HOME | DD

Description
Week 3:
Assignment 2-

Create a still-life arrangement using a dozen eggs as your subject matter. These can be in a bowl, placed randomly on your surface plane, still in the carton, and so forth. Consider the surface that your subject is on, and include cast shadows as part of your composition.

* Start this project by creating a value scale using various vine charcoal, compressed charcoal sticks, and charcoal pencils. This should run along one side of your composition as in the example.
* Again, take some time to set up your light source so that your shadows are extreme.
* Once you are satisfied with the lighting, take a moment to observe your setup from your drawing position, note your eye level, and work to maintain it throughout the drawing process.
* Use your vine charcoal to quickly sketch in your scene lightly and loosely in the first three to five minutes of the drawing process.
* Step back and assess proportions and perspective using the sighting methods discussed in Week 2.
* Then, start to block in the darkest tone first, using charcoal sticks to render an image of the scene in front of you.
* Consider that the entire picture plane should be in tone with the exception of the brightest highlights, or the areas closest to the light source.
* Gradually, move tone out of the darkest areas by slowly releasing pressure on your drawing tool(s).
* Begin blending and creating gradual transitions using one or all of your blending tools, such as a chamois cloth, plastic eraser, or blending stump.
* Continue to refine and add detail to your drawing. As you do this, continuously assess the consistency of your light source—textures should be rendered based on a consistent light source, just as objects are. Consider that only the areas of the scene that are closest to the light source will be whitest (where the white of the paper shows through) and the areas that are blocked from or farthest away from the light source will be darkest or black.

A/N- Alright, so this project I really enjoyed. I'm more familiar with working on realism with charcoal, it is the medium I started my formal learning with. I had the strong urge to work in negative space rather than sketch everything in charcoal, but fought it and went through the daunting task. I started by setting my eggs up on a cardboard box, which I set on a stool that was just below my eye level. I placed in the eggs inside two wine glasses, on the box itself, and in the center of a roll of lavender painter's tape. Using the extra soft vine I purchased, I proceed to gesture draw in my set up, then went on to sighting and any making cleaner lines using that method. After words I blocked in my dark shadows that were in the larger areas, and used my medium vine for the large surface space the items were set on. I then proceed to shade with a combination of my compressed charcoal and soft charcoal cover all area's . I smudge them together and blended. I then went back in with my kneaded eraser and lifted up the charcoal for the highlights. I used my mars eraser for the more white areas. I then went back in with my hard vine and outline places on the wine glass and bottom edges of my eggs. I also used my needed eraser as a pencil (I kneaded it into a fine tip) to create highlighted lines as well. One more go over with my smudge stick and I was done. It definitely turned out a lot better than I expected.

Description
Week 3:
Assignment 2-

Create a still-life arrangement using a dozen eggs as your subject matter. These can be in a bowl, placed randomly on your surface plane, still in the carton, and so forth. Consider the surface that your subject is on, and include cast shadows as part of your composition.

* Start this project by creating a value scale using various vine charcoal, compressed charcoal sticks, and charcoal pencils. This should run along one side of your composition as in the example.
* Again, take some time to set up your light source so that your shadows are extreme.
* Once you are satisfied with the lighting, take a moment to observe your setup from your drawing position, note your eye level, and work to maintain it throughout the drawing process.
* Use your vine charcoal to quickly sketch in your scene lightly and loosely in the first three to five minutes of the drawing process.
* Step back and assess proportions and perspective using the sighting methods discussed in Week 2.
* Then, start to block in the darkest tone first, using charcoal sticks to render an image of the scene in front of you.
* Consider that the entire picture plane should be in tone with the exception of the brightest highlights, or the areas closest to the light source.
* Gradually, move tone out of the darkest areas by slowly releasing pressure on your drawing tool(s).
* Begin blending and creating gradual transitions using one or all of your blending tools, such as a chamois cloth, plastic eraser, or blending stump.
* Continue to refine and add detail to your drawing. As you do this, continuously assess the consistency of your light source—textures should be rendered based on a consistent light source, just as objects are. Consider that only the areas of the scene that are closest to the light source will be whitest (where the white of the paper shows through) and the areas that are blocked from or farthest away from the light source will be darkest or black.

A/N- Alright, so this project I really enjoyed. I'm more familiar with working on realism with charcoal, it is the medium I started my formal learning with. I had the strong urge to work in negative space rather than sketch everything in charcoal, but fought it and went through the daunting task. I started by setting my eggs up on a cardboard box, which I set on a stool that was just below my eye level. I placed in the eggs inside two wine glasses, on the box itself, and in the center of a roll of lavender painter's tape. Using the extra soft vine I purchased, I proceed to gesture draw in my set up, then went on to sighting and any making cleaner lines using that method. After words I blocked in my dark shadows that were in the larger areas, and used my medium vine for the large surface space the items were set on. I then proceed to shade with a combination of my compressed charcoal and soft charcoal cover all area's . I smudge them together and blended. I then went back in with my kneaded eraser and lifted up the charcoal for the highlights. I used my mars eraser for the more white areas. I then went back in with my hard vine and outline places on the wine glass and bottom edges of my eggs. I also used my needed eraser as a pencil (I kneaded it into a fine tip) to create highlighted lines as well. One more go over with my smudge stick and I was done. It definitely turned out a lot better than I expected.