/ˈblɒk ɪn/

Block-in

noun (also verb) · drawing pedagogy

Part of the drawing glossary behind the 82 composition overlays every visual artist should know and use.

What it is

A block-in plots a few major points on the subject (top, bottom, widest left, widest right) and connects them with straight lines to produce a polygonal outline that contains the entire subject. Curves and details come only after the block-in is verified. Straight lines are measurable in a way that curves are not — the block-in converts the unmeasurable "is this curve correct" into the measurable "is this polygon correct."

How it works

In the Bargue tradition: plot 6–8 points by sight measurement, connect them with straight lines, verify the polygon's vertices and angles by re-measuring, then begin drawing curves only inside the verified polygon. In atelier teaching, an instructor will often refuse to look at a curve drawing until the block-in beneath it is signed off — the curve is wasted effort if the block-in is wrong.