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Bargue Drawing Tutorial Stage 4: The First HI, I’M PAUL

Schematic I'm a (mostly) self-

taught artist. I paint
APRIL 28, 2007 BY: PAUL COMMENT realism in oils,
mostly still life. I
share my work, my
evolving process and what knowledge
I've gained on my own learning journey
here, in the hope that it might help you
on yours.
Read More…

Now I’ve got my main four points established, I want to get the rest of the points I
need to get to the stage of the rst schematic. Then I can join the dots.

As I said previously, I’ve marked some points on the original plate so that I can see
where I’m measuring to. From these points, I need to nd the ones that correspond
to the points that Bargue has used for the rst schematic drawing.

A quick word about the schematics here: They don’t match the measurements of
the nal drawing. They’re meant to be viewed as a recommended approach to
breaking down the drawing into it’s main shapes, to help to get the general form
before re ning down gradually to the speci c details. All measurements should
betaken from the nished drawing.

Looking at the rst schematic, I can see that I need six more points to match it.
Finding these points and marking them on the drawing is done in exactly the same
manner as the initial four points: rst nding the vertical distance from the
horizontal, then the horizontal distance from the central vertical construction line.

At this stage, it’s starting to get a little easier. Each new point added represents a
new anchor to triangulate from in order to ensure that the next point is accurate. In
this way, the accuracy of all points on the drawing are dependent on the accuracy of
the rst four. That’s why I take so long making sure that the rst points are right.

Finding and marking these points takes me around another two hours.

Once the points are in, joining the dotsin order to create the rst schematic takes
about ten minutes. All the hard work has already been done.

It’s a relief to get to this stage. There’s a lot more to go, but now I can see the
drawing starting to take shape. The next update will come once I’ve got to the stage
of the second schematic, by gradually re ning this one and adding more points.
Once that’s done, I’ll be able to draw the nal outline, and ll in the tone blocks,
working towards the nished drawing. Who knows, I may even be done by
Christmas.

This is one of a series of six posts describing how to copy Bargue plates sight
size:

Stage 1: Bargue plate 5, setting up the drawing

Stage 2: making the rst marks

Stage 3: marking the furthest left and furthest right points

Stage 4: laying in the main shapes of the rst schematic
Stage 5: re ning the schematic
Stage 6: the nished drawing

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About Paul
I'm a (mostly) self-taught artist. I paint realism in oils, mostly still life. I
share my work, my evolving process and what knowledge I've gained on
my own learning journey here, in the hope that it might help you along on
yours.

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