Item Inventory

 

This digital project has been one of my favourite projects so far as it has given me a chance to practise my skills in texturing and trying to produce convincing objects in the form of a game inventory. For this brief, I wanted to create an inventory inspired by a darker, more demonic theme such as Dark Souls for example. I really liked the idea of creating a set of objects which all portrayed a dark and more gothic colour palette as this type of rendering is something that I have never tried before. In the posts below, I will present each week's ideas and references along with some strengths and areas for improvement. I used a range of reference images of different materials from online in order to inform my own objects and to gain inspiration. Each week I made a mood board of colours and my references, which I referred back to frequently throughout the rendering process. The image below shows the completed 10 objects that I rendered for this brief.

Item 1: Hydra venom sealed by a druids spell

This week, I put a lot of thought into the concept behind my first object as I really wanted to start by challenging myself to draw something made from glass as in the past, I have found drawing this material and understanding how it reacts with light and fluids challenging. I decided to use a range of reference images to design this pyramid-like shaped bottle with metal corners and a metal dropper lid. I really liked the idea of using a more unique shape as I thought it would be interesting to incorporate a mixture of geometric, sharp shapes and round ones in the form of the lid. My idea for this object was initially some kind of venom in a glass bottle. Whilst I was in my kitchen I saw a bottle of fairy liquid and thought that it would be a great reference to use for a green poison inside the bottle as it really shows a range of neon like green tones inside a clear container. This is how I first got the idea for the green venom. To fit in with the theme of my objects, I also wanted to add some kind of curse on it; however, I opted to rendering a paper seal to tie in a runic and druid like aspect, incorporating real runes and adding another material that I could practise rendering in the form of paper. 

I found the glass with the green liquid inside challenging, as I had to consider where the light source was coming from, how that would refract from the glass to the liquid inside and how it would react to other elements such as the lid and paper. I had to really consider which parts of the objects would absorb light and which parts would reflect and refract it in relation to the light source. I am really pleased with the overall design and concept of this object; however, I can see some inaccuracies with the rendering of the metal. As the metal looks quite clean, I think it has less of a realistic property to it. However, I did try my best to concentrate on the hard and soft shadows which would have been created by the lighting. The idea with the paper assets was that they had a druid's spell written on them and contained the curse within the bottle, meaning that no one could get to the hydra venom. I think I would like to continue with the theme of silver and possibly add some more red colour into my next objects to tie the demonic theme in more. 

Item 2: Blade of the Demon's Embrace

This week, I wanted to make a weapon to add to my game inventory. Therefore, I decided to look at some references of interesting looking daggers and elvish swords. I really liked how the elvish blades looked in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit so I wanted to create a jagged and almost artistically serrated edge. This would also tie in well to my gothic and demonic theme, as the blade will look fluid and slick but also deathly. I sketched a few quick ideas of how I wanted the blade to look, using some references of elvish blades. I decided I would use a dark red, cloth wrapped handle with a second smaller blade at the other end, allowing the user to use either side if necessary and for aesthetic purposes. I found rendering the blade quite challenging as the look of metal I was aiming for was more of a gunmetal effect, which was difficult to render because I made the shadows and edge highlights quite contrasty. It ended up being middle ground so, after feedback, I went over some of the harsh white edge highlights I had drawn and then knocked them back. I wanted to really capture a reflective quality of the metal in contrast to the light-absorbing cloth on the handle. There were a lot of different faces on the blades, facing different direction so I had to think carefully about which parts of the metal would have highly reflective areas and which would not be catching as much light. I added some rings onto the edge of the dagger to represent kills of final bosses and small, scratched tally marks to represent other final blows. The idea is that every time you get a kill on a final boss of a dungeon or level, another ring is added to the blade. Once 8 rings are collected, the blade gains a significant increase in stats and damage. Once I had finished rendering the metal using the references, I decided to use a glow effect using Photoshop to make some of the runes glow on the side of the blade to emphasise the fact that is it cursed and demonic.

 I think overall the design and structure of the blade is good; however, I think next time I would add some more wear to the metal to create a less clean look to it as this would make it more convincing. The name I chose for the blade, Blade of the Demon's Embrace, is because daggers are typically quick and stealthy items, therefore, I thought 'embrace' would be fitting as it portrays fluidity and slickness. 

