Inspire Create Exercise 27 - 20 Jul 2012
Today's exercise is a little more challenging, but I get the feeling some of you are eager to draw and practice your skills of observation. So here is an exercise that is really really fun. It will test you, because you have to put aside what you think a cup of coffee/tea looks like from above. Instead you have to really concentrate on forgetting what you think you see, in order to really see. You will need to look for the following things that will be really important to give your work that 'real' look.
I think that sometimes we rush too much, so I'll break this exercise into 2 parts for you to get the maximum benefit from it.
Part 1
1. Grab a piece of paper and a pen.
Today's exercise is a little more challenging, but I get the feeling some of you are eager to draw and practice your skills of observation. So here is an exercise that is really really fun. It will test you, because you have to put aside what you think a cup of coffee/tea looks like from above. Instead you have to really concentrate on forgetting what you think you see, in order to really see. You will need to look for the following things that will be really important to give your work that 'real' look.
I think that sometimes we rush too much, so I'll break this exercise into 2 parts for you to get the maximum benefit from it.
Part 1
1. Grab a piece of paper and a pen.
2. Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee or a cold drink if you prefer.
3. Place your drink on the floor.
4. Observe it from directly above.
5. Take a digital photo of it, so that you can also see it through the camera lens, not sure why this helps, but it does.
6. Write down all your observations. Where is the light reflecting? Does the liquid all look the same colour or are their variations, what are they, where are they. Around the edge of the liquid, notice whether it's lighter there. Just above the liquid in the outer rim, what do you see, lighter or darker? Where are the 'lines'...you will need to make those marks later, so it's good to observe. In my picture, given as reference, you can see there are up to 5 circles. The saucer, the outer rim of the cup (with shadow grounded in).. the inner rim of the cup. The outer rim of liquid and just inside of that is a bit of a circular creamy white reflection.
7. Notice colour, and variations in colour, even if what you are using is white, there will be variations.
8. Look for the shadows, they will become very important in bringing your drawing or painting to life.
9. Notice if there are any bubbles or sweat beads on the surface or liquid splased up the sides and whether there is any reflection there also.
Write down everything you see (remember to take a photo of it and study that also) then sleep on it. Over night, you are letting what you've learned about the object, make connections in your brain through your subconscious, these connections are made without your knowledge, so hopefully you will be better equipped the following day to initiate your drawing, than you were the day before.
Part 2
1. Grab your pencils, an eraser and some paper.
2. Make a fresh drink if necessary and place it on the ground to study.
3. Hopefully, today, with the benefit of studying this yesterday and sleeping on it, you will feel more confident to begin.
4. It can help if you use another glass or cup or saucer to draw your circles. So locate whatever you need and draw your circles in.
5. Make sure you have your digital photo handy, the one you took yesterday, and take another digital photo, to help you 'notice' things you might not see with just your eyes on the object. The digital photo is another representation of what you are viewing and gives your eyes and brain some help and assitance.
6. Draw what you see, not what you think you see. lol...there's a big difference!!
7. Post pictures of your efforts on FB Inspire Create Page for us all to admire, if you feel comfortable doing so. We'd love to see what you come up with. This is a more difficult exercise perhaps than the pear, but it uses the same principle, simple observation. This is about developing your skills of observation, nothing more, so no need for perfection, no need for it to look magnifico....just an earnest try at this, and it will develop you as an artist.. hugs from me, you can do it!! Just try...and if you find that you become too frustrated, leave it for another day and do not repeat DO NOt be hard on yourself, this is a higher level of difficulty, but I thought that I'd put it out there so you could challenge yourselves if you so desired.
Alternative
As an alternative, if you find this exercise too difficult, find something else around your home, something with an aesthetic you enjoy, and try sketching that. Once I sketched the ceiling fan, great fun! You might like to try sketching a cushion or another ceramic object. It's interesting to try and draw things from different angles too.
Additional Challenge extension
After you have accomplished the drawing of the teacup/coffee mug, from directly above it, you might like to attempt another study of this, from another angle. A different angle might be to place it on the table, and view it as you would when you are drinking your coffee from sitting on a chair or with a friend. This time you can do everything you did before, without the benefit of drawing your circles with the aid of the objects, because they will be more of an oval shape now. That is much more difficult, but still worthwhile if you want to challenge yourself more!
Have fun with this exercise!! Don't stress, and put it away if you become overly flustered or frustrated. Enjoy the process and drink coffee along the way and spoil yourself. This is meant to be enjoyable, and I don't want you to be pulling your hair out. ok...aloha :))
