2-8-15

Observational Drawing

Week 2: Assignment 3 Discussion

Assignment 3: Drawing Exercise—Basic Still Life

By Friday, January 30, 2015, create a still life made up of at least three to five overlapping objects, such as a cylinder, a sphere, a cube, and a cone. Make sure the composition is a side-view, positioned on a straight baseline. The objects should be opaque and smooth objects as opposed to glass or reflective metal surfaces, and preferably of white or light, solid color. Do not select objects that have text, graphics, or a great deal of detail or texture on them.

Determine a composition that will include the table or surface plane of your arrangement. Light your scene using a spotlight or a lamp with the shade removed. Position yourself so that your eye-level is slightly above the tallest object. Place your paper on a drawing board or an easel set to one side of you so that you are making minimal head movements to view your scene. Use graphite pencils 2B, 4B, and 6B on your Strathmore drawing paper.

• Relax and take a minute to observe your setup from your drawing position.
• Quickly sketch in your objects, table or surface plane, and cast shadows as basic geometric shapes using a light pencil, 2B. Try to record the entire scene using a quick gestural sketch in the first three to five minutes of the drawing process.
• Keep your eyes on your subject at least 90% of the time and avoid looking down at your paper for prolonged periods.
• Once you've recorded your scene, step back, assess the proportions and perspective, and make any necessary adjustments.
• Use the pencil sighting method explored in W2: Assignment 2 to check for accuracy.
• Draw in light and shadows, or the values that you see as basic shapes using line or broad, blocked-in shapes of tone using shading. 
• Concentrate on refining the perspective so that it is correct and all objects are consistently drawn from the same point of view.
• Gradually, add more detail and refine your drawing to make the objects more precise in form and proportion.
• Switch from your 2B pencil to the softer 4B and 6B, and notice the difference in effects. Switch back and forth between the pencils to match the type of line you want to create.
• When you are finished, you're encouraged to photograph your arrangement to include with your drawing.

My Work:

I struggled with this assignment from the very start. I've never been very good at drawing anything with more then a flat plane and my imagination. Once you introduce that third dimension and shadows, I'm clueless. But, nevertheless, I tried my hardest. I drew this one four times and I had to re-draw it again and again, because I felt it wasn't good enough. My mother is an artist and has already attended school so I asked her if she could give me tips or tricks and she told me to take a non flash picture of my setting that I was to draw and then put it on the computer and flip it upside down. She said that this would force my eyes to see the shapes of everything and not the items themselves. So, I tried it her way and this was my result. Even though it isn't perfect, I would have to say this one is the best out of all of the ones I did complete. I plan to keep practicing, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. I did include a picture of what I was drawing, but only because I think it might help in getting feedback from the instructor if she could see where I went wrong.

Instructor Feedback: 

Hi Bridgette,

Thank you for posting your basic still life! I've recorded a VoiceThread video ( under the introductory prompt on this page) for you.
https://voicethread.com/share/6500772/ The top video is the lecture. The bottom video contains your feedback. You are fifteenth on this recording. Please feel free to post questions or comments if needed. Thank you,

Pat