It's all his fault for being an artist!

Chapter 2 Sketching Exam Questions: Rehabilitation, Now You're Secure!

He quickly returned to the entrance of the art exam class.

Knock on the wooden door.

Inside the classroom, Wang Huiming was collecting the exam papers.

Art students who had just finished their sketching assignments couldn't wait to leave this cramped space and head straight for the cafeteria.

Upon seeing Cheng Wang reappear, Wang Huiming raised his eyebrows.

He was taken aback at first, then asked sternly, "Didn't you ask for leave?"

Cheng Wang grinned and said, "Thinking about how much hope Old Wang had for me, I got better."

"Forget it, just don't come crying to me in seven days complaining about not trying hard enough." Wang Huiming rolled his eyes.

"Then what are you doing here now? Aren't you going to eat lunch?"

"Let's draw a sketch."

"What? Drawing a sketch? You only realize you need milk after your child dies? The car crashed into a tree—"

Cheng Wang quickly interrupted, laughing, "Old Wang, you've worked so hard, your lunch break is precious. How will you have the energy to train our class tonight if you don't rest properly?"

Teacher Wang was taken aback again.

He looked at Cheng Wang with suspicion, without saying a word, staring at him strangely.

Cheng Wang understood his bewilderment at that moment.

After all, there are only 7 days left until the joint entrance examination.

It's only natural to feel surprised when such a dramatic turn of events suddenly occurs.

But I have things to do right now, and I certainly can't explain it to Lao Wang directly.

Cheng Wang, as if changing his mind, patted his chest and assured, "Teacher Wang, there's not much time left before the exam. Since I'm physically fine, I want to practice more. What's that saying again? 'Sharpening your spear at the last minute, even if it's not fast, it'll still shine.'"

"At least you have some ambition."

Teacher Wang patted Cheng Wang on the shoulder.

The area around the finger bones is dark; I don't know if it's from smoking or from handling charcoal pencils for a long time.

He nodded with relief: "Xiao Cheng, you actually have a lot of talent. You've worked so hard to get to this stage, so you can't let your guard down before the last breath."

"Saying you'd only attend a private, third-tier university was just an angry outburst. Your teacher believes that with your abilities, you'll definitely have a chance to get into a teacher's college if you perform well."

"No problem, I guarantee I'll get it!"

After the teacher left the art exam classroom, Cheng Wang was left alone in the room.

He sat down in front of the easel.

An unfinished half-finished sketch came into view.

Upon re-examining his high school work, Cheng Wang couldn't help but chuckle.

"Your drawing is terrible. You think you can get into art school?"

At first glance, the relationship between light and shadow is wrong.

When light and shadow fall on an object, they create a bright side, a dark side, and a gray side.

The three main planes are further subdivided into five tones: highlight, gray, terminator, reflection, and shadow.

These technical terms are used in sketching to represent the light and shadow that fall on an object.

Light and shadow are the cause of brightness and darkness, while brightness and darkness are the manifestation of light and shadow.

When creating a sketch, one needs to use the relationship between light and shadow to make a two-dimensional painting appear three-dimensional.

Like my high school assignments, the typical imbalance of light and shadow resulted in a flat image.

Simply relying on rote memorization, such as how much proportion each tone should occupy in the picture and how it should be handled, is one of the most common problems in the joint entrance examination's drawing requirements.

As for those intricate details...

Cheng Wang knew that during his high school years, his understanding of this matter was superficial, and he had no personal understanding whatsoever.

"How should I put it? After all, this is the path I came from."

He took out a new sheet of sketch paper, applied masking tape, and replaced the assignment on the drawing board.

Let me think...

Cheng Wang gently tapped the drawing board, recalling the content of the 2013 Shanghai art exam.

The sketch is of an old man wearing a hat, in three-quarter view.

The colors are classic fruit still life, black and white photographs. You can choose the colors yourself according to the requirements, which will test your color sense.

