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Offered entirely online: interactive, livestreaming classes and personalized feedback on completed work.
Learn to use light and shadow effectively in your creative work by understanding the art and science behind this visual structure. Each class includes the introduction of a new topic, explained using theory and examples from other artists work, technical instruction and a drawing or mixed media exercise (graphite, charcoal, paint, markers…).
Light and shadow, or tonality, are essential to how artists evoke mood, drama and poetics. From Caravaggio to Käthe Kollwitz. From the Maltese Falcon to the Matrix. To put it more simply, light and shadow is the primary way that an image can create an emotion. But what do we mean when we say “light and shadow”? Does it just mean black and white or is it something more?
Why: Understand how light and shadow actually work!
This workshop explores how light and shadow actually function- in art, in film and in design. We start with a scientific description of light and discuss how light is received through the eye and then understood and utilized by the brain. Examine the work of artists who have put light and shadow at the center of their work, including artists Caravaggio, Seurat, Kollwitz, and filmmakers such as Orson Wells and the Wachowski siblings. Explore different aspects and degrees of light and shadow, starting with simple black and white drawings and then slowly incorporating all types of grey. Break down the geometry of shadows so that you can incorporate more naturalistic and evocative shading in your own work.
Topics Covered:
- What is light? What is shadow? (graphite)
- Understanding black, white and grey (charcoal)
- How light reveals form (black and white paint)
- How light creates atmosphere (graphite)
- Understanding and controlling greyscale (marker)
- The geometry of shadows (graphite pencil and ruler)
Who: Do you want to use light and shadow to its full potential in your creative work?
Whether you are a professional designer, artist or just like to sketch as a hobby, this workshop has something valuable for you.
Our Online Workshop Format:
- Livestreaming classes take place via online video conference (using Zoom). The instructor conducts live demos with step-by-step instruction so that you can work together in real time. You also have the opportunity to ask questions and get feedback during class time.
- We keep class sizes small and the atmosphere is interactive and supportive.
- Finish exercises or practice at your own pace, at home, outside of class time.
- Receive individual feedback on your completed work and exchange comments and questions with the instructor and your fellow workshop participants in an encouraging environment.
- Access supplemental material and watch the progress of other participants by visiting the workshop Dropbox folder in between classes.
- Recordings from each week’s livestreaming session are available in case you miss a class or want to review a demo.
Supply List
Mar 17 – Apr 21, 2021
6x Wednesday 6-8 pm CET
(6pm in Berlin, 12pm in New York, 9am in San Francisco, 5pm in London)
Cost: 190 Euros
(includes 19%VAT)
