This was the first rough sketch I did to get an outline and a feel for the drawing shapes before I actually took steps to shade them in. I used the vine charcoal to just create the forms of the figures that I wanted to be drawing, and tried to pay attention to precision and the proportions. It was important to me to get the sizes and outlines of the figures right before filling them in, as that would be the structure and basic form of my drawing. I did not spend too much time focusing on sizing, but did make sure to have a general outline of what I wanted it to look like in the end.
This image shows my first experimentation and idea of what I wanted to do for my still life. I tried to switch things up and swap out the mug for a taller glass, but realized I liked the coffee mug better, as it added more depth to the piece. Also shown is my first shading attempt, mainly with the vine charcoal, although I did use the compressed charcoal to outline the figures. I did not do detailed shading or blending, this helped give me a feel for the materials. I was not very satisfied with the result, particularly the book as I had trouble sketching it accurately, so I put more effort into that in my next drawing.
I really liked how the mug looked in this sketch, but the shading and blending, particularly on the water pitcher were still off. I took this photo at a stage where I filled in my drawing with more detail, and tried to capture the areas of shadows and where the light hit the objects. With this, I decided that I liked the configuration as well, and how the pitcher was stationed slightly behind the book, with each object getting slightly closer to the viewer. I developed a better use of shading and blending, as well as using contrast to display the depth of the objects.
For my last sketch, the most important thing to me was working on the blending to create smooth, cohesive shades which accurately depicted the still life in front of me. I was proud of the outcome of this piece, as I worked very hard and experimented with both types of charcoal in order to create a more well-rounded image. The blending improved as I used vine and compressed charcoal together for the shadows and highlights. I used the skills which I gained from creating my other sketches and applied them to this last draft to ensure I was prepared to move on and complete the final drawing.
|