Foot Steps: 2

The first step in doing the cast drawing is to select the paper. This cast is done on a mid-tone grey. Previous cast drawings were done on white paper so that the cast was completed using only charcoal. For the lightest lights, the paper was the lightest light. On the grey paper, however, white chalk will be used to create the lightest lights. This adds another dimension to learning value.

After selecting and preparing the paper with rabbit-skin glue, it is mounted on the board and the board is placed on the same plane as the front of the cast and next to the cast.

The next step is to drop the plumb line and then draw it on the paper. Then major lines of the cast can be drawn on the paper using the plumb line. To measure off the plumb line, the artist stands 6 feet from the cast, always in the same place, holds a thin stick at arms length and measures the distance from the plumb line to an edge on the cast that the artist wishes to draw. The artist then uses that measurement to draw a line on the paper. Accuracy is extremely important.

In the photo you can barely see the plumb line, the outer edges of the cast, and some key lines within the cast. In the early stages it is also important to make very light lines - just in case things have to be changed - an inevitability.

Another key thing to remember is not to erase, but to "lift" the charcoal with a kneaded eraser. Erasing damages the fibers of the paper. My first cast drawing was trashed because repeated erasing of the mouth created a hole in the paper.