Item 3: The Serpentime

This week, I wanted to incorporate an element of wood into my inventory. Therefore, I chose to draw a sand timer. This would also allow me to practise drawing glass and metal again as these are materials that I have previously found challenging. I like the way sand timers are structured, with the use of interesting and fluid forms of glass combined with ornate wooden frames. I decided that I would incorporate metal into the design by adding a serpent going up each wooden frame. I also added metal rims to the wooden frame for aesthetic and protective purposes. If I were to repeat this, I would not include these as I think they take away from the wooden render slightly as I did have to spend a lot of time rendering them and trying to correct where the light would hit. I will draw some more wooden objects in upcoming weeks in order to practise drawing wood. I also decided to add a metal pentagram to the top of the timer. After receiving feedback, I had to knock back some of the white highlights as it was overpowering and made the object look a bit less convincing. The glass was tricky to render as it was in a round shape this time, unlike the potion bottle. Therefore, any highlights were a lot more fluid. I also added some more details onto the wood in my second pass after feedback, including some elements of wear and knife slashes or damage. The contrast between the light absorbing wood and the metal was something I really focused on achieving as I wanted to clearly show the different materials within the object. I added metal spikes to the top of the timer (around the pentagram) so that they would point downwards to 'hell' along with the pentagram when turned over. I thought this would be an interesting asset to add and would also tie the metal in a bit better. Throughout my drawing, I made sure to refer to the references which I presented on the board above to try to present a convincing item. 

Item 4: Dracthars Drip aka 'The Ring of Dracthar'

 

The next item for my inventory is this silver ring with a red ruby or red crystal inside. For this particular item, my aim was to really focus on very harsh highlights and colours within a gemstone and metal; therefore, I wanted my light source to shine very intensely onto the item so that I could portray the depth of the cut gem and all the refracting colours. I focused heavily on using references for this object as I wanted to draw the dynamic reflection of the gemstone accurately and to convincingly portray that it has been sharply cut. I noticed that there were a lot of blue undertones within the metal of some of my references and, in addition,  some very harsh blacks where a black tarnish has been added in order to sharpen the details that have been cut into the metal. I tried to replicate this onto my own piece in order to create a very sharp and dynamic object. I looked at a number of different crystals and decided that I really liked the ones which refracted very warm tones of orange and yellow under the harsh lighting. I also added some metal wings on either side of the main body of the ring to add to my gothic theme. My gothic ring references were very useful and aided my understanding of cut gemstones and rendering jewellery. There was a lot to consider when rendering this object as the dynamic reflections were very sharp; however, my references really helped me to know how I needed to paint in the shades. 

Item 5: The Sinners Satchel

This is my favourite item that I have rendered so far as I really enjoyed painting in the dragon scales and the different tones in the leather. I haven't had much experience in rendering leather before so it was interesting to asses all the different tones and sheens to it. I found a range of leather bags as I wanted to add a bag of some kind to my inventory. I found one picture of a bag on Pinterest which I really liked the design of so I decided to use this as my primary reference and to adapt it a bit to make it fit in with my theme more. I decided to render using more natural brown tones for both the dragon scale parts and the basic leather panels. For this part, I used a lot of my secondary references to try to properly convey the texture of  leather and how the panels would be stitched together and structured. I liked rendering the leather as it was very rich in fine details and texture which I spent a lot of time picking up on my own bag. I also decided to draw the dragon eye decorative piece in the middle, set in metal, to further practise rendering some other materials and to link the object in with being made from dragon skin.  In upcoming objects, I would like to add in some more dragon related items to my inventory to tie in with the bag. I used some other types of leather to inform my choices when rendering in some green tones as I noticed that a lot of leather had some cooler green tones in it, especially through wear and tear. The bag has loops to go onto a belt and could be used by a player to store items whilst also carrying some kind of magical quality through the dragons eye. It could be an item attained by slaying some kind of dragon such as Alduin from Skyrim. 

The bag has a buckle fastening and is highly structured. Overall, I think the texture I tried to create on this item was very successful compared with my other items as there were a number of finer details I was able to pick up and convey more convincingly. I also like the design of the bag influenced by my references. 

Item 6: Chest of Malevolence

This was probably the most challenging item that I have rendered so far because there was a lot for me to consider when drawing it in terms of structure, perspective and the amount of elements I chose to include on it. I chose a range of online references of which I liked the forms and structures and used them to influence a demonic chest idea. To tie this item in with the rest of my inventory, I included some pentagrams, runes and red gemstones. My idea was that the chest would be a cursed chest,  which could be unlocked through a series of achievements in game and that inside would be loot which would allow the player to really progress in their strengths. However, the opening of the chest would be very difficult to attain. It is an item that could be collected by a player and opened at a later time once a series of quests had been completed and a key earned to unlock the loot. I added chains, a magic lock and a lot of metalwork to create a harsher and more intense look to the chest. I also looked at some references for the type of wood I was going to render in. I opted for a more yellow toned wood as I didn't want it to blend in too much with the warmth of the crystal assets. I paid careful attention to the grain of the wood and any change in tone due to ageing, shadow or wear. There were a lot of different materials to focus on, which complicated the piece. My references were very useful when it came to drawing the structure and correct perspective of the chest to make it look as convincing as possible. Overall, I think my attention to detail is improving and I am paying closer attention to my refences in order to render something more convincing. However, some of my textures still look a bit clean so I will work to improve this.

