These days i am gathering information on circulism, a technique that I fell in love with mostly by admiring art by Virginia Tupper.
All the links in the web are in English as well as examples of artists who create in this technique. Here they are:
Circulism
circulism technique
circulism tutorial
drawing an apple using circulism

Sacha
Virginia Tupper


here is my demo on the technique the way i understand it and render it right now after a few days of research.






On the right you have my take with different colors for more interesting chromatic effects.

I wish a DS teacher would stop by for more input on this subject, a tutorial or work done in this technique.
Thank you.

Hi Elena,

Even in the bottom samples, the circles are actually a lot larger than what it usually called "circulism;" they're more in line with what Brenda calls "squirkling". A little bit smaller and you get into Anne Kullberg "scumbling" territory. In classic graphite circulism, you use a flattened "chisel point" on your pencil -- so the tip is fairly large -- and the circles are about the same size as the tip. In "scumbling," which is a pretty common technique, the circles are usually comparatively larger but still somewhat smaller than what you've shown.

Hi Ernest, like in all tecniques "created" by artists the freedom of interpretation of a technique belongs to the respective artist.
See my favorite portrait of Virginia Tupper and you will get the idea.
Femme

Watch carefully how large and unequal the circles become in the background and on the dress and head scarf.
So you have the technique = interwined circles and then you have styles of individual artists, Sacha, Virginia Tupper, Maggie Toole.

This is not in color and I'm not sure it would classify as circularism but I did almost all of this lady's skin texture in tiny circles. And as your links mention it seems to capture her skin texture well.
http://www.drawspace.com/forums/index.php?...si&img=7962
Bobby

Elena, that Virginia Tupper is a beautiful drawing, but only parts of it are rendered using what I really would call "circulism." Compare to Brenda's avocados, which are "squirkled":



In any case, it's all good. Whatever you call it, coloring in little circles is definitely a great technique. My tomato was done with little circles at a level I would call "scumbling:"

Bobby, it is known by now that the best technique for skin tone is the circulism(graphite). What i find interesting talking of this technique is the degree the size or colors of circles become obvious. I guess it's up to the artists to choose the conspicuous or inconspicuous manner of shading in circles.

Ernest,I found this fun and fast way of shading and I took it to my own freestyle in this butterfly.

Now, I think that I should have been more discreet on the flowers but only by experimenting we discover.

My work in circulism has been in a realistic technique, leaving little white space on the paper. I use circulism for skin surfaces mostly, but its a slow, painstaking job, not for the impatient. I use it in graphite and coloured pencil with excellent results. Results depend on the paper surface that you use too. A rougher paper will not give you the same smooth even layer that a smooth surface will.

Whether circulism or any other technique, you can use the principle of optical blending to create colour and shading by letting each layer peek through as well as the white of the paper to indicate the level of shading.

There is no right or wrong way with leaving open space, larger circles or smaller circles for tighter coverage. It all depends on what the individual wants to achieve as an end result. I don't think I would complete a whole piece with the rougher circulism technique. I think some differences in texture would make the image more interesting.

I don't think it really matters too much what you call it but the basic idea of the circular method and the blending to create realistic textures and layers is one that I use. I think that a number of artists use the same basic method and quite a few names are used for such similar use of a pencil.

I love that portrait Bobby - what a wonderful face!

Almost all my backgrounds are done with little circles. You can tell when I get tired. They become more open. I just blend lots of colors that I use in the subject into the background color. I think it was Wendy Prior who did a WIP one time. I have used it ever since. Even a lot of my subject ends up circles. Just easier for me than little lines. Seems to blend better for me.

THis is a fun photo i am working from and this is the first time when I try circulism on people faces. It took me around 2 hours but I can tell is a great way when i will learn to do it properly to shade your portrait.What do you guys think?

Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

For the paint on hands i am thinking of some oil pastels.

This will be a great portrait .. You are certainly braver than I am or you have stronger hands..the contrast of the paint on her hands will be perfect .. It just screams color !!

Thanks, Carol. I have no problem and find it much more fun than any other boring shading technique like hatching.And i must say I have arthritis and my hands many years ago stopped feeling delicate things like a sewing needle for instance.By this i mean I am in an advanced stage.Maybe you are too tense when you apply the pencil strokes/circles.There are actually two ways to draw a circle: clockwise and counter clockwise. I do it counter clockwise.It come to me natural and effortless.

You may have meant to straighten the face slightly but in case you didn't; you can lay a ruler or straight edge across the eyes of your source photo and your drawing, then see if they are the same angle. If you have four rulers you can make a cross on both the photo and your presketch, and then check to see if your crosses are tillted at the same angle. Our eyes, brains, sometimes tend to "straighten" things like faces.

Thanks Bobby.I wasn't aiming at likeness or position reproduction since this is just a face from the internet and not a portrait of someone i know.I just used the idea of this picture for the paint effect.But the technique of circulism is great for skin texture.
here is the finished piece.

Cool picture!

Looking good Elena.........I think that the only thing that you need to practice is getting the gradation of shading smoother......the last thing to come together, I think, when you are playing with new methods. But I agree with you the circulism comes natural...........sometimes I can get lost in it ............almost hypnotic if you know what I mean.

Love that explosion of colour in contrast to the graphite, too.

This is a pearl of wisdom which Bobby has dispensed, here, and I think it would be a shame for other members to miss it or sail past it without recognising it as such.

As he says, it is a very common issue that we tend to straighten things out, so this is something worth looking for, and guarding against, as it tends to rob images of much of their dynamism and life.

I am currently reading "Drawn to Life" by Walt Stanchfield (I'll discuss it in more detail in the "what are you reading" thread) and he makes this point again and again - to his audience of professional animators!

Dave

Thanks for drawing attention to Bobby's comment. I felt that a very useful tip had been 'brushed under the carpet', and not given the acknowledgement it deserved.