Still Life Drawing- A

  The steps to drawing still life are as follows:

1) Set a tonal ground by going over your paper with charcoal and blending it.

2) Render your objects by loosely drawing the basic shape with a dull pencil.

3) Contour the specific shape of your object by scanning the outline and drawing what you see (Tip: always be looking at your object when contouring).

4) When deciding where to shade, find the lightest and darkest value first, then add all the middle values.

5) If shading an object with a specific curvature, shade in the direction of the curves to add realism.

In class we learned about the various computational devises to use to make your drawing more interesting, such as the two triangular positions, cropping and framing.

I used framing for my still life, because I like it when the objects are close together. Also, it adds a 3D affect to my pear because it is over lapping the roller thing.

Before we rendered our objects, we covered the entire page with a light coat of charcoal to set a tonal ground. After rendering my objects, realized I put a little too much pressure on my initial background toning, so I had to erase a little bit around my objects to have a clear contrast between the background and the actual objects.

As for the shading, I found it most difficult to shade to pear because it was hard to see some of the light reflections on such a dull object. The object I'm most proud of is the roller thing because the pure black values add a lot to the drawing. The bit of advice that helped me the most was: "when you're having trouble with shading, start with the lightest and darkest areas, and go on from there". 

Artwork: The student used three complex objects and followed each of the four steps of completing the drawing with a good deal of success. Two things separating this drawing from a A+ is the transition from the object and background in light values (the objects at the top of the drawing looks to be 'glowing'), and the foreshortening of the shell and the brayer were not fully realized. Further erasing of the background just beyond the objects to reflect the light values more evenly would reduce the look of 'glowing' objects. The shell and brayer portions closer to the bottom of the drawing would need to be drawn larger to project the illusion of a depth of field within the drawing.

Blog post: All parts of the descriptions and explanations are provided, although 'computational devises' should be 'compositional devices' and the rule-of-thirds was not included in the description. 

  

Still Life Drawing - B+

During the 'Still Life Drawing' phase of our learning in Art Foundations, we went through multiple variations of drawing still life objects. In the end of our unit, we completed drawing three still life objects and my end product can be seen above.

The first step of the process leading to this product was picking three objects. After picking my three objects, I positioned them around the table until I had a clear line of sight of what I wanted to draw. I decided to use the cropping and line of thirds methods in order to create my piece in order to make my subjects more prominent and stand out. The cropping method is where you position your object so that it is cut out from the picture, giving the artwork a form of perspective. The line of thirds method is where you have a three by three square grid and  you align your objects/subjects along the lie and points created by this grid. This method is great at giving your subject the most prominent look. After positioning, I set the tonal ground of the drawing by  shading the paper with vine charcoal. I then rendered my objects, creating the general shapes and form of my subjects. After that I contoured my object, I did this using a pencil (2B and HB) and vine charcoal and outlined the shapes of my subjects and their shadows. My light and dark values were then added, placed accordingly to what I saw in the objects. For this value placing process, I used my pencil, vine charcoal, blending stick and white chalk to add areas of pure black, pure white or in between. You can see in my drawing how I placed pure white values for the reflections in the light bulb and how I used pure black values for the lid of my water bottle. Finally, I finished off my piece with surface contour shading in order to blend values and make outlines more visible.

All in all, I am proud of my final work and experiencing the journey of making it. There were challenges and successes that I encountered along this journey. One of these challenges was drawing my banana and having it look 3D. One of my successes was placing correct white values along the rim of my water bottle in order to make it 'pop' and look realistic. Placing values is my weakness but I feel that this product proved how much I improved on doing that. I enjoyed creating this artwork and proud of what I have accomplished.

Artwork: The student had chosen more complex objects to draw and experimented with two different compositional devices (rule-of-thirds and cropping) with some success. The banana and water bottle were following the rule-of-thirds and the water bottle follows the cropping compositional device. The student also experimented with foreshortening with the banana with some amount of success. The front of the banana should be larger in size as it is closer to the viewer and some further refinement in following the contour shading with the water bottle and banana would move this drawing into exceeding expectations.

Blog post: All steps to creating the drawing is included with the successes and challenges to the project. The student misuses the term 'rule-of-thirds' as 'line of thirds' and would need to revise this.   

Still Life Drawing- B

In this drawing I used several new techniques, for example I used the rule of thirds to position my items. To add value to my drawing I used many different types of pencils, such as, 2 H, 4 B, and 5B, I also used charcoal to create an absolute black and I used a white chalk to add more of a contrast between the lights and darks. One of the challenges I faced while creating this piece was ignoring my instinct to look down at my paper and draw what I thought the object should look like rather than just looking at the object the whole time I'm drawing.

Artwork: The drawing is meeting the expectations in following the four steps in rendering, follow the contour, light/dark placement, surface contour shading. The light/dark placement and shadow placement can be further refined to move towards exceeding expectations.

Blog post: Explanation to the steps in creating the still life drawing is partially complete and can be more descriptive. A description of rendering, follow the contour, and surface contour shading as terms and techniques used in the process should be included. In addition, an explanation to the rule-of-thirds as a compositional device can be included. 