Item 7: 'Harpies Tooth' 

I really liked the colour palette for this item as it allowed me to render some highly dynamic structures and highlights within the interesting crystal forms. This piece was also heavily influenced by references as the shapes the crystals form are very complicated and require a lot of careful observation so that all the tones presented in the piece work together. Light travels through crystals and this particular type of crystal that I chose to draw had a more translucent quality to it rather than being completely transparent. Therefore, there were some areas where more light was being let through than others and places where it was more dense as there were lots of layers that had formed. I had to consider this when rendering my piece. I chose a red colour palette again to tie in with the demonic theme. This allowed me to pick up some very dark burgundy tones, almost black, and also some very warm orange for places where more light was passing through. I named this item, Harpies Tooth as the beautiful structure of the crystal reminded me of a tooth. There were a lot of quite geometric faces within this object also, so a lot of hard shadows were being cast where no light was being reflected off the faces and no light could pass through. Overall, I'm happy with this render and I am pleased with my attempt at showing how light would pass through some areas of the crystal. As for context within a game, this item could be acquired by a player and then placed in some kind of beacon in order to trigger an event or to open some kind of door or chamber. 

Item 8: Spellbook of the Binding

This type of item is an essential for a lot of fantasy RPG games. Therefore, I decided to render a spell book made from wood, leather and a metal pentagram to tie it in with the previous objects. I found it a challenge to draw the perspective of this book correctly at first as I decided to draw it at an angle to showcase both the pages and spine of the book. It took me a few attempts to get the accuracy of the drawing right and for it to look correctly structured and convincing. I also found the perspective of the pentagram challenging as it is viewed at an angle from the top down. I used the transform tools on Photoshop in order to get a more accurate circle in perspective to the rest of the book. I made sure that I paid attention to the details, such as the plait fastening and metal buckle clips. I was pleased with the colour palette of the type of wood I choose for which I referred to some refences. I did another, more yellow, toned type to contrast with the warmth of the leather and the red bookmark to create a clear difference in textures. I paid attention to the grain in the leather and the light absorbing qualities of each material including the discolouration of the pages and wear of the leather. This spell book would be picked up or bought by a player in order to boost any magic stats or add extra magical abilities to a players skill set. Overall, I am pleased with the item as I like the colour palette which I choose as it emphasises the contrast in material and the different grains in the wood and the leather. 

Item 9: Elizabeth's Skull

For my next item, I decided I wanted to draw a skull as I thought bone would be an interesting material to render as it has a very unique texture and reaction to light. Therefore, I opted to draw a dragon skull to tie in with some of the more dragon-like elements of my previous items. I found it challenging to capture a lot of texture within this as there didn't seem to be much contrast or tonal differences in colour. The colour palette consisted mainly of warm toned colours such as yellows and browns with not much variation. In addition, I didn't really have an opportunity to display a good lighting source. As bone is such a light absorbing material, there weren't many harsh highlights or very sharp and dark shadows apart from in cracks and other details, due to the material being quite light. I tried to capture some of the joins in bone plating and some of the smaller holes within the render. So far, this is my least favourite item and I will definitely have to study bone a little bit more in depth in order to correct mistakes. This skull would be dropped by Elizabeth the dragon when she has been killed by the player and can be used to craft into things such as weapons, potions or armour or can be kept by a player as a trophy from killing the boss. 

Item 10: The Reaper's Chalice

For my last item, I decided I wanted to draw a stone chalice with a gothic theme. I had previously included a lot of dragon-like elements and there were a lot of of really good references online of very detailed and attractive gothic chalices. I used these as heavily inspired references to my final chalice as I really liked the grim reaper and deathly stone look on the chalices. I decided to incorporate a few different tones into my design such as blues and purple to add more dynamic impact to the chalice and to make it look a bit more magical. The actual design was influenced by the chalices from my refences and includes dragon talons and a grim reaper in the middle, hence the name of the item. The stone doesn't reflect much light apart from some of the edge on the carved details. I rendered the metal rim around the top in a similar way to the ring, with very harsh dark blue shades along with white highlights as well. This item was fun to draw as the design was very intricate and allowed me to really embody my theme into it. I added slight amounts of scattering onto the surface in order to present the stone like texture. Overall, I am happy with the design of this chalice but I feel that I should have used references of actual stone in order to achieve a more accurate representation. I think I got a bit carried away with the aesthetic qualities of this item over the accuracy and convincing qualities. 

