast between the lights and shadows.