underdrawing

English

Etymology

From under- +‎ drawing.

Pronunciation

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Noun

underdrawing (plural underdrawings)

1. (art) A sketch done on the ground of a work of art before paint, pastel, ink, or other more permanent medium is applied.
   • 2007, Sonia O'Connor, Mary Brooks, X-Radiography of Textiles, Dress and Related Objects, page 153:

     Depending on the medium used, underdrawing in embroidery and other decorative techniques may be revealed by radiography where it is relatively radio-absorbent in comparison to other materials used either in the original artefact or in later mounting and conservation methods.

   • 2013, Chip Sullivan, Drawing the Landscape, pages 3-35:

     When subjected to printing or photocopying, the blue underdrawing will disappear, leaving only the ink lines.

   • 2018, Meinhard Michael, Hieronymus Bosch ́s The Garden Of Earthly Delights, page 161:

     The 'Aegyptiaca' would thus have removed herself from the embrace in the underdrawing and have turned towards the woman who is just awakening from her dream.

2. (fashion design) An image of a figure that is slid under the page on which a designer draws a garment, so that the result conforms to the figure's proportions.
   • 2016, Irina V Ivanova, Haute Couture Fashion Illustration Resource Book, page 11:

     You can use a croquis as an underdrawing for fashion drawing

   • 2022, Linda Tain, Portfolio Presentation for Fashion Designers, page 75:

     Used as a base or underdrawing, it can be slipped under a page in the sketchbook and worked off of from there.

   • 2022, Sandra Keiser, Deborah Vandermar, Myrna B. Garner, Beyond Design: The Synergy of Apparel Product Development:

     To ensure that their focus is on the design of the garment, not the proportions of the figure, they may rely on an underdrawing or lay figure—a well-proportioned pose that can be slid under a page and used as a template to help control proportions and the location of garment details.

3. An underdrawn cover or lining of the underside of a floor or roof with plasterwork, boarding, or similar.
   • 1876, Great Britain. HM Factory Inspectorate, Factories and Workshops, page 37:

     He has the whole of the room underdrawn, with the exception of two bays at one end; he admits plenty of air by the windows in the roof into the triangular shaped space formed by the roof and the underdrawing; it is here deprived of its moisture, and passes into the spinning room, where the underdrawing stops short of the length of the room.

   • 1950 September, “Fish Vans for British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 583:

     Tongued and grooved boards ⅝ in. thick form the underdrawing for the roof.

   • 2002, Phil Parnham, Chris Rispin, Residential Property Appraisal, page 226:

     The amount of uncomfortable drafts and heat loss may increase with the removal of the underdrawing.