Basque PAU Artistic Drawing II cheat sheet

Form analysis decomposes an object into primary volume (sphere, cylinder, cone, cube), secondary planes, and surface detail; draw the primary volume first at full scale before adding planes.

Silhouette test: if the outline alone does not read as the object, the internal modelling cannot rescue it - correct the contour before adding value.

Contour is the boundary where the form turns away from the viewer; a contour line is therefore a statement about surface orientation, not an edge of the paper shape.

Cross-contour lines wrap around the volume and describe curvature; parallel cross-contours spaced closer together indicate a steeper turn of surface.

Structural axis: every organic or manufactured form has a dominant axis of symmetry or growth; draw it first and keep all paired landmarks equidistant from it.

Plane break occurs where surface normal changes abruptly; sharp plane breaks read as hard edges, gradual normals read as soft edges and require blended value transitions.

Negative space is the area enclosed between forms; measuring negative shapes is more reliable than measuring positive shapes because the eye judges enclosed areas more accurately.

Occlusion order establishes depth: the form that interrupts another's contour is nearer; drawing occlusion correctly is a stronger depth cue than shading.

Structural drawing shows the invisible construction - axes, section planes, and hidden volumes - usually as light construction lines retained under the finished drawing.

A section plane cuts the object and reveals interior volume; the cut surface is drawn as a closed shape whose edges align with the object's structural axes.

Transparent (wireframe) construction: draw the far side of a box or cylinder through the near side to check that ellipses and corners align on shared axes.

Ground plane anchoring: every object needs a contact ellipse or contact shadow; an object without a ground contact floats regardless of correct perspective.

Overlap plus relative size plus position in the picture plane are the three strongest monocular depth cues; atmospheric perspective and texture gradient are secondary.

Structural symmetry check: measure the distance from the axis to each paired landmark; discrepancies greater than about 2% of the object width are visible as distortion.

For a standing figure, the structural plumb line from the pit of the neck should pass near the supporting foot in a contrapposto stance.

Spatial depth by value: nearer planes are drawn with higher contrast and sharper edges, receding planes with compressed value range and softer edges.

Classical figure canon: total height equals about 7.5 head units in the mature adult; the head is about 1/8 of standing height in the older 8-head canon.

Vertical division of the adult figure: pubis at about 1/2 height, nipple line about 3/4 height from ground, chin at about 7/8, shoulder width about 2 head widths.

Face proportion: eyes sit at roughly the vertical midpoint of the head; the face divides into thirds - hairline to brow, brow to nose base, nose base to chin.

Hand length approximates face length (chin to hairline); foot length approximates forearm length; the arm span approximates standing height.

Rule of thirds: place the focal point near an intersection of lines dividing the format into thirds rather than at the centre, which tends to read as static.

Golden section ratio is approximately 1:1.618; a rectangle of these proportions can be subdivided into a square plus a smaller similar rectangle.

Visual weight balance: a large light shape near the centre balances a small dark shape nearer the edge; value contrast increases perceived weight more than area.

Odd numbers of elements (3, 5) read as more dynamic than even pairs; identical elements on both sides of the axis produce static symmetry unless varied in size or value.

Line weight hierarchy: heaviest lines enclose the nearest or most important form, medium lines describe secondary forms, light lines are construction and interior detail.

Line quality varies with speed and pressure: fast strokes with light pressure taper and read as energetic; slow even pressure produces uniform, static lines.

Lost-and-found contour: interrupt a contour where two forms share the same value, allowing the edge to dissolve; this prevents a cut-out appearance.

Hatching direction should follow the form's cross-contour, not the page edge; hatching across a cylinder curves with the surface.

Cross-hatching density controls value: each additional layer at a different angle darkens the area; angles near 90 degrees produce a visible moiré and are avoided.

Implied line: aligned endpoints or a chain of dots and edges create a line the eye completes; it directs attention without a drawn stroke.

Gesture line captures axis, tilt, and thrust of a form in one continuous stroke, typically drawn in seconds and used before structure is established.

Contour line drawn slowly without looking at the paper (blind contour) trains observation of edge direction and relative curvature.

Value scale: a 9-step or 10-step grey scale from white to black is used to place each observed tone; limit a drawing to 5-7 distinct values to keep it readable.

Light logic on a simple form: highlight, halftone, core shadow, reflected light, cast shadow - the core shadow is the darkest zone on the form, not the edge nearest the light.

Reflected light is always lighter than the core shadow but darker than the halftone; it comes from bounce off surrounding surfaces.

Cast shadow edges are sharp near the object's contact point and soften with distance; the shadow's shape is projected from the light source direction.

Chiaroscuro is the modelling of volume by light and shade; tenebrism pushes most of the picture into dark with a single strong light, associated with Caravaggio.

Value contrast and edge contrast work together: the eye is drawn to the highest local contrast, so reserve the strongest light-dark adjacency for the focal point.

Local tone (the object's own colour value) must be separated from illumination; a dark local object in light can be lighter than a white object in shadow.

Squinting or viewing through half-closed eyes compresses detail and reveals the large value structure, which is the correct basis for tonal blocking.

Subtractive primaries for pigment are cyan, magenta, yellow; traditional artist primaries are red, yellow, blue; additive primaries for light are red, green, blue.

Complementary pairs cancel chroma when mixed: red-green, blue-orange, yellow-violet; mixing complements yields neutral greys rather than clean secondaries.

Munsell dimensions: hue (colour family), value (lightness 0-10), chroma (saturation); a colour is fully specified only when all three are named.

