Creating a Sense of Depth in Illustrations: Methods and Strategies

Harmonious composition, precise outline, and accurate shading have immense importance as components of a great illustration. However, conveying a good sense of depth is not secondary at all. Every artist eventually faces the challenge of having to deal with the nuisance of a flat result – meaning lack of perspective or three-dimensionality.
The solution might reside in subtle (or oftentimes quite conspicuous) aspects already present in the very subject portrayed, which require more detailed attention. But in many other instances, one may need to resort to artistic tricks, optical artifacts, or else inspiration stemming from other sources of knowledge and from the domains of different media.
Hence, one can, for example, get from photography and optics the idea of different focus ranges for rendering variation of edge sharpness. By observing landscapes and distances, one can draw inspiration to use the effect of atmospheric perspective and represent the proper scale of contrasts and neatness. Combining a few or all of those diverse resorts is also an option, so that the different challenges can be cleverly sorted and all possible solutions reconciled.
In this course, we will study the theory and the empirics behind those methods, examine examples of masterful illustrations, and mostly proceed to live demonstrations using graphite, colored pencils, and even a bit of pen and ink, to explore and apply all the procedures available for the purpose of obtaining a convincing and eloquent sense of depth. Obs.: It is not mandatory that registrants employ the same media used in demonstrations. The students are free to utilize any other media they prefer.
In addition to the analytical approaches described above, the classes provide extensive technical information and discussion of methods for achieving the best results across all media used. Classes are recorded and remain permanently available for all registrants. Students who need feedback on their practice will have an individual online meeting scheduled with the tutor.
This virtual course is led by renowned international artist Rogério Lupo. Recordings of each class will be permanently available to students.
Fees: Member $277, Non-Member $346
All programs are subject to change. Pre-registration through our website is required.
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden strives to be a Garden for all and we are committed to offering diverse adult learning opportunities that are inclusive and accessible to all learners. If you would like to request an accommodation to support your participation in an adult learning opportunity at the Garden, please contact registrar@lewisginter.org or call 804-262-9887 x328 and we will make our best effort to help.