Basic 101: Class 7 - EXAM/TEST

[arnoud3272]

Maggie -
Excellent job .
A better understanding of folds is the subject of class 16. Drawing or painting folds is essentially a matter of light and shade, So my advice is to refresh your insight in the "shading formula", for instance well summarized here. Or see this very extensive tutorial.
Keep up the good work .

[Maggie_M]

Thanks Arnoud.

The extensive tutorial is very good. It is very thorough and informative.

I'm moving on to fabric folds.

[muvs32]

Hello Around, here is what I have done so far. I need more practice with shading, especially fabric I will be checking out the tutorials you referenced in the previous post. Thanks for your time.

[arnoud3272]

Mark -
Very nice drawing .
A pity that the image is so small, it is not easy to appreciate it.
As to the forms, the proportion is a bit off as you can see if you put reference and drawing side by side. In particular the spout. A teapot won't complain, but except in caricature, changing one's nose like that would not be appreciated .
Your shading skills have progressed very well . Shading is not the main subject of this class, only one remark about visible outlines: outlines are symbols, they show what we know, we can't see outlines, it is an interpretation, or as some people say, we feel them. Drawing outlines is fine when used alone - that is mostly the domain of documentary, technical diagrams, - or combined with a suggestion of shading, either linear (hatching) of tonal, but only accents. If you go for realism, with a complete representation of light and dark, adding outlines (= symbols) means a lack of unity. In some places, e.g. the bottom rim of the pot, what looks like an outline is the narrow dark shadow caused by the form of the seam. But I have indicated a few places where there should not be a darker line between the shadow on the background and the side of the pot:



You have without doubt the expected level for this class .

[muvs32]

Thanks for the C&C Arnoud. I have picked up some bad habits early on, like thinking that comic book artist were using paper the size of the finished product. I was 9-10 and did not know better and began drawing on a small scale. My tea pot and apple is roughly 8x8 but I'm fairly certain that I can do a better job, even with my limited knowledge of shading technique by drawing in large scale. As for the hard edges and outlines, well, that probably comes for the inked comic's artwork, everything had an outline

Over-all I am fairly satisfied with my tea pot, though the nose is rather one dimensional...but I intend to do another rendition, with your C&C and my bad habits kept in mind to see if I can improve. Thanks again for your help and praise Arnoud. My skill set is broadening and I'm enjoying the challenges here as well. Great program and site...huzzah for WC!

[arnoud3272]

Originally Posted by muvs32

.... As for the hard edges and outlines, well, that probably comes for the inked comic's artwork, everything had an outline

... though the nose is rather one dimensional...

Mark -
Hard outlines "flatten" the enclosed plane indeed. That is OK if there is no intention to "sculpt" the form, as for instance in comics. You can find other examples, from the "fine" arts, in several paintings by Picasso, with very pronounced outlines, but flat color fields inside the outlines.

[Marie-réunion]

Hi arnoud, here is my attempt and thanks for looking at this.

[arnoud3272]

Marie-Noelle -
You have a good handle on the forms .
A few hints for improvement:
-- almost all people need careful measuring to put vertical and horizontal sizes in the correct proportion;
-- I lightened the lower reference to show it better. But you can see at the right how you can "push the darks" a lot before coming near the values of the reference;
-- adding the few highlights would render the picture a lot more interesting;



-- the "washed out" impression could be a scanner artifact, but when I tried to correct it (see here for a good tutorial on it), the strong outlining became very apparent:



It is a choice of style, but aim for a unity of style: either defined outlines with accents of shading suggesting the forms, or thorough "sculpting" the forms with careful shading. But outlines have no room in the latter case, on the contrary they tend to flatten the form again.

[LittleBear]

I'm looking forward to this class, putting it all together. I really like Marie's go at rendering the speckles on the pot, I can see that not many people have attempted them. Are there any tips for those speckles, Arnoud? I'd like to try them myself in addition to the basic shapes. But I'm just not sure how to go about them...

Alex

[arnoud3272]

Alex -

Are there any tips for those speckles?

My tool would be an eraser, such as a "click eraser" or a small piece cut in a chisel edge or a kneaded eraser formed in a cone. I would not advice to try and draw "negatively" around them. It is extremely difficult to make them look believable in that way. In any case, try it out on a scrap of paper (the same paper and pencils you use for the real thing).

[LittleBear]

Thank you for the advice, Arnoud. I will give it a go.

Here's my work so far. Any errors in shape (or anything else) before I continue?

Alex

[arnoud3272]

Alex-
You're off to a good start .

[LittleBear]

Another in-progress shot, the first layers of value.
I tried to simulate the stipples on the pot by indenting the paper and then applying graphite over that. It's not as visible as I'd hoped though, so I think I'll end up going back in with the eraser for more definition.
Thanks for looking.
Alex

Edit: Forgot to attach the picture, duh.

[arnoud3272]

Looks good, Alex

[LittleBear]

Thanks Arnoud,

Here's my latest (and maybe final) update. I'm not really satisfied with it, but the paper has started getting saturated and the whole thing is taking on an overworked quality, in my opinion.

With that said, I'm ready for my critique, Teacher .

Alex