Finally, I presented all my items on this PNG. I made my own leather texture background with embossing and burnt paper so that the items would stand out. I also watched a tutorial for how to make metal text in Photoshop to make the inventory look more professional. I looked at some inventory UI for reference to making this. Overall this project really helped me develop my observational skills along with my material rendering skills. I continue to need practise to get it perfect; however, I think by doing this I have improved considerably.

Vehicles

 

This week's task was challenging as it was to complete a study of a car from either the Transport Museum or from online. I decided to attempt to draw my favourite car, the Bugatti Divo, as I appreciate all its complex forms and shapes along with the interesting metal texture and sheen. I decided that I could create an interesting piece with all the different elements in mind. However, I found the perspective of this challenging as there are so many different panels and lines to consider when drawing it. My thumbnail sketches helped establish from which perspective I would be drawing. However, I think that I would have found it useful to draw some cross sections of the car before trying to draw the final piece. The wheels were something I found particularly challenging to draw accurately because they were turned at a slight angle as the car was displayed in that way. It was difficult to match this up with the perspective of the car and to make it look convincing. I enjoyed the challenge of this task but I can see some perspective errors which I will work on correcting in upcoming tasks. I think more preparation was needed before I attempted to draw the final piece. I initially sketched out my piece using a cage method to establish the depth of the car. However, this wasn't as successful as I had imagined so I had to modify it before I was happy with moving on to the shading.

Adding values to the car was interesting as the material it is made of is a dark and not especially shiny metal. It has a sheen to it but it is not glossy, I tried to portray this within my work, so a lot of the highlights are softer and less harsh than they would have been if the car was glossy. The interior of the car was extremely dark also, so I blended in some charcoal and black coloured pencil in order to create a highly contrasting tone that displayed the vague structures on the inside of the car. Other areas that were very dark were the wheels and the grilles at the front of the car as these are made from a type of black carbon or a matte metal material. When adding value, I tried to think carefully about which parts would absorb light and how reflective other areas would be. I wanted to create a fluidity about this piece as the car itself looks very streamlined and the surface of the main body has a fluid light source on it creating the interesting oil spill like patterns. There are a lot of smooth curves to the car and less harsh angular transitions. 

These are some of my initial thumbnail sketches looking at the car from a few different angles. I found it helpful to use the cage method so that I could asses the faces of the car and what kind of depth it would create. At this stage, I could also have drawn some flat cross sections of the car as this would have been useful. Having an orthographic view to reference would have allowed me to understand the complex structures a lot more.

As you can see from this thumbnail, there were some clear perspective issues, which moving forward, I did try to correct. 

This is my initial sketch that I was about to start shading. However, I changed a lot of it as the car looked compressed and skewed. The Buggati itself is quite long and flat; however, this is small and high like a normal car. I corrected this before moving forward.

This was my first attempt which I restarted as it was inaccurate.

Overall this task was challenging and I can see that I will need to work on perfecting how I use techniques such as the cage method in order to get a an accurate looking piece. However, my work did improve throughout the process from the car above to the final piece. 

Medieval Landscape

My next task was to draw a medieval landscape. I chose to draw this famous medieval street in York as I found the composition of the building and angles to be very appealing. I really liked how the buildings were slanted in some places due to them being old. This street is the oldest street in the UK and I thought that it had lots of character. The building looked very skewed in places due to ageing and I loved how there were elements of modern life in them such as the little modern shops that were on the ground floor of each one. The cobbled street going through really adds to the composition and I liked how well the one point perspective set up really showcased how these houses had aged over time. 

When colouring my piece, as I had chosen to use coloured pencil again, I really wanted to capture how the buildings had aged where plaster and bricks had worn away or rotted. I tried to showcase texture and colour palette of the landscape as accurately as I could in order to show the ageing and medieval elements of it. I tried hard to capture the authenticity; however, I think because the buildings were quite slanted in some places it makes the scene look quite skewed and unstructured. If I were to do this again, I would consider this and possibly start drawing from lower down, looking up at the buildings to create more of a sense of depth. For this task, I used my observational skills and knowledge of one point perspective along with assessing the colour palette and the atmosphere of the landscape. It was quite a bright day so I wanted to create a bright and lively atmosphere to the piece through the saturation and tones of the colours I chose, whilst showcasing the medieval assets and tones alongside this. 

