Today on Fit 2 Stitch, we'll learn how to tell the difference between negative and positive space.

We'll learn about the basic concepts of light, shadow, and perspective.

And we'll show you how to use those important concepts to draw a teacup that will leap off the paper.

Finally we'll discuss the seven folds, which add shape and dimension and are found in all the clothing we wear.

So if you have a fashion idea, join us today, as we'll help you transfer it from thought, to paper, and beyond.

(light, airy music) - [Narrator] Fit 2 stitch is made possible by Britex Fabrics, (light piano music) Vogue Fabrics, Evanston Illinois, (light piano music) Bennos Buttons, (light piano music) Kai Scissors, (light piano music) Sew Steady, (light piano music) O.c Sewing, Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove and Irvine, California, Richland Sewing Center, Dallas, Texas and the Metroplex, (light piano music) Cythnia's Fine Fabrics, (light piano music) and Mike Gunther Industries.

- So when I was in college, I had of course to take the art class, which we're about to do, but my college professor told me, that anyone could learn to draw.

And I think I was the first student to prove him wrong.

My drawings were terrible.

But now I've met Alison Proulx, and what I've learned is, anybody can learn to draw.

It's perspective.

So I don't know why it's taken me all these years to get that, but I'm so excited to have this class today.

When my kids were little they used to flap their hands like this.

This is what I feel like, I feel so excited to be doing this, because I've already started to show off some of my very rudimentary, elementary abilities that you've given me.

- So tell us a little bit about how you got into teaching art.

- Well, it's a long story, but after my undergraduate degree, I did some freelance for a couple years.

Commercial illustration.

And that was long, hard hours.

Hundred hour weeks.

And I soon found out that animation pays a steady paycheck.

So I went into background painting.

I had traditional drawing and painting skills.

I thought, well this is something I can do.

I can't animate, but I can draw and paint.

So I painted backgrounds for Hanna Barbera.

- Oh (mumbles) my favorite.

- They picked me up pretty quickly.

So I worked on, let's see, Tom and Jerry's Kids, Droopy.

- [Ginny] Oh wow.

- Scooby Doo.

- [Ginny] Scooby Doo.

- Jonny Quest, a whole bunch of cartoons.

So I did that for a couple years, and then I applied to Disney Feature Animation, and they picked me up, and so then I worked there as a background artists, for six years, working on Hunchback, Aladdin, Pochahontas.

- My goodness.

- And Fantasia 2000.

And then I left to start a family, so I took a break for about 15 years, and then my husband got a job change out here to Dallas, because we were in Pasadena, and I thought, well I can teach, that's what I'm gonna do now.

I'm gonna start teaching.

Well I tried to start my own school.

I was promoting at little festivals, and the head of the Animation Department at Art Institute, Steven Steinbach, happened to notice my booth, and he liked my work, and he said, I'd like to take your painting class.

I said great.

And I think he was just checking out my teaching abilities.

- When it's too good to be true, maybe it is.

- Right, right.

So he told me if I got my Masters Degree, that there's a good chance Art Institute would hire me.

So I said great, okay.

So I went and I got my Masters Degree.

- Just like that you got your Masters Degree.

- Well, yeah, it took four years.

- Well that's okay.

- Drawing and let's see, sorry, painting major, sculpting minor.

So and then probably three months after I graduated, Steven called me and said hey, you wanna pick up a drawing class?

I said, yeah, absolutely.

So I've been at Art Institute - So you teach art - for two years.

- and I'm not sure what this is but I somehow can hear you differently.

I'm not sure why, but I really appreciate.

Teach us, teach us.

- Oh yeah absolutely.

- [Ginny] Show us.

(laughing) - [Ginny] Let's do it.

- I have a long career of art.

So we've talked about philosophies about just saying yes to opportunities that relate to our field.

And that's led me in a lot of different directions in the art world and I always highly recommend just get out there and network and meet people.

- 'Cause you keep saying yes.

- Yes, just keep saying yes to different kinds of-- - Any regrets to yes?

- Never.

And no regrets.

- You turn lemon into lemonade is what you do.

- I did, yeah.

(laughing) - All right, so you just, opportunities keep coming your way, all art related.

- Just getting out there and meeting people.

- Do you think you learned to draw?

- Oh that's a really good question because people say, oh you're so talented, I could never do that.

Well, my father went to Pratt University, a really good art school.

He was an art director in advertising.

My grandfather was a painter.

I have a family lineage of being able to draw and paint, artists.

So this was pushed on me at a very young age, so I was exposed to it earlier than the average person.

