Originally posted by audit: —PS Rebecca: I read your article - it was very interesting. I was wondering what your thoughts were on the relationship between opposing curves and chiaroscuro - i suppose opposing curves is really a contour technique whereas chiaroscuro is for defining internal form…? (if it’s a stupid question please tell me!)
Audit, that’s not a stupid question at all…I think it’s a really good one. Actually, I’ve never thought about it in quite those terms ~ generally I think of Opposing Curves in terms of the Drawing, but of course you want them to come through in the finished result, the Painting, as well. Basically, you want your chiarascuro, or whatever form of lighting/definition of form through light and shadow, to work harmoniously with the Opposing Curves / Contour you’ve used to define your form. This is a bit different with traditional / digital drawing than it is with traditional / digital painting ~ with drawing, particularly with traditional drawing, getting the interior shading to harmonize with the exterior contour (composed of Opposing Curves) is difficult, to put it mildly.
Michelangelo is probably the best at getting the two to harmonize…
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/m/michelangelo/tempt.jpg
http://www.michelangelo.nl/images/laurentius2.jpg
http://www.grf.hr/kultura/_priprema/predodzbe/lik-1/renesansa-rokoko/visoka%20renesansa/michelangelo.png
http://www.ripon.edu/faculty/KainE/Art172/images/michelangelo/painting/creation.jpg
http://daphne.palomar.edu/mhudelson/WorksofArt/13HighRen/3253.jpg
http://www.wsu.edu:8000/wciv/b/ba/bai/bai49.jpg
http://homepage3.nifty.com/kenkitagawa1/Michelangelo-Night.jpg
[left]Sorry had to run out, but getting back to what I was talking about earlier, the last thing that you want in a piece is for the interior of the form to make no sense with the exterior. You want the two to complement one another ~ in kind of a complex sort of braid. Where one form ends, another must begin, all the way throughout the figure. This sort of interrelationship between the interior and the exterior of the form is not exactly easy to achieve, and I don’t think that the digital medium makes it a lot easier ~ you have to have the underlying knowledge of form and also an understanding of drawing as distinct from anatomy to make it all work. I struggle the most with this myself in my traditional drawings ~ it’s not easy, and I certainly don’t claim to have mastered this. But the fun part is in trying…I feel like I learn more and more with each drawing. Digital work is newer to me, so in a way it’s like learning all over again. However, the same principles certainly apply to digital as well as to traditional art.
Hope this helps. 
[/left]
Cheers,
~Rebeccak
And speaking of exposure…What’s up with that black box, over RON’S CURVES…LOL!!
I did ask Ron if it was ok to do that, but since people may be viewing the article at work, I felt it was necessary to add the silly box since folks may not be aware of what they’re about to see. Thanks to Ronnie, for understanding. 