To improve this piece I would slightly reconsider the angle at which I decided to draw, along with how the colours would possibly desaturate as they go further away from my viewpoint. I think this would create a more realistic sense of depth within the piece so that the eye would really follow down the street and into the areas further away whilst also bringing out the assets which are nearer to my viewpoint. 

This is one of my process pictures. As you can see, I started building up the tones slowly so that I could get a good blend and an accurate result. This piece overall took quite a while to complete as there were a number of elements to consider. However, I enjoyed using the coloured pencils to present tones in the piece. Next time, I will consider how the saturation and tone might change with depth. 

Landscape

This week's task was a landscape drawing task which I thoroughly enjoyed as I do not have much experience with drawing landscapes. I chose to draw this Tudor style building in a local park so that I could draw on site. However, due to this, I forgot to take any process photos because I got so invested in the drawing on site. I tried to go on a clear day so that all the natural colours would be brought out by the light. For this piece I had to consider perspective and the tones of the building and foliage as I chose to use coloured pencil as my medium. There were a number of different assets to consider in perspective when initially sketching this piece. My quick thumbnail sketches allowed me to decide from which angle I wanted to draw Bramhall Hall in order to capture an appealing landscape composition. I chose to draw it from a slight angle as it really highlighted the horizontal lines of the house and captured the steps, along with the foliage either side, creating a frame to the image. As with my previous coloured pencil piece, I built up the colour gradually so as not to put down too much information at once before I had finalised how the perspective would look. I found this piece to be quite challenging because of all the geometric architecture on the side of the building. I tried my best to think about these in perspective but I can see a few inaccuracies within my work. 

In terms of compositional points, the bulk of the building and landscape is on the left side of the piece, fading down to a more sparse area. I like this composition as it allows the eye to follow along horizontally but also be viewed as one. I found the foliage quite challenging to depict using coloured pencils as there are a lot of different tones and layers of green within it. I wanted to try to capture as much of the depth as I could without spending too long on this asset as I wanted to focus on the accuracy of the building itself. The steps are something I would do differently next time; because I was stood at angle, there was an extremely dark shadow cast down onto the top step so it blended in too much with the background. In order to do this differently next time I would move my viewing angle slightly to the left so that the steps would make more sense perspective wise within the piece. 

Here are some examples of the thumbnail sketches I used to decide from which angle I was going to draw my landscape. Initially, I was going to stand at the side of the building but I wanted to capture a longer and more horizontal depth to the image. Therefore, I opted for a more middle ground which shows the side and front views in a more three point way. 

Overall, I was quite happy with this piece as I enjoyed using colour in order to express a landscape in three point for the first time, combining natural elements with a central man- made structure.

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The National Portrait Gallery

For this week's task I had to pick a colour palette from a portrait in the National Portrait Gallery to produce a piece using these colours. I enjoyed looking at the different portraits in the gallery and I appreciated all the different styles and eras they were from. I decided to go for a warm colour palette consisting of yellow and orange tones as I really enjoy using coloured pencils with a slight contrast between warm and cool tones. I decided to use an online reference website as, from my previous weekly task, I noted that I wanted to try a portrait taken at a slight angle. In order to practise perspective and facial structure I spent a long time studying and refining my model and sketch to try and get the most accurate proportions possible. I chose this model because of their dynamic look and hair which stood out as something which would apply itself well to the colour palette. I found the nose challenging to draw accurately because of the angle. I wanted to ensure that it fitted well on the face because, at first, it looked out of place compared to the other features I had blocked in. I wanted to ensure that the facial construction was highly accurate before I began colouring. I really enjoy using coloured pencil so I had a lot of fun building up the layers and tones. 

I’m happy with the structure of this particular piece as I think it has been more successful in terms of accuracy than my previous two attempts. 

The colours I choose depict a bright, upbeat mood and I think they work well with the overall look of the model as well. 

Here are some of my shading process photos. As you can see, I built up the tones of the skin lightly, considering which parts would be cooler with thinner skin to bone and which would be pink or more yellow such as the cheeks and forehead. In order to achieve a smooth blend of the colours I needed to build them up very slowly so that the transition would look more natural. 

Overall I really enjoyed this week's task as I love working with coloured pencil in order to express a mood and present dynamic postures and features in a model.  