So I think as an adult when you say, oh I can't do that it's because you weren't exposed and you weren't taught how to see as an artist.

- I like that.

I like that.

- So there's ways to see as an artist and I can show a couple of examples.

- Oh I would, let's do it.

- Yeah, absolutely.

All right, so I'm gonna start with just, we talked about conceptual drawing and perceptual drawing.

So the average person draws conceptually, meaning that they draw what they think they see.

But they're not actually seeing.

So when you think about a mug for instance.

So you know it has a circular opening at the top and it has straight sides and it has a flat bottom maybe and a handle, maybe it has a round handle.

- That looks like my mug.

(laughing) That looks exactly like my mug.

- So this is what someone might think of, well that's what I think a mug looks like.

But clearly that doesn't really look like a mug.

(laughing) So when you see perceptually you know that that top of that mug is more of an ellipse, and sure the sides are still straight, but maybe that base is a little bit deeper, and maybe that handle has some kind of different character to it.

- Okay, that's like really amazing.

So you did that by actually changing where, you attached the handle almost to the inside.

- Yeah, so when you look at a mug and you learn to see properly.

- That made it dimensional.

- It gives it a little more dimension, yeah.

And then of course when you light it, which we'll talk about in a minute, it adds even more dimension to that thing.

- So, that, this one is just a matter of when you look at that teacup visually seeing that the handle is not like this.

- [Alison] Right, well I mean, - [Ginny] It's actually not like that.

- Of course they're not always that shape.

But each handle has its own character, and you have to really look and-- - Conceptual versus-- - Perceptual.

- Perceptual.

- So you have a concept of what a mug looks like and then what you actually see are two different things.

And most people when they first start to draw draw conceptually because they're not really seeing and you have to retrain your brain and the way you look at things.

- Okay, so it' just a matter of educating your brain - Mmhmm.

- and practice.

- Mmhmm, lots of practice.

- Okay.

(laughing) All right I like that.

That's gorgeous.

- All right so, another-- - It's making me wanna just draw teacups for the rest of my days.

(laughing) I feel so good about just drawing one.

- So another great way to teach yourself how to see more perceptually is with positive and negative space.

So a great example of that is what do you see when you look at this?

- I see the silhouettes we all did in like second grade.

- Right.

- You know, we all did silhouettes.

- So this would be what you'd call positive space and this is negative space.

So positive space is that space that an object occupies.

And it's what we as human beings feel is a significant part of space.

- So that I'm actually looking here.

I'm not looking at all of this.

- Right, yeah, you don't generally look at the air-- - And that's the positive space?

- [Alison] Right.

- [Ginny] That's the positive space.

- [Alison] You're looking at the person, right, you're not looking at the air.

So when you learn to draw-- - and you actually see a whole head in there.

(talking over each other) - [Alison] You can fill it in.

- [Ginny] That's interesting.

- But then what happens when I do this?

Oops, it's a little bit lopsided, but-- - That's okay.

Okay, that's pretty cool.

So I don't see any faces anymore.

- So now this is maybe a vase, right?

- [Ginny] Right.

- So now this became the positive space, this is the negative space.

So I switched your brain to thinking two different things.

- You did.

- Just by changing it slightly, right?

- My point being that this negative space is really important in understanding how to draw perceptually and to be able to draw in general.

And you have to consider that negative space as a shape just like you think of the positive space as a shape, and they're just sort of a big puzzle.

I always tell me students it's like putting a puzzle together with all these different shapes.

- It does seem kinda like that.

So is drawing a math per se?

- Well, no, 'cause math is left brain, drawing is right brain.

- It is drawing on the right side of the brain.

- Yes.

- It really is drawing on the right side of the brain.

- Yes.

It's creative side of the brain, yeah.

- It's incredible.

But it's creative but yet there's definitely rules that apply - Right.

- to that.

- Right.

Yeah, this is more, yeah, rule oriented, so there is another step where you could go more creative with it, but this is just-- - It's really cool, very cool.

Okay.

- So now I wanted to talk a little bit about light and maybe you can join me-- - [Ginny] Do I get to play?

- Yes, now you get to play.

- [Ginny] All right.

(laughing) I'll take my position.

- All right.

So I'm gonna show you how light affects an object, which is really relevant in drawing drapery.

So we wanna learn how to draw drapery today.

So there's five kinds of light and that light is what helps create form.

So let's say that this is your light source here coming this way.

- [Ginny] Okay.

- Using your charcoal, by the way this is drawing position.

- Oops.

- This is the writing position.

- [Ginny] Okay.

