This week we played the role of high school students
engaging in a long term, large scale still-life drawing in graphite. We began by learning about the density and
darkness of different graphite pencils on the HB scale, and we performed a
couple of rudimentary shading exercises.
An example of a value exercise for graphite.
A pre-completed example of an extension to the value exercise.
Afterward we made three thumbnail sketches of different compositions on newsprint. Next we made a full-scale contour drawing of
the still-life composition we chose, and transferred the contour lines to Stonehenge
drawing paper. Once we made the line drawing we began to add value by shading using the techniques we practiced at the beginning of the lesson.
The still life example from our class session.
My thumbnail sketches.
My full scale contour drawing.
My drawing (as developed as it could get during the session).
Below are some other student's examples from the session.
Personally, I had difficulty with the subject matter of the still-life. Reflective, clear glass on a rather complex,
patterned cloth is a difficult thing to render in a drawing. Students would probably struggle with this
subject matter of the drawing, especially in an earlier or lower level
class. Students might also make mistakes
in their shading technique if they feel rushed to complete the drawing, or in
the objective realism of their drawing.
They might lose sight of the overall composition because they are
focusing so tightly on small details and values. I think the best advice for students would be
to slow down, shade the way they did in their exercises without visible pencil
lines, and draw what they actually see rather than what they imagine is correct
– the way they did in their blind and modified contour drawings.
Below are some extremely successful examples
of complete works from actual high school students.
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