Renaissance: Focus on self-portrait

This week's task was a challenge for me. I had to draw a self-portrait by looking in a mirror and drawing what I saw. This put my knowledge of facial structure to the test. I found it particularly challenging to draw myself as it is challenging to pinpoint features when looking up and down to the mirror and paper. I tried my best to assess the structure and how fat is distributed around the face. I also tried to recognise which areas of the face would have thinner skin to the bone and which would have fat underneath them. I wanted to try and get the initial sketch to look as close as possible to what I actually look like. Through watching the video, I came to recognise many elements of knowledge about renaissance portraiture and how faces were constructed during this time period, leading up to how the similarities and way in which it is essential to construct now. Again, I used a light cross hatch and then blended it out in order to achieve some harsh and soft shadows making up the face. The hardest part to this task for me was drawing the basic shape of the skull. I found it difficult to distribute my features in a logical and accurate way whilst referencing from partially still life. It is clear that the importance of understanding facial anatomy and how bone and flesh work with each other to form the factual features is crucial. Looking back at my self portrait now, I can see a few errors with the sizing of the lips in relation to the nose and eyes and the positioning of one eye. This is due to an inaccuracy with the perspective of this pose as I did not draw myself looking straight forward at the mirror; my face is slightly turned to one side. I could have paid better attention to how the facial features would look at a slight angle and how the positioning would change. I feel like the hair looks relatively convincing and relates well to the structure of the head. The distribution of the facial features looks satisfactory but I think the sizing of the features needs to be worked on in the future. I would like to try drawing a face at a more dynamic angle so that I can practise how features would look drawn at more complex perspectives. I have quite a round face and I think I was able to capture this well from the wider temple area and jaw. 

Overall I think there are a few structural issues that I will need to focus on in the next task and issues with perspective of the features which I would like to go on to practise. The drawing resembles me but there is more I could have done to ensure total accuracy and resemblance.

Head Construction

I was very excited to be doing some portraiture. For this task, I studied head construction and tried to sketch my friend as accurately as possible. I watched the videos on this topic and tried my best to represent formats and shapes of the human facial structure as best I could. To add some simple shading, I used a mixture of blending and cross hatching. I originally started out with just a blended portrait but then decided to add some hatching as further shade and sharper shadows. I noticed that the face has been constructed using both soft shading and hard lines and shades therefore I thought I could utilise this technique to achieve some of this. I wanted to ensure that I was observant of any fat on the face and how it was distributed around the features so that I could accurately construct a similar drawing. I tried my best to get it to look as close to the model as possible; however, I did make some errors with the shape of the top of the head and eyes as I was slightly distracted by the eyeliner and did not draw the eyes as accurately as I could. I need to study how eyes fit into the facial forms around them in order to improve at this and produce a more convincing piece. I was pleased with how I was able to represent the hair and how it flowed around the face and from the scalp. Another pointer I need to work on and from feedback is the mouth area and how the lower jaw looks in terms of being on a skull. I think I will attempt drawing some human skulls in order to gain a better understanding of how the actual bones work together to influence the shape of the facial structure. 

This was the basic sketch of the model after I had rubbed out any of the construction lines I had used. I need to further consider how the skull of a person looks in relation to the person as this will definitely help me to create a more convincing piece. When I began shading, I made sure to draw the basic tones first and then start building up harsher and sharper lines. If I was to do this piece again, I would definitely use more sharp shadows and less soft ones as I feel that, even though my model has very soft facial features, it looks a bit too soft and not structured enough.

This is what my sketch looked like before I added any harsher shadows and crosshatching. After feedback, there were some elements that needed correcting and further refinement. Overall, I think I need to study the skull more and then to use that basic structural knowledge to apply it to my work with portraiture. 

Drapery

This week's task was to complete an observational drawing of a drapery still life. This was a new challenge for me as I had never tried drawing a still life of drapery on its own. There were a lot of different elements to drawing fabric as I found when watching the video. All the different folds that could make up a drapery composition were something I wanted to include in my piece. I originally set up my composition with various objects under the blanket in order to create some interesting dimensions and folds. I then went on to create some thumbnail sketches of a few compositions that I had made when setting up my still life. I added the types of fold and lighting on the blanket before choosing one to take forward. When choosing my final one, I wanted to make sure that it had a wide variety of folds and interesting shapes which I could attempt to represent within my work. I was keen to attempt drawing some of the different drapes showcased in the video. It was also interesting to see how the drapery reacted with the objects underneath it. I placed a bowl and a box along with some cushions below so that I could see the fabric on a rounded plane, a sharp plane and a soft plane. I wanted my still life to look as dynamic as possible. 