- So you can get nicer gestures if you put the pencil down and just pick it up.

- Okay.

- You can get nicer, looser gestures by just holding it like this.

- What if I make a mistake?

- We talked, yeah, mistakes are really important 'cause if you're not making mistakes it means you're not trying anything new.

So, so many people are just afraid to get started because they're afraid of making mistakes.

And I have students that will scribble out their mistakes, I'm like don't scribble out your mistakes.

We need to talk about those mistakes and find out what did you do there that you're not gonna do the next time.

It's stepping stones-- - What were you thinking that made that mistake?

- [Alison] Right.

- So you're really correcting your thought process.

- Right, so mistakes are baby steps to success in an area but you have to, I've been making mistakes for 30 years in this industry, so.

- Probably not afraid to make them anymore?

- [Alison] No, no.

- No such thing as a mistake.

- [Alison] Right, right?

- we just label it that.

I got it, okay.

(laughing) I got my light.

- All right, so there's your light.

So we're gonna take a basic circle, and we're gonna apply the five kinds of light to your circle.

So the light is hitting here, so that's where your highlight comes in.

Now I'm just gonna sort of...

This is a mid tone with the basic value of that object.

And then you get into the core shadow, which is where the light turns into your shadow.

Always kind of following your form while you're drawing.

- I need a cheat sheet.

- [Alison] Well I'll label in a second.

- Okay, okay, okay.

- So you'll know what you're doing.

So this is your reflected light.

I'll talk about what all these things are in a minute.

This is your core shadow.

And then you have your cast shadow.

Which is what you'd see on the sidewalk when you're walking down the street, see that cast shadow.

- Me and my shadow.

- [Alison] Right?

(laughing) - [Ginny] I could start dancin', but I think I'd better not.

(laughing) - So this is your mid tones and then I always just throw a little tone out here to define that lit side a little bit.

So now that thing starts to come to life.

So your five kinds of light... How'd you do?

- Well... (laughing) Let's... - Good.

- Let's let me keep working on it while we're talking about the light because looking at you is really helpful, to follow your example.

- Good, yeah, I think it helps to draw these things and to label them.

- Well that's where I can see where teaching art or getting an art class is so much more helpful, because I don't think I would see it as you were drawing it.

You were drawing it and I was able to see what you were drawing as you were talking.

- Gotcha.

- So I'm gonna go back and fix mine to where it's closer to yours.

- Okay.

(laughing) All right, so this is your highlight.

- [Ginny] And that's kinda the white space?

- Right.

- [Ginny] 'Cause that's where the light directly shines?

- Right, so that light is hitting this object right here.

And if this were a color object it's where that color would probably be mixed, would be mixed with white at that point.

So it would be a tint if this were color.

- Oh so it'd be a really light, light version of that color?

- [Alison] Right.

- Whatever that color was.

- And then in here you have your mid tone, and if this would be a color object that would be the actual color of the object would be in there.

- [Ginny] Okay.

- This is your core shadow.

- [Ginny] And that's the darkest?

- Well, outside of your cast shadow.

- [Ginny] Right, right, right.

- Core shadow is where that light turns into-- - But the core on the object would be the darkest?

- Yes, on the object.

- The core shadow on the darkest, okay.

- Yes.

So then this is reflected light.

So this is where this light is coming down here and bouncing back in.

That's your reflected light.

And then this is your cast shadow.

- So the reflected light, is that about the same shade as the mid tone?

- Reflected light?

Oh that's a good point.

Yeah, your reflected light should be darker than what's happening in your mid tone.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

- So if you had numbers as to darkest to lightest?

- [Alison] Darkest to lightest.

- Would you do that?

- I would say.

- Or do I just wanna do that?

- Well, I don't know that it's necessary.

I think this is the most absence of light would be right under here in your core shadow.

- [Ginny] Sure, 'cause there's literally no light getting in there.

- Right, right.

- [Ginny] That's how mine is.

- And back here you have a little bit of light - [Ginny] Mine's not dark-- - that's filtering into that part of your shadow.

But that's basically the structure.

So if you were to apply this to a cylinder.

I didn't really leave much room for a cylinder.

This would be the top of the cylinder.

Again, it's deeper.

- [Ginny] How many years you been doing this?

- Long, long time.

(laughing) So this is your core shadow.

- So that's the kind of the second darkest almost.

- Right.

- But the thing about I noticed that you do is you actually put it in lighter and then you go back and darken it as you need to.

You don't really try to get the right color right the first time you lay it down.

- Right, you need to build it up slowly.

