Still Life Observational Drawing Focus: Contour Drawing Value Shading

What is a still life? Still life- A still life is an arrangement of inanimate objects (usually objects that are not alive) - such as fruit, pottery, and flowers. What is the purpose of drawing still lifes? The artist has a chance to arrange these objects (unlike a landscape) in order to work out the composition of their artwork. In addition, this is a great way to practice and develop observational drawing techniques.

There are many different techniques and media you can use to create a still life…

STILL LIFE PAINTING

CHARCOAL STILL LIFE

BLIND CONTOUR DRAWING

VALUE STILL LIFE

CONTOUR DRAWING

VALUES- READING A VALUE PENCIL H-stands for hardness (light) B-stands for blackness (dark) HB or #2 pencil is a middle grey -10 STEP SCALE -Even blended transitions degrees of lightness and darkness

SHADING- using a value pencil to add depth and dimension

TIPS BEFORE BEGINNING A STILL LIFE: 1.Choosing the right location: a light source is the key to a strong compositional drawing. Find a place that shows a range of values. Light is very important in a still life, this will give life and impact to your work. 2.View your arrangement through an empty slide frame to assess the composition and consider its placement on the paper. This will help you make right compositional decisions and help to break down the objects so you won’t become overwhelmed. 3.Consider compositional elements, avoiding bland central positioning and symmetry. Look for those interesting and unique view points. Make your drawing stand out and try something with a unique perspective to challenge your skills.

LIGHT SOURCES MUTIPLE ABOVE LEFT BEHIND

LOOKING FOR BASIC SHAPES

STARTING YOUR DRAWING LIGHTLY sketch out OR mark the basic shapes of objects using a light pencil (ex: 4H). Work out the kinks now… get the perspective, composition and proportions right… GAUGE PORPORTIONS

4. After observing,working out your shapes and proportions then start concentrating to break down what each single object looks like. SLOWLY with your eyes observe all outlines, raised, and recessed areas. Begin drawing the contours of each object as you observing. (Start at a SINGLE point and work you way around the object—should be one continuous line) 5. Then add VALUE. Make sure you achieve a full range of value. Beginners tend to draw too lightly and end up with a washed-out looking drawing. See a value scale if you need reference. Add value slowly - layering to build up deep tones. DO NOT define edges with a single line, define them with shifts in value by overlapping the lines to build tones/contrast. This will take some planning. -YOU MAY USE ANY LINE MARK MAKING TECHIQUE WE PRACTICED IN CLASS TO CREATE YOUR VALUE IN YOUR CONTOUR DRAWING.

ELEMENTS OF SHADING Cast Shadow -where no light hits the object (darkest value) Core Shadow -where the object begins to recede light (dark grey value) Half-tone -neither light nor dark (value between the shadow edge and highlight) Reflected Light-the rim of light reflected from a surrounding surface back on the edge of the form (slightly lighter than halftone but not as light as the highlight) Highlight-the brightest value where the light source is the strongest

EXAMPLE S