I found this task quite challenging as there was a lot to think about in terms of how each fold reacted off one another and how light also reacted with the fabric. The fabric I was using was slightly pearly and also quite light but I had a nice light course hitting it so it produced some good depth within the centre of the piece. I think the downside of this piece was how central my composition ended up looking. I think I could have drawn it from a different perspective instead of from straight on. Next time, I would maybe move to the side so that I could get a better perspective angle to draw from. Before I received some feedback, my piece also looked very flat as you can see from the image below. I hadn’t focused enough on the depth of the set up and only about the fold and how they reacted to each other rather than as a piece of fabric as a whole with the light source. I improved that to make the final piece which you can see at the start. I blended in some more tones with a blending stump to create a softer and darker feel to some areas. 

Values

In this week's task I had to explore how artists used values in their work to create an atmospheric sense and also how it could show depth, texture and perspective of objects in the scene. For the task, I picked 3 objects in order to make a still life composition and I  focused on the values. I wanted to try to create a sense of perspective within this task using how each object would look in relation to one another. I also paid close attention to how the surfaces and detail of the objects looked. I wish I hadn’t used hatching or cross hatching for this task. I think I would have been able to get a greater variation of value within the piece if I had used blended shading instead. I overworked the piece and the tones ended up too close to each other. After feedback, I ended up knocking back some of the tones on the jug and darkening the tones on the infrared bulb. This object was particularly difficult to evaluate as it was very dark coloured glass. I found it challenging to get a good tone whilst also making it look like glass. This was a downfall of this task and something that I would have to practise beforehand. I also found the metal coffee container challenging to draw. I found it difficult to identify what tones this should be in contrast to my other objects as there was a lot of reflection and colour distortion on the surface. I need to improve when it comes to identifying tones and differentiating them from others. I am happy with the tones I used on the jug in contrast to the very dark sharpie pen; however, I made mistakes on the other two objects when it came to focussing on value.

After receiving some feedback on this piece, I corrected some symmetry issues that the piece had along with some issues with ellipses. These issues are still one of my areas to work on and I am continuing to try to improve on this each week.  Another challenge I had was trying to go straight into this particular piece without doing any thumbnail sketches beforehand. I think this let down the overall value range because I would have been able to grasp a better idea of what the piece would look like before starting it and then I could have changed my methods. 

The Natural History Museum

 

For this task we had to choose a specimen from a selection of specimen skulls from the Natural History Museum virtual tour to draw accurately, focusing on the texture and form of the object. When looking around the exhibition, I did some quick thumbnail sketches of some of the other skulls on display as I wanted to choose which skull I was going to draw for my final piece. I quickly sketched out the main shape and structure along with a basic display of how the light would be hitting the object. I had never sketched bone before so I was looking forward to experimenting with how I could display how light and shadow scatter over a matte, light absorbing surface. I forgot to take pictures of my drawing process as I got a bit too invested in this piece. I was fascinated by all the different surface level changes and layers that there were to the skull. I tried to include as much detail as I could, combining hatching, shading and line and weight in order to show clear plane changes in the specimen. I tried my best to highlight the light on my piece and tried to present an appealing light set-up hitting the skull. I think I was able to highlight details and imperfections accurately; however, I think my accuracy with perspective could be further improved. After some feedback, I was advised to knock back some of the tones that would be further away as my skull was looking too 3D. Looking at the depth of a piece is also something I will be considering when doing more work in this area.

My thumbnail sketches helped me to choose which specimen I would be most interested in drawing and at which angle I would like to do so. I also wanted to establish a basic lighting setup at this stage. I chose to draw the skull in the bottom left at a different angle and pose as I saw one on a full body skeleton which had a really dynamic look to it. 

Overall, I think I did well at this task; however, I need to further consider how perspective will affect the tones of an object.

Composition

 

This weeks task focused heavily on the appealing composition of items and commonly used still-life setups used by a number of artists over time. I learnt a lot whilst doing this task as I had to set up a range of still life compositions in order to experiment with what kinds of overall shapes worked best with my objects and task. I watched the video looking at how different compositions can drastically affect the mood and overall appeal of a piece and then proceeded to draw five of my own set ups using various items. For each one, I considered  what positions I could put the items in in order to showcase a dynamic and aesthetic setup. I wanted to showcase the forms of the items and how they reacted with light and with each other. This is why I chose to include a piece of fabric for this task. I thought it would lend itself to the composition of objects as it lies very flat onto a surface and could add an extra layer of dimension. I tried to choose items which were all of different heights. I also chose to lean the banana on top of the bowl and to have the apple on a slant as I felt this could create some interesting angles. I did not want to have my tallest object completely centred as this would make the piece look too static and unnatural. Therefore, I decided to offset it to the side to create a more natural and flowing composition.

