Scientific and Contrast Drawing

Volcano Pen and Ink Drawing

When I first heard the word scientific, I thought of beakers, test tubes, and things you might find in a laboratory. As I thought about it more, I realized that I would find it more enjoyable and interesting to draw something in nature--a volcano. Before starting, we had to practice the techniques for pen and ink, charcoal, and pencil. I found the drawing of the bottles helpful because it helped me work on drawing three-dimensional figures and learn how to get different values using a pen. I showed contrast in this picture with the black and white in the trees which make them really pop out towards you. Also, in the volcano itself I darkened some areas to make others stand out. I chose pen over the other mediums because I thought it was more bold and unconventional. The other mediums were helpful to learn, but I enjoyed working with pen the most. I like the way the pen smoothly comes off on to the paper to create nice lines. I used contour lines in the body of the volcano and in the smoke coming out of it. Then, I used cross hatching to create some of the darker values within the volcano. Finally, I used stippling in the clouds to make them look like they were in the distance and not connected to the volcano. I took many risks in this project because I had never used pen and ink in a project before. Also, I tried to think outside of the box and not create something generic like an eye or a test tube. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this project and I think it was an excellent way to start the semester. This project gave me a good refresher on some of the techniques/terms that I had forgotten from Art 1.