Still Life Drawing - C+

In my still life I used an apple. a pear and a pair of scissors. I chose to frame the scissors between the apple and the pair to show an image with a simple yet stylish display. It was difficult to show the framing in the image because of the large amount of shadows present.  When I began working with these items I found myself using rounded lines to implicate a variety of curves and shapes. I also used light shadowing to make the 2d image appear slightly more 3d looking. I found my struggles came most when attempting to draw the pear, the variation in the pear with the curved rounding in multiple directions. The apple had two main curves to it, up to down and left to right while the pear appeared to have three or more the left and right, up and down and the multitude of diagonals made it difficult to fully make the pear seem like a 3d shape in 2d form. The scissors had a strong light and dark tones where within millimeters it could go from nearly pure black to nearly pure white. I used the graphite stick, my pencil, vine charcoal along with white pastel to present these abrupt changes. Before I began the contour shape, I placed the key light and dark places, but as I went along I found myself finding more and more places where it was dark and light. The apple was a major part of this with the bottom being a weirder shape then the rest. I found myself struggling to fully place all of the black spots, but I believe that in the end, I completed my work to the best of my ability.

Artwork: The example of framing is not demonstrated as overlapping of the objects are meant to be used in surrounding the chosen main object. This example has all three objects lined next to each other in a row which creates a very boring layout. The rendering of the shapes (apple and scissors) can still be seen and should be erased. The pear outline is too dark as objects in real life do not have a dark outline to them.

Blog post: The image can not be enlarged to look at the drawing in detail, and the text is not properly formatted in paragraph form. Separate ideas with full stops and in paragraph form is easier to read and more organized.  

Still Life Drawing- Grade C

 The steps to drawing still life are: 

1. Set tonal ground by using charcoal and blending it before starting the objects  

2.  Sketch loosely the main shapes of the object (triangles, circles, squares) 

3. Then when you begin to shade make sure your eyes are on the object and paying attention on the lighting and how it reflects onto the objects. 

4. When you find where to shade first do the lightest and darkest values first and then add the middle values 

5.Then once you finish shading add curves to add realism.    

In class we learned about cropping, framing, sketching, and shading. i used framing for my still life by having the main object being in the center. It also adds a over lapping effect which makes it look real. Before we rendered our objects we covered the entire page with a light coat of charcoal to use as a background for our objects. But i then realized that i shaded a little more than i should have and chose to erase around the objects to show contrast.  For shading i found that it was easier for the shade of the objects, but as i went to shade for the reflection of the lights onto the object i struggled with the stuffed animal and the purse.  

Artwork: Following the contour in shading with the stuffed animal, shadows, and erasing around the objects would need further refinement. As you can see in the stem of the tomato, shading and details have yet to be completed.

Blog post: This student did not properly crop the image to the edge of the picture plane (where the edge of the drawing ends). Formatting of a consistent font and the grammar in using 'i' needs to be addressed within the writing. In addition, the student did not provide successes and challenges to the project. 

Screen shot of editing

So here is an example of my editing techniques to this picture.

To the left is the original image before it was cropped and the image to the right is the cropped image.

The first layer of editing was an exposure change to darken the middle of the picture to add more intrigue.

The second layer edit, I used a levels adjustment to remove two distracting features in the image.

This third layer edit, I added a colored pencil filter with a layer mask to show the effect in the middle of the picture to create separation.

This final edit layer, I used a channel mixer adjustment to add a yellow tint to the light values to the image.

Final Image

Mobile Device Project #1 (Framing)

For this series of pictures my intent was to capture images using the 'framing' technique. This technique surrounds the main subject with other elements of the picture to ensure the main subject is the main focus. I wanted to play around with this technique and try out some more creative and humorous solutions.

This first image is pushing the perspective of the subject (my son) through the lens of a drinking glass. A smaller version of him is framed in from the glass. I like to use the 'JUNO' filter and increase the contrast settings of this picture.

This example is again with my son at the park with the framing of the playground equipment and a low point of view to capture this picture. I also wanted to have a bit more contrast of the bright sky and the negative shapes of the equipment to surround his head. I used a boarder for this example in the filters and added an additional vignette the draw more attention to the center of the picture.

This example again was taken at the playground, but the subject was of my wife in the distance. I added a boarder to the picture to compliment the circular shape of the playground equipment and used the 'CLARENDON' filter with an addition of fade and vignette of settings to the edit to give a more subdue feel.

This is an example with my daughter in a playhouse playing 'peek a boo'. I had taken about a dozen shots to get a nice facial reaction from her. I added a boarder and vignette with a boost of saturation to the edit. I also used 'tilt shift' to blur the areas around my daughter.

This last picture is during our move and it was captured while my daughter was playing in one of the empty boxes. I used the 'GINGHAM' filter and increased the shadow and vignette to the overall edit. I wanted to also play with the point of perspective with a high point of view conflicting with the other example of my son using the low point of view.

Overall this was a more enjoyable project since one of my preferred compositional devices is the use of framing. I am with my family all the time, so I made the most of it for selecting them as the subject to the pictures. The big challenge was to capture different, interesting shots with my kids, so I focused also on point of view to help break up the similarities of the pictures. I prefer to take pictures of landscapes and architecture, but this was a nice change for me.