METHOD FOR LEARNING

Animals and scenery, and in each genre, have parts that need to be touched differently from one another to give the appropriate spirit and character. This spirit should always be taken from the nature of the object: in figures, for example, one can consider two things, either the nude or the draped. The character of the nude is to be tender, smooth, and rounded, generally speaking: therefore, the shadows should be soft and even, whether you want to finish them or just make a light sketch and outline; thus, the handling that suits them best is to shade or hatch evenly so that in the shadows, the paper's surface does not appear too uneven. Draperies, on the other hand, whose nature is to be moving and have an uncertain form, need to be touched with more firmness; hatching is very suitable for them, maintaining a hand movement in line with the arrangement of the folds. Also, note that when drawing draperies, if it's on colored paper, as much as possible, form the folds and their different surfaces within the light patches with only white, and the strongest lights should be in the recesses. The best way to draw the folds should be flat, like the method of 'Guide,' which is the most perfect.

A footnote explains that we've said elsewhere that hatching is necessary only to remove the softness of a drawing and give it some firmness: drapery is similar to skin in this case and usually creates smooth surfaces; shadows in them can be firmer, flatter, and closer to highlights. Hatching is only truly necessary in things that characterize hair, and even then, it is not proper hatching, which should be irregular and seemingly accidental.

Translation Notes:

- 'nud' translates to 'nude' or 'naked' in English, denoting nude figures in artwork.

- 'draperies' refers to the artistic representation of clothing or fabric.

- 'hatching' is a shading technique using fine strokes to create tonal or shading effects.