Simultaneous contrast: a grey placed on a saturated ground appears tinted with the complement of that ground; adjacent colours shift each other's appearance.

Warm colours (red, orange, yellow) advance optically, cool colours (blue, green) recede; this is used to build depth without changing value.

Optical mixing: small adjacent strokes of two colours blend in the eye at viewing distance; this keeps chroma higher than mixing the same pigments on the palette.

Local colour is the object's perceived hue under neutral light; the observed colour is local colour modified by light colour, shadow, and reflected colour.

Tint adds white (raises value, lowers chroma), shade adds black or dark (lowers value), tone adds grey or complement (lowers chroma and value).

Graphite hardness scale runs 9H (hardest, lightest) to 9B (softest, darkest); H grades suit construction and fine line, B grades suit tonal masses.

Charcoal: vine charcoal is soft, erases easily and suits blocking in; compressed charcoal is denser and darker and resists erasure.

Fixative is required on charcoal, pastel, and soft graphite to prevent smudging; it darkens values slightly, so apply in thin coats.

Paper weight is given in g/m²; 90-120 g/m² suits sketchbook work, 200 g/m² and above resists wet media and heavy erasure.

Paper tooth (surface texture) determines how much pigment is caught; rough tooth holds charcoal and pastel, hot-pressed smooth surfaces suit pen and fine pencil.

Ink techniques: hatching, cross-hatching, stippling (dot density), and wash; ink is essentially irreversible, so value is built from light to dark.

Kneaded eraser lifts pigment without abrading the surface and can be shaped to a point; a hard vinyl eraser removes graphite more completely but damages tooth.

Wet media and dry media do not combine in the same layer order freely: watercolour is applied light to dark and cannot be lightened after drying.

One-point perspective: one vanishing point for lines receding perpendicular to the picture plane; front faces remain true shape.

Two-point perspective: two vanishing points on a single horizon line; vertical edges stay vertical, and both horizontal directions converge.

Three-point perspective: a third vanishing point above or below the horizon for verticals; used when the object is viewed from far above or below.

Horizon line equals the viewer's eye level; all vanishing points for horizontal receding lines lie on it, and the horizon is fixed by the viewpoint, not the object.

Ellipse in perspective: a circle in a horizontal plane appears as an ellipse whose major axis is horizontal in one- and two-point perspective; the ellipse never has pointed ends.

Measuring points and a scale bar on the picture plane allow true dimensions to be transferred into perspective without guessing.

Diminishing spacing: equal divisions receding in depth compress toward the vanishing point; diagonals through the corners of successive squares locate the next square.

Cone of vision: the useful field is about 60 degrees; vanishing points far outside the picture format produce severe distortion and are usually avoided.

Sight-measure with a pencil at arm's length: hold the pencil at a fixed distance, align one dimension, then compare all other dimensions as ratios to it.

Plumb line and horizontal check: drop a vertical from a landmark (e.g. the ear) and note what it aligns with (e.g. the shoulder joint) before committing to the figure.

Gesture drawing first (30 seconds to 2 minutes) establishes the action line; sustained drawing then builds structure, then value.

Anatomical landmarks visible on the surface: clavicle, acromion, iliac crest, patella, medial malleolus; these are the fixed points for proportion checks.

Foreshortening: a limb pointing toward the viewer compresses along its axis and its cross-sections overlap; draw the overlapping sections, not the remembered length.

Plant forms follow phyllotaxis and branching rules; leaf venation (pinnate, palmate) and stem nodes give reliable structural anchors for observation drawing.

Drapery: folds radiate from points of tension (shoulder, knee, elbow) and hang in catenary curves under gravity; the fold pattern reveals the underlying form.

Light on observed form: identify the light direction first, then locate the terminator (shadow line) across the whole figure before shading any single part.

Sketchbook as evidence: dated entries, thumbnails, and annotated studies document the process and are assessed as part of the project, not as decoration.

Thumbnail studies: small (roughly 5 x 8 cm) rapid compositions test format, focal point, and value structure before committing to the final support.

Iteration rule: produce several distinct solutions to the same brief, then select; the first solution is rarely the strongest and comparison is the selection method.

Visual research board: collect references by category (form, colour, texture, composition) and annotate what is borrowed from each, so influence is explicit.

Material experimentation: test the same subject in two or three media and record the differences in value range, edge quality, and working speed.

Serial variation: hold one variable constant (e.g. format) and change another (e.g. viewpoint) to isolate which decisions drive the result.

Colour studies and value studies are made separately before combining them; combining prematurely locks in errors that are hard to undo.

Documentation of process should show rejected options with a stated reason for rejection; this demonstrates critical judgement rather than only output.

Renaissance disegno elevated drawing to the intellectual stage of art, separating design from execution; Vasari's Lives (1550) frames this hierarchy.

Linear perspective was codified by Alberti (De pictura, 1435) and Brunelleschi's earlier demonstrations; it made drawing a geometric construction.

Academic training from the 17th to 19th centuries was built on drawing from casts and the live model, with the académie (life study) as the culminating exercise.

Modernist drawing from the late 19th century broke with illusionism: line, mark, and material became subjects in their own right rather than descriptions.

Contemporary drawing practice extends to installation, digital and performative drawing, where the trace of an action or a rule-based system is the work.

Spanish academic tradition: the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (founded 1752) shaped drawing instruction and the copy-from-cast method.

Drawing's documentary function (studies after nature, anatomical sheets, travel sketchbooks) is a distinct historical genre from the finished presentation drawing.

Contextual analysis of a drawing considers support, medium, function (study or finished work), and intended audience, not only the image content.