- That's the advantage of the charcoal and the pencil and-- - Yeah, yeah, you have to build it up slowly.

(talking over each other) Yeah with pencil we usually start with a very light, like a 2H pencil, and then we work to a darker pencil as we work along 'cause you have to sort of judge how much of that... - Now you're actually drawing this from memory, but if you literally saw a ball on a table and positioned the light, this is exactly what it would look like.

- Right and I do do a lighting demo for my students.

- Where they can actually see what you're drawing?

- Right, and I have them take photographs and actually draw from those objects.

- Do the photographs help you see the light differently?

- Well, you know, a lot of times they don't believe you unless they see it, you know what I mean?

- [Ginny] Nah.

(laughing) - So they see the real thing, they take a picture, and then I do a drawing and we kind of work it together.

Got it, got it.

Where you help point out the colors that they're seeing?

- Right, so this is your highlight, mid tone, core shadow, reflected light.

This is core shadow, mid tone, highlight, and cast shadow on that cylinder.

So everything in life is basically made up of cubes, cylinders, and spheres.

- Ooohh.

- [Alison] So this is sort of the fundamentals.

- So if I learn to draw these and get really good at these I can draw anything?

- Pretty much, yeah.

- Even like all the background that you did at Hanna-Barbera?

- Yes.

(laughing) - Wow.

- Well, you have to learn a little bit about color and painting.

- Okay, well we won't talk about that.

(laughing) This is very cool.

So these are why these are important is because they're gonna lend themselves to-- - Well drapery, especially the cylinder.

There's a lot of cylinders in drapery, which we'll talk about.

- [Ginny] So it's just a matter of seeing it differently?

- Mmhmm.

- [Ginny] Okay.

All right, well then let's go to that.

- All right, so-- - And you don't need to look at mine.

(laughing) I'll just be the student here by listening.

- So I'm gonna show you how these principles of light, five kinds of light, apply to the seven types of folds.

Which is beginnings of drawing drapery.

- It's interesting to me that the seven types of folds are in every clothing that we have.

- Mmhmm, yep.

- So to be able to draw perspective clothing we want the seven types of folds.

- Right.

- Okay.

- So the diaper fold, which is basically what you have over here, with your cowl neck is pinned up on two sides.

- Which would be our shoulders.

- Right.

And then it kind of creates these diamond shapes you see happening in here.

- [Ginny] I do see that.

- Yeah, so that would be your diaper fold.

And then over here would be pipe folds with, okay, let me point out the-- - That's what you were talking about as the cylinders.

- Yeah, here's a great example of cylinders.

But right here, too, you can see the highlight, the mid tone is very small here, but the core shadow, reflected light, cast shadow.

- [Ginny] Okay.

- [Alison] Highlight, core shadow, reflected light, cast shadow, highlight, mid tone, core shadow, reflected light, cast shadow.

- So how can you practice seeing those?

Is the best way to see them by literally putting something in a light?

- Yeah.

- And practicing those, the words and the shadows as they go together?

- If you have one light source it's really the easiest.

- Okay, got it.

- When you have multiple light sources it can be, there can be multiple, double shadows, and can be a little confusing, but that's the easiest way to really observe it.

- That's really cool.

I've never seen cylinders on the side of a cowl neck until now.

- All right.

- I've just never seen it.

(laughing) So it makes sense if I can't see it I can't draw it.

- Right, yeah if you understand the concept of it, sure.

- [Ginny] Yes, that's amazing.

- So here's the pipe folds.

And this is a great example, like you said, these are cylinders, so a highlight, mid tone is very small, into that core shadow, reflected light, cast shadow.

So it just keeps repeating over and over and over.

- And that cast shadow is the very darkest where really the wall doesn't see any light at all.

- Right, yeah, underneath here.

Yeah, very little light.

And here is also cast shadow happening in there.

In the inert folds, same thing.

So inert fold would be something that's laying on the ground or on a table.

So you're highlight is here.

Mid tone, core shadow, reflected light, cast shadow.

- [Ginny] I'm actually starting to see it.

- Good, good, yeah.

(laughing) - Like even before you say it.

It's so exciting.

- Good, good.

Yeah, I mean it's everywhere in an inert fold.

So you just keep repeating it.

I mean you can see it when you're drawing it basically.

It starts becoming evident when you understand the concept.

- So that's how you duplicate it because you can see it.

- Mmhmm.

- Wow, my gosh.

- So highlight, mid tone, core shadow, reflected light, and there's a cast shadow over here.

Highlight, core shadow, mid tone, core shadow, reflected light, cast shadow.