I think my shading and composition were relatively successful in this task as I decided to use cross hatching and hatching following on from the previous exercise which I really enjoyed. I wanted to experiment further with this. I found the material was a particular challenge as there were a number of different folds to consider when crosshatching, along with the complicated print on it. I do think that the fabric grounds the overall composition however, so I am happy with the results. As you can see from my thumbnail sketches I decided to offset certain items each time and made sure that some were in front of others as this presents an element of depth within the piece. I think next time, I would like to shade in the background some more in order to give my composition more depth and context.

I learnt a lot in terms of making an appealing composition when doing this task and therefore I will be bringing my acquired knowledge into upcoming weeks.

 

Shading techniques

 

This weeks task's was about trying out new shading techniques. I really enjoyed this week's task as I have never had the opportunity to try out any other techniques apart from basic blended shading. By the end of the piece I found that I enjoyed shading using hatching and cross hatching more so than basic shading. I love the texture and sharp shadows you can create with this method. Before starting the final still life composition, I experimented with a range of techniques by drawing single objects. I used hatching, cross hatching, Pointillism, scribble and charcoal. From this exercise, I found that I really enjoyed hatching and the technique was something I wanted to take forward into my final still life. I also enjoyed cross hatching and found this more challenging than hatching. I really liked how cross hatching worked on more rounded surfaces and hatching looked great on more flat ones. My charcoal piece however, was not so successful. I found it challenging to get a range of values in the perfume bottle and it ended up being too monochromatic. Pointillism was a very new and interesting way of working that allowed me to create an interesting dynamic with the shapes and shading. It was quite time consuming but overall I think my attempt at shading the pencil sharpener was successful. Out of the five techniques I tried, I think my least successful were the scribble and the charcoal, as in order to refine my skills at being able to create a range of tones, I would have to practise a lot more and continue to use those techniques. 

The images above are my technique studies. I really like how the apple looks with the use of cross hatching. I think this technique really shows the form of the apple. Having the horizonal lines wrapping around it, informs the structure more. When doing my final piece, this is something that I considered. I think it would be fun to try out this technique on some more natural forms. 

For my final still life, I ended up choosing to draw a bonsai tree, ornate vase and an apple. I choose to use a mixture of cross hatching and hatching for this piece. I used hatching on the man made structures to create more static tones and the cross hatching for natural forms and textures. I think my use of hatching and cross hatching was relatively successful; however, the piece started to look a little bit monochromatic after I was over working the cross hatching. After the feedback, I tried to add some more differentiation between the tones in the plant to the clay plot. I think value range is still something I will have to continue working on especially whilst using shading techniques that I am not used to. 

Value range and shading

 

For this week's task I had to draw a still life set up of a group of objects focusing on the aspect of different values within them and being able to represent these values through shading techniques. From last term, I knew that creating different values in a piece of art was something I needed to improve, so I made sure that I selected objects which differed in tone in order that I would have the opportunity to show value and tone in this piece of work. I experimented with the composition of the items and chose a set up which I thought would best allow me to represent the values of the items. I placed the lightest object in the middle with a dark one on the right and a medium toned glass bottle on the left. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of not using a directed lighting source so this made it quite challenging for me to get some nice highlights and clear shadows in this piece. For my next pieces, I have been advised to make a set up using a cardboard box in order to control the light a bit more and to create a more visually appealing scene. This is something I will take forward. The items I selected allowed me to shade in some interesting patterns. 

After receiving feedback on this piece of work it was noted that there were some issues with symmetry so I tried my best to go back and correct those. I am still trying to work on improving the symmetry within my objects and, moving forward, I will be paying close attention to this. I made sure to make the lighter and darker tones more visible in the piece as this adds to the overall visual appeal. I wanted to create a sense of depth by adding a light fabric background to the set up. After feedback, I was also advised to knock this back as it was adding too much noise and taking away from the values of the still life, Therefore, I lightened it.

These are the thumbnail sketches for this piece which I quickly drew beforehand In order to establish what looked visually appealing. I ended up swapping the lantern and the small white jug around as I preferred how the lighter-toned object worked in the middle of the frame. I found that completing these sketches allowed me to draw a more appealing piece.