It is complicated drawing the myriad reflections of light through a clear glass of water. To be precise, one has to take the time to figure out the tonal values of overlapping reflections, refractions and shadows. If drawing outside, one can’t take too long, or the sun will move and tonal variations will change.
My notes tell what I was trying to portray in the sketch on the opposite page. I didn’t quite achieve the ‘pop’-i-ness that I saw in real life. I’m not sure that I could have accomplished this with the tools I had at the time. Perhaps if I separated the trees with a white value […]
I was trying to find the key to getting the highest contrast between leaf surfaces and the space between them. Complimentary colors are supposed to provide maximal contrast at their interface, so I tried it (see below). I wasn’t too happy with it although, in fairness, I should have done a whole hedge to see […]
I used this particular parking lot quite a bit (both for parking and sketching). I spent what seemed like hours on the leafy hedge, at first trying to render each leaf, later settling for overall texture. The trees, far and near, were also a challenge. My cars come out cartoony, but I like them. I […]
The negative space between the pine cone seeds (at the base of the top pine cone) helped to give it a realistic rendering. The lower, (incomplete) sketch shows the pine cone’s hexagonal structure.
It looks like I didn’t like this pen. The lines came out really wide. I like the look, but it must have been a bit difficult to work with. It is a matter of scale, I think. A nib like the one used below would be good for large format sketches.
As I recall, I was trying to create a uniform tonal value with dots of sepia ink. Inconsistent sizes of dots and uneven spacing were the variables that, with more skill, I could have created an even tone across the page. However, this was not any easy task and I did not make it happen. […]
I really like the look of sepia ink. I had some really interesting calligraphy pens. In this sketch I experimented with different nibs, speed of drawing and shading.
I was experimenting with different nibs. I drew a picture of one of them connected to the pen I was using. This page of doodles was a lot of fun.