- So I love the zigzag fold.

Because that's every sleeve out there.

- Right, yeah.

- Every sleeve.

- So yeah, so you have this sort of zigzag pattern happening here.

Half lock fold is more of an abrupt kind of change of movement in the fold.

Has tension on one side.

Usually happens in that slack area of a sleeve.

Drop fold might be something over a chair or a table that's just dropping.

There's a little more irregular patterns of folds as opposed to the pipe folds which are more regular.

- And those are cylinders again.

Yes, do I see cylinders?

- Mmhmm, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, so highlight, little bit of mid tone, core shadow, reflected light, cast shadow, just over and over, highlight, mid tone-- - So where's some balls in there?

Do we have any balls in there?

(laughing) Just curious.

(talking over each other) So I just wanted to see if I could have a ball.

- Well here's a little bit of a triangle.

Right?

- Okay, that's fair.

- The triangle's starting to happen-- - Part of the ball.

- Which you can see in that cowl neck as well.

You have triangles starting to-- - It's really so interesting, and then this is that spiral fold.

- And then the spiral fold.

Just like it says, it sort of spirals around the form, describes the form underneath.

- So if we go back to these folds, what's the hardest thing when students start to draw these folds, that you find.

- I think it's those five kinds of light.

They just can't grasp how to apply that to the fabric.

So I do a demo and I show them examples, but as they do it, occasionally I'll have a few students that just get it right away, but I have to really go around and help them.

- But I think that's sometimes where you say it's our perspective, because so many people, when you find somebody who can really do it, who sees it so easily, it's hard to teach, but you do this very well, because I actually came to your class, and I was amazed at how quickly people were picking up and learning, and doing all those things.

- Yeah, well, I'm always really excited 'cause I see the progress of students over the course of a few terms when they're at Art Institute.

So whatever we're doing is working, clearly.

(laughing) - [Ginny] Sure.

Clearly.

- Yeah.

- And I think the number one thing you've taught me is just don't be afraid of that eraser.

Just use it all the time.

- Yes.

- All right, so with these folds, I'm gonna see them in clothing everywhere.

So anytime I'm trying, I guess because my drawing so often is that initial teacup that you drew.

- Right.

- I want to get from the first teacup to the second teacup.

And that's by using the shades of light.

- Well, it's not just that.

Again, it's that positive and negative space.

That's the first step.

- [Ginny] Okay.

- So understanding and being able to see and draw what you see instead of draw what you think you see.

That's why a lot of times sometimes we'll take photos and we'll draw upside down or we'll find different ways to access that right hemisphere of the brain so that you can see perceptually and not think about what you're drawing but what you actually see.

- That's so, that's the key.

That's a big key.

I think what you said, say that again.

You're teaching someone to actually draw what they're seeing.

- What they're seeing.

Not what they think-- - [Ginny] Not what they perceive to see.

- What they think they see.

- [Ginny] Because that's gotta be a really hard block.

- Yeah it is.

- To get through in the beginning.

- Mmhmm, yep.

- And what's the key to getting this right, you think?

- I think focusing on the positive and negative space to start.

- [Ginny] Okay.

- And just really focusing on the space around an object as opposed to jut with that object, the space an object is occupying.

- I can't wait to draw.

I mean I just wanna draw everything anymore, because I really have been practicing what I'm seeing.

I think that what you're seeing and what that perception is, that was an amazing light bulb moment for me.

- Oh good, all right.

- Because when I draw a teacup I just drew it out.

Incredible.

- All right.

- Can I say thank you enough?

I don't even know how to say thank you enough.

- Thank you so much - Your students are lucky people.

- for having me.

(laughing) - I think definitely, again, one thing, just one thing do you think that you found from students that you would say that really perpetuates that student's paths to a place where they finally say I can do this?

You're telling them all this kind of, just keep doing it, just keep doing it, don't be afraid of mistakes.

What do they finally hear that kind of transfers them over, do you think?

- I don't know, it's so different for each individual.

- [Ginny] Oh that's fair.

- But you know, it's just practice.

It's like everything else in life.

You just have to practice.

- [Ginny] Just keep doing it.

- Just keep doing it and persistence is really important.

- Drawing is such an important part of our environment, our clothing.

Whenever we have those great ideas and we're trying to get them down on paper.

This was her initial fold.

This was my initial fold.

And then I had her come back and critique me, and then I decided I needed to practice more.

(laughing) Next time we'll learn all about bespoke tailoring.

Be sure to join us and learn all the details right here on Fit 2 Stitch.

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