Both of these are relatively simple and fall within the scope of the examination.

As for sketching, it was heavily criticized by test takers this year.

The two young men holding books were in very strange postures, one hunched over and the other squatting like an Asian.

Unlike sketching and color, the exam duration is 3 hours.

The sketching session lasts only 15 minutes and requires candidates to draw accurate shapes and rich details while also capturing the spirit of the model.

In the past, I was one of the members who vehemently criticized the question setters for being ruthless.

I'm really worried about these two brothers; they might not be able to go to university.

Fortunately, sketching, despite being the lowest score among the three subjects, still managed to pass with a mediocre result and didn't drag the overall score down.

Looking back on his embarrassing days, Cheng Wang finds it all the more amusing.

However, if you had to choose a starting point from the three major subjects, it would undoubtedly be sketching.

After all, it's the most basic one.

The principles of sketching provide a basis for color and quick sketching.

It is also the first course that almost all art students learn.

I adjusted my posture, picked up a 14B pencil, and drew a few strokes on the sketch paper based on my sense of touch.

Okay.

He handled the wiring neatly, showing he hadn't neglected the most basic skills.

Then, there's the drawing method used in the art entrance exam.

first step……

First, use a dark-colored pen to define the shape of the image.

Teacher Wang often emphasizes in his lectures that drawing sketches is like doing civil engineering.

If the foundation is crooked, no matter how exquisite the details are, it's all just a castle in the air and can't stand up to scrutiny.

As the pen tip touched the paper, Cheng Wangchu felt a slight rustiness at first, probably because he had been working on computer graphics for a long time.

Although I received more professional art training after entering university in my previous life.

But right now, no matter how I adjust my pen-holding posture, the tactile sensation in my hand always feels extremely awkward.

Even though I know the level of the paintings required for the joint entrance examination, I should be able to paint them with ease.

But like trying to see flowers through the fog, it takes a tiny bit of opportunity to fully grasp them.

In any case, everything is difficult at the beginning, so let's draw it first!

When this thought came to mind, he felt that the inexplicable stagnation suddenly became much smoother.

For Cheng Wang himself, the process of awakening these memories may be very long.

However, in reality, not even 5 minutes have passed.

The outline of the old man's body then appeared on the paper.

This step already covers the main structures of the human face.

Interpreting it from an art student's perspective, features such as the cheekbones and jawbones can be represented by each edge of a cube, which is precisely the line of light and shadow that needs to be found.

This is the main dividing line, with black and white, light and dark shades, each defining its own area.

This is both the most difficult and the most important part.

Professional artists, along with medical students, are arguably the two professions that best understand human anatomy.

Outline determines direction, and skeleton grasps features. In the world of art, every face is nothing more than a combination of lines and planes.

In-depth structural analysis and holistic approach to finalization.

The difference in skill level among those who create the model is already evident here.

The portrait in my memory perfectly overlaps and matches the figure before me, falling into place with precision.

There are occasional details that are hard to recall.

Cheng Wang deconstructs the skeletal structure of the human face through understanding and imagination.

The image was then fed back and quickly smoothed out and filled.

It did not cause any hindrance whatsoever.

Once in the zone, the pen tip moves with increasing skill, effortlessly producing ribbon lines.

He set a standard for the darkest part of the entire image according to his personal habits.

Then he "borrowed" a napkin from the person next to him and used it to smooth out the dark areas.

The lines are harsh, yet they blur and blend together.

A roughly human-shaped form was clearly visible.

The handling of dark shadows is mature and gentle, demonstrating through tangible results what truly constitutes bright, luminous black.

Cheng Wang recalled the past while drawing.

I don't know when it started.

That long-lost awkwardness quietly faded away, and he himself was unaware of the change, only noticing that his thinking time was constantly decreasing.

Each stroke was executed with precision, as if planned in advance.

The warm winter sun condensed into a beam of light, which slanted in through the glass.

