CROSS HATCHING: THE DRAUGHTMAN'S FAVORITE TOOL

When I first started learning how to draw I learned about cross hatching or hatching and thought it was a way to create a neat texture while drawing. I was completely unaware of it's extreme usefulness while drawing. To start, many artists from Peter Paul Rubens to Robert Longo use cross hatching in their drawings/sketches. Although there are different types of cross hatching that an artist can use. 

Rubens was a very talented painter known for his use of brilliant reds within shadows. Many artists look to his paintings to learn about color theory and painting in general. But some go back and create copies of his sketches to learn how to render a figure well and learn basic knowledge of a figure. In this one sketch of Rubens you can see the marks are just straight lines. These lines are following the plane of each part of the skin to create darker areas as shadows. So where there are more lines there is more bends in the skin and more planes in which the skin uses. Get it?

Another few artists that use this technique very obviously and beautifully are Robert Longo, Jenny Saville and Simon Birch. This is a great skill to learn when learning about shading and rendering the figure. Many artists use this technique while copying masterpieces. Something to keep in mind while working with cross hatching or hatching is that the lines do not need to be straight, they can bend around the plane as well which allows for better rendering and following of the figure's skin. This allows a better 3 dimensional appearance to the viewer.

So if you're a new artist or an artist just needing some ideas, try cross hatching to further your skills in drawing.

Citations:
Rubens Sketch: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/images/h2/h2_2002.12b.jpg

CRITICISMS: LOVE EM OR IGNORE THEM?

Like I've said many times, artist's are constantly being critiqued. We critique each other, we critique behind people's backs, we try to give helpful information, or we can't see past the negative aspects. It happens to everyone. But how do you respond when you're being critiqued?

When you have been working isolated for a long period of time, you only have yourself to figure out some pretty important decisions. You have to be the one to power yourself up and motivate yourself that what you're doing is truly awesome. So what do you do when someone comes in and doesn't see what you see? I think there are two main options, love it and use the criticism to make you see what other people may be seeing, or ignore it and just do what makes you the happiest. Now how do you choose what is the best option?

It's always hard to hear a bad review on something you hold dear. Especially when you thought you were doing great. So after that rest period of accepting the critique and wallowing in it, do you change it? or do you press on? The best option is to get a second or third or fourth opinion, someone you trust will be honest and helpful.

So now either they disagree, or support the criticism. If they disagree with the bad review then at least you can blow it off as just one bad critique and continue on. But you do want to fix what could be something bad, so take it in pieces, try and see what they see and fix it in their eyes but keeping to your overall idea. If they support the bad review, you've got some figuring out to do. You want to fix whatever you've got wrong, but you also want to stay true to your master plan. Maybe step back and work on something completely different for a bit. This will allow you to have perspective and maybe you'll see what they saw and scrap it. OR use that anger to fuel what you want to do without anyone holding you back, who cares if you just keep the piece to yourself. OR you can take their critique and build off of it, do what they say, in the end it could turn out exactly what you wanted. It might just take a different path to get there. 

Either way, trust in your peers and friends. Know who the people are that you can really be honest with and will guild you. If you don't have a support group, then try and build one. Find people on the internet where you can show your work to and help them as well. 

What do you do when you get into this situation?

DEBATABLE: DIGITAL AGE

There is a lot of controversy over the seemingly super speed jump artists are making into the Digital Age. Artists who could be strong in the traditional arts methods are now jumping right into being graphic designers. 
Why? 
Well for one, people now are very impatient and not willing to put a few months into a masterpiece painting, they'd rather take a few hours or days to complete something. This takes a lot of the handiwork out of a piece. People now would pay more for a painting than a poster wouldn't they? But companies would rather have things done fast, so that leaves the artwork less personalized. 
Two, jobs are more available to people who can easily create a pamphlet that can be easily copied and distributed than make pot. Going back to the fact that we're impatient, people like things to be done and how they like now. No wasting time. When I was deciding which major I wanted to be Graphic Design or Studio Art. I didn't want to have to pick, but I ended up with Studio Art because of the process and the intimacy of creating a piece. Yes, when you finish a painting there is such a tie between pride and hatred for it. But that is only because you struggled with it and you babied it into what it finally became. I knew going into Studio Art that I wouldn't have as many job options, so, like many other students, I took digital classes as well like Digital Photography and Intro to Graphic Design. That way I am slightly ambidextrous in the art world. The basic art principles are there, it's just the process that differs.
Three, kids now aren't learned cursive so their basic hand mechanics aren't going to be able to create beautiful brushstrokes. I've heard this from many people that kids are now taking typing courses instead of cursive. I don't really understand the thought process behind it because both skills seem very important to me even if you never use cursive ever again after 4th grade. It seems obvious, but our handwriting plays a part in how we'd draw a line in a gesture drawing. Consider the fabulous movement in figures and lines in this Rubens:

Rubens, The Calydonian Boar Hunt, 1611, oil on panel

(http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=267599)
How are kids going to be able to paint a perfect new age replica of a Rubens? They won't. But they might be able to recreate a digital copy of it, or print out a copy on a 3D printer. Which seems like such a shame and like cheating in the art world. But if you are a traditional artist, then the value of your work will skyrocket and the Rubens will be worth a ton more. 

I'm not hating on the digital age. I love some of the innovation that we have been able to create. We just need to find a way to keep the more traditional arts as well, so that we don't become a lost artifact. What do you think? Keep moving forward and forget the past? Or keep trying to combine the two into beautiful