Hyper-realistic Pencil Drawing: Basic Sketching Teaching of the Department of Decorative Arts, Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts

Author: Wang Fenghua, Jia Ming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: The Basic Course Teaching and Research Office of the Department of Decorative Arts at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts has explored and reformed basic sketching teaching. While thoroughly studying hyper-realistic painting, the teachers have attempted to combine the methods of hyper-realistic sketching with the aesthetic standards of traditional Chinese art and integrate them into the basic course teaching. The themes and compositions of the students' assignments fully reflect this characteristic. Through several years of teaching practice, students' observation skills, comprehension skills, and aesthetic abilities have significantly improved. This teaching method has been widely recognized by experts, and student works have been selected for national and provincial exhibitions multiple times, with many winning awards. It has also had a considerable impact on sister institutions. The student works in this book can largely reflect their basic teaching approach. Hyper-realistic sketching pursues a photographic level of realism and possesses a strong emotional impact. In the nearly half-century since its emergence as a painting style, hyper-realism has had a profound influence on contemporary art. Modern technological civilization has changed our lives and, at the same time, altered our understanding of the world. Over 160 years ago, the invention of photography and the concept of visual art opened up new horizons for artists, and hyper-realistic painting was born in this historical context. As the foundation of hyper-realistic painting and sculpture, hyper-realistic sketching is an important means for us to understand the objective world. Traditional sketching art, based on lines as its fundamental element, depicts the formative features of objects, emphasizing sensations and fleeting impressions to present objects in a generalized and vivid manner. In contrast, hyper-realistic sketching, while maintaining an overall grasp of the composition, places greater emphasis on understanding the micro-world, focusing on the texture and edge lines. Through in-depth observation and representation, it can achieve an effect more realistic than photographs. The Basic Course Teaching and Research Office of the Department of Decorative Arts at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts has explored and reformed basic sketching teaching. While thoroughly studying hyper-realistic painting, the teachers have attempted to combine the methods of hyper-realistic sketching with the aesthetic standards of traditional Chinese art and integrate them into the basic course teaching. The themes and compositions of the students' assignments fully reflect this characteristic. Through several years of teaching practice, students' observation skills, comprehension skills, and aesthetic abilities have significantly improved. This teaching method has been widely recognized by experts, and student works have been selected for national and provincial exhibitions multiple times, with many winning awards. It has also had a considerable impact on sister institutions. The student works in this book can largely reflect their basic teaching approach.