Hi everybody,
THERE IS ALWAYS MORE THAN ONE HOMEWORK EXERCISE, SO BE SURE TO READ ALL THE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS. Make certain and do all the homework exercises for week 1 and week 2 this week.
If you didn't do so last week, please bring $3.00 class this week or next week to pay for one last piece of equipment I am having made for everyone. I will give it to you in class and we will begin working with it then.
If you are in my WEDNESDAY morning class, you do NOT have to do the classwork exercises below, only the HOMEWORK exercises. Also, if you have any questions, please send me a message or an email. I am here to help.
Carter-
Current:
Week 4 files:
- CLASSWORK
- LINK intro exercise (.doc format)
- LINK intro exercise (.pdf format)
- LINK exercise 1 (.doc format)
- LINK exercise 1 (.pdf format)
- LINK exercise 2 (.doc format)
- LINK exercise 2 (.pdf format)
- LINK exercise 3 (.doc format)
- LINK exercise 3 (.pdf format)
- HOMEWORK
- Execise 1: Do ALL the following steps.
- Clear a table surface, preferably a table that you can walk most of the way around, although this is not required. It is also better if the table-top is as plain as possible without a lot of details and curves. When doing these drawing exercises, please do NOT or at least try not to concentrate on the table itself, but rather only what is ON the table;
- Place a cup on a saucer OR bowl on a plate on the table—make certain these are as plain as possible without many details or curves or designs on them. We are not concerned with detail in these exercises, but shape and form, as well as light and dark. Complicated objects with lots of decorations make this too difficult;
- Place a lamp nearby shining on the surface of the table with your cup and saucer; a desk lamp is best because it gives good directional light, but any type of light is sufficient;
- To begin with, just sit or stand looking at the cup and saucer (or bowl and plate).
Before you start drawing notice how the light falls on them. Some sides and edges will be brighter than others. Notice the shadows that fall onto the table top and how the shading on the side the cup gradually goes from light to dark.
Look for the darkest area and the lightest area. If you squint your eyes you will see these areas with more contrast.
Now notice the shape of the cup and saucer. If you gradually move yourself lower or higher, notice how the curves along the top edge of the cup changes: the opening on the top of the cup if you're high up looking down looks like a circle, but if you're lower down, sitting down for example, the opening at the top of the cup appears to be more of an oval.
Noticing all of these things is important to drawing. It is the first step to learning how to draw well what you see.
- Now, take your sketchbook and a 2H pencil and draw a frame similar to size and shape of what we have done in class and for homework.
- Get a stopwatch or an alarm clock and set it for 5 minutes;
- Switch to a 2B pencil, and giving yourself only until the alarm goes off, quickly sketch the cup on the saucer. Keep in mind it doesn't have to be perfect. This is only a very quick sketch. It is important that you draw the whole thing, NOT just part even if it is ugly or doesn't look at all the way you want it to.
- When you're done, look at what you've done. If you don't like it, don't worry, most people won't. In the bottom right corner, write the number "1" and then just turn the page. Here, draw another frame like the first one.
- This time, set the alarm for only 2 minutes.
- For the next two minutes you are NOT going to draw anything at all. During this time, you will only stare at your subject, the cup and saucer. Try to notice as many details as you can of the SHAPE. If the cup has a picture on it, pretend like it isn't there. We are only concerned about the shape of the different parts of the cup. Notice also light and dark areas and the shades in between.
- When the alarm goes off, set it for another 2 minutes. Then, take your paper and pencil, close your eyes, and draw the cup and saucer. Draw quickly, you only have 2 minutes and you don't want to forget or run out of time before you are able to draw everything you can recall!
- Once again, look at your quick sketch. Compare to the first one. Chances are, it doesn't look much like a cup, but only a bunch of squiggly lines. That's perfectly all right. In fact, that's what we're after. Don't worry about it. Let go and allow it to be what it is, a drawing that you did very quickly with your eyes closed.
- Now, write a number "2" in the bottom right corner, turn the page, and draw another frame. Repeat this 2 more times on the following 2 pages for a total of 3 more pages each with a frame drawn on it.
- Set your alarm for 30 minutes.
- In the next 30 minutes, you are going to do three quick sketches, each approximately 10 minutes. After you do the first one, move to a new position to the other side of the cup, or stand or sit down somehow differently from your first position. Change your position again for the third drawing so that you'll be sketching the same cup, but from 3 different points-of-view. Instead of moving yourself, you may also rotate the cup, but for at least one of the sketches, you should move yourself higher or lower in reference to the cup. Number these sketches "3, 4, and 5".
- For the final (6th) sketch in this exercise, you'll pick a comfortable position and spend 20 minutes drawing the cup. Number this drawing with "6" as the others when you're finished.
- When you're complete, you will have done six sketches in about an hour. Not Bad!
- Execise 2:
- Set your alarm for 1 hour.
- Pick a simple composition of objects, a pitcher and a glass, a bowl with fruit, 2 or three closed books in a mess on a table, or some such thing. I mention these objects because their shapes are simple, so if you don't choose these kinds of objects, make certain they have relatively simple shapes. Try to choose things that don't have pictures or text on them as they will distract you from the shapes of the objects.
- You will spend more time on this drawing, so it should look more finished than the ones from the previous exercise.
- Execise 3:
- Looking at that last exercise in your sketchbook, draw this in Adobe Illustrator. The idea here is not just to recreate the shape, but to make it as similar to your drawing in your sketchbook as possible. Vary the shade of your strokes and thickness where necessary.
