Painting practice: brush-and-ink and oil
Different cultures built different painting methods. Both are worth learning.
Brush-and-ink (East Asian tradition)
The tools are a soft brush, ink and absorbent paper or silk. The brush stroke is the heart of the painting: thick or thin, wet or dry. The painter keeps parts of the paper empty on purpose; the empty space can be mist, water or sky. Because ink soaks in, a stroke cannot be redone, so the artist observes and thinks first. Landscapes, bamboo, birds and flowers are classic subjects.
Oil painting (Western tradition)
Pigment is mixed with oil and put on canvas. Oil dries slowly, so the painter can blend colours and build layers: a thin base, then mid-tones, then bright details. Artists use perspective for depth and light and shade (chiaroscuro) for form.
Learning from classics
Copy a master's brushwork or colour plan to learn, not to claim it as your own. Then make your own picture. India has its own classics too, such as miniature painting and temple murals.
Sculpture materials and their methods
Every material has its own nature and so its own method.
- Clay: soft; you model it by adding and pressing. Big pieces are built over a frame called an armature. Clay is dried and fired (terracotta).
- Stone (marble, sandstone, granite): hard; you carve by removing material with chisel and hammer. You must plan, because you cannot put a chip back.
- Wood: carve along the grain; it can split if you cut against it.
- Metal (bronze, brass): usually cast. A clay model makes a mould; melted metal is poured in. Many copies are possible.
- Plaster: a quick, cheap material for casts and relief panels.
- Found and mixed materials: wire, card, scrap, resin and more, assembled (construction).
Forms of sculpture
In-the-round work is seen from all sides. Relief is attached to a background (low relief is shallow, high relief stands out). Openwork has holes cut through it so that light passes.
Architecture drawing and models
An architect uses flat drawings to describe a 3D building:
- Plan: a view from above after slicing the building at about window height. It shows rooms, walls, doors.
- Elevation: a flat view of one outside face (front, side).
- Section: a view as if the building was cut through to show floors and height inside.
All are drawn to scale. A scale of 1:100 means 1 cm on paper stands for 100 cm (1 m) in real life. A 5 m wall is drawn as 5 cm.
A model in card, foam board or clay lets you see the building from every side. Make it tidy: cut straight, glue neatly, add a base and a small scale figure. Models help clients and communities understand the idea before building.
Campus design projects
A campus (a school or college ground) is a design project with a brief: who uses it, what is needed and what money and land are there. Steps:
- Observe the site: sun path, wind, slope, trees, noise from the road.
- Zone the uses: quiet (classrooms, library), active (playground), calm green (garden).
- Plan the paths (circulation) so that walking distances are short and safe, including for wheelchair users.
- Test with checks: noise, sun and shade, walking distance, safety.
- Draw and model the plan, then ask users for feedback and improve.
Good campus ideas: shade trees and roof overhangs, rainwater collection, solar panels, bicycle stands, open space for assembly.
Sun, shade and noise: the three checks
Sun: in most of the northern hemisphere (including India) the sun is in the south for much of the day, so a building casts its shadow to the north. A taller building makes a longer shadow. Put gardens and play areas on the sunny side, not in that shadow.
Noise: playgrounds and canteens are loud. Keep them away from classrooms, or put a garden or library between them.
Walking distance: places used together, like classroom and library, should be close. Measure the route on your plan using the scale.
Try it
In the 3D: press the ink button and watch three strokes; press the oil button and see the layers split. Touch each sculpture material. Then switch between layouts A, B and C and set the floors to 4. In which layout does the garden stay sunny?
At home: (1) paint a mountain with one brush and watered black ink, leaving the sky empty. (2) Model a small figure from clay or dough. (3) Draw a plan of your room to a scale of 1:50 and make a card model. (4) Sketch your school ground and mark where it is noisy and where the sun falls.
Key formulas and definitions
- Scale: drawing length = real length ÷ scale number (1:100 means 100 times smaller)
- Real length = drawing length × scale number
- Modelling = add; carving = remove; casting = pour into a mould; assembly = join parts
- Shadow length grows with building height; it falls opposite the sun
- Plan = view from above; elevation = side view; section = view through a cut
Worked examples
1. A wall is 5 m long. What length on paper at a scale of 1:100?
5 m = 500 cm. 500 ÷ 100 = 5 cm.
2. On a 1:50 plan a room measures 8 cm × 6 cm. What is the real room size?
8 × 50 = 400 cm = 4 m; 6 × 50 = 300 cm = 3 m. Real size 4 m × 3 m = 12 square metres.
3. A sculptor wants 12 identical copies of a small figure. Which method suits best, and why?
Casting. One mould can be used again and again, so many copies can be made from one model.
4. On a 1:200 campus plan the classroom and library are 4.5 cm apart. How far will a student walk?
4.5 × 200 = 900 cm = 9 m (in a straight line; a path may be a little longer).
5. A painter makes a mistake in a brush-and-ink painting. Why is it harder to fix than in oil paint?
Ink soaks into the paper and cannot be scraped or painted over. Oil stays workable for a long time and can be covered with another layer.
6. In your campus plan the garden is directly north of a 3-floor classroom block. Is that a good place? Suggest a better one.
No. In the northern hemisphere the shadow falls to the north, so the garden would be shaded. Move it to the south side of the block, or to another sunny open area.
Common mistakes
- Copying a famous painting and presenting it as your own. Study the classics, then make your own work.
- Forgetting to plan a stone carving. Material removed cannot be added back.
- Mixing up plan and elevation. Plan is from above; elevation is from the side.
- Reading scale the wrong way: on a 1:100 plan the real object is 100 times bigger than the drawing.