It landed on my shoulder, the warmth extending to my entire raised arm, making my hand feel even hotter.

The classroom was quiet and peaceful.

The only sound was the scratching of the pen against the paper.

From points to lines, and from lines to surfaces.

Eight words can summarize a sketch.

The technique is swift and precise, with the varying pressure and speed entirely dependent on muscle memory.

Those seemingly tiny charcoal marks gradually weave together the entire picture.

When he snaps out of his focus.

The image of the hat-wearing elder, deeply etched in my mind, has been successfully reproduced.

The old man leaps off the page, his eyes deep, his wrinkles seeming to hold stories.

Cheng Wang stood silently, examining the artwork.

A moment later.

He suddenly smiled.

The sketch was peeled off the drawing board and torn to shreds.

Throw the huge weight that was hanging over my heart into the trash can.

Only two words filled my mind—

Stable.

It's hard to say whether artistic expression is related to life experience.

But at this moment.

Cheng Wang sincerely believes that having experienced his 30-year-old self and his 18-year-old self, his understanding of sketching has undergone a great transformation.

Those students whom teachers describe as gifted are always able to capture more details beyond what the naked eye can see, even under the same learning model.

In layman's terms, it means the painting is lifelike.

This is something that cannot be compensated for by skill alone.

Back then, I was puzzled by the innate gap between myself and those "art geniuses," which made me discouraged several times.

Art is the college entrance exam; drawing is like doing practice questions.

The repetitive cycle of staying up late and waking up early, living in a humid environment with lead-based pigments.

Why do their works, which are so dull and boring, not seem rigid at all, but rather lively and interesting?

Even before his rebirth, Cheng Wang had never considered the root cause.

Looking back now, perhaps this is spirituality?

Having spent many years struggling in society, including figuring out the unreasonable demands of clients.

I am better at capturing the highlights beneath the surface of each work that need to be emphasized.

The part of development that was always missing in my youth was finally completed when I restarted my life, adding the final touch to make up the perfect work.

"Compared to working overtime and exhausting myself, being able to quietly draw alone is truly refreshing!"

Cheng Wang expressed his heartfelt emotions.

The art entrance exam has a maximum score of 150 for each subject.

According to the college entrance examination standards, my sketching score should be at least 135 or higher.

If you have this level in all three subjects, you're guaranteed admission to a 211 university, including Shanghai Textile University.

Considering that there are still 7 days left to prepare.

With self-assessment and practice, I should have a chance to score above 410 and be among the top 50 in the city's joint entrance exam.

As long as your academic scores are decent, you can choose from most comprehensive undergraduate programs that don't require additional entrance exams.

"There are still two subjects I need to practice. Let's start with something simpler, like color, and practice each subject one by one until we reach a high score."

Cheng Wang's excellent performance in sketching greatly boosted his confidence.

However, considering that other students will also be practicing color in the classroom in the afternoon.

Teacher Wang definitely wouldn't allow me to draw anything different. When he asks what I'm drawing, I can't very well tell him—

"Old Wang, what do you know? This is a real college entrance exam question!"

That would be terrible.

Art entrance exams across the country are almost always marred by scandals involving leaked and sold exam questions.

Especially during the period of 2013, many shady practices in the joint entrance examination were even more rampant than in later years.

He had heard many similar rumors about several well-known art studios in Shanghai that were independently established and not affiliated with schools.

As a beneficiary of rebirth, I have no reason to make quick money in this way.

Perhaps no one in this art exam preparation class cares about the sketch they practiced during lunch break.

But this potential danger...

Cheng Wang could hardly guarantee whether anyone would listen with interest, and this was part of the reason he tore up the sketch.

After thinking it over, I decided it would be better to take the afternoon off and go home to practice on my own.

To achieve a high score on the joint entrance exam, the remaining 7 days can be used to prepare at home, which will definitely be more effective than continuing to stay in art class.

"Alright, let's go home now before Old Wang arrives, and act first and report later!"