Documenting My Process: My First Drawing of the Project
Documenting my process is a key method of how I like to work because it allows me to both show how I create my pieces, in gradual steps, as well as giving me an opportunity to write down any thoughts or personal suggestions about my work. Documenting how I draw, and my process in stages will also be very useful for when I begin to develop the education platform. All of my activity packs will have the same sort of process.
Working on my Second Fineliner Drawing of the Project
Here, I will show the process of me creating my second drawing of the project. This time, I selected a simpler, but still visually interesting reference. This particular shed is no longer around, and was falling down at the time I took the photograph. I like this shed because it has a certain simplicity to it, but lots of unanswered questions as the same time.
For this piece, I decided to use smaller pen nib to try and avoid the previous issues of overly dark areas of the piece.
I also wanted to experiment with slightly looser line work, to see if I can build up detail in an easier manner. Although my level of experimentation is slight in these early stages of the project, I feel that every element I try to improve dictates where I go next with upcoming pieces. I also decided to do this piece again on A2 watercolour paper. This was because I liked the scratchy nature of the paper, as well as the contrast it provides with the black pen. I think it compliments the work that is being put onto it really well.
To begin the drawing I started with a pencil outline. Again, this is something I always do before adding any detail to ensure I get an accurate base shape down which shows the proportion and perspective accurately. I like to take extra time in making sure the scale, perspective and proportion of the sheds are accurate because of the permanent nature of fineliner pen. As well as this, the structures I choose are three dimensional, which makes how I draw them important to make them as true to life as possible.
I the
n began working on adding details to created the wooden element of the shed. As this shed was all wood, it made it far easier to build up detail throughout because the grain of the material was evident across the entire subject. I think wood depicted in fineliner allows the texture and the natural shapes created in each panel to be a focal point of the piece, rather than having to crate it through shading or a wider tonal range, like you would in pencil. As the wood grain forms lines naturally, it works with fineliner’s abilities really well. I started adding detail on the areas of the drawing where there would be the most shading, namely the floor. I decided to map areas of darkness out try and eliminate issues that I faced in the first piece. I put a light layer of pen on the floor area with a greater emphasis on the back left corner, as this was the darkest area on the reference. I also worked on the uprights of the shed to try and develop some detail and definition in this area as well. I found building up detail with a smaller pen, as well as mapping out areas of darkness to be a better way of achieving the level of accuracy I desired because I had more control over the marks I was making on the paper, and how dark I wanted it to be.
Here, I photographed a progress shot of the piece, focusing the most emphasis on the floor. I used a range of mark making techniques to build up the natural pattern and form of the wooden planks, while adding the appropriate shadowing in select areas. I think this approach gave me an accurate base for the shed.I am pleased with the level of detail and the avoidance of completely black areas where it isn’t necessary. I decided to take a similar approach to the sides of the shed, where I prioritised capturing the natural shapes in the wood over trying to tonally shade them. As well as this, I mapped out the darkest areas of each plank first, so that I cold avoid over drawing in areas of such fine detail. I found this to work really well throughout the shed piece. I think its because I planned as I went along about where the darkest areas of the piece should be. This allowed me to focus on the details at hand, and know that I had already covered some of the shadow and knots that may be present.
After this, I began work on the second important aspect of the piece, the chair. The chair makes the shed quite an interesting structure to look at because that is the only thing inside the shed, as well as two open sides, which is quite strange. I like how the shed has lots of unanswered questions, while covering the subject mater that I am interested in. To create the chair I used lots of crosshatching to replicate the fabric on the body of the piece fo furniture. I made sure it was dense to create darker areas than the wood surrounding it. I felt that this was important because the chair had black fabric on it to begin with. Having a darker element around the wooden shed gave the piece a focal point, which I think some of the other references and my older pieces of work lack. A clear focal point allows the viewer into the piece, making it more engaging. I think this does this because of the chair. As well as the black fabric, I used lighter mark making techniques, specifically small curved lines, to build up the metal legs. This was more challenging because the metal had a reflection of the wooden shed on it, which naturally made it darker. Although it blends in in the drawing in some areas, I feel that this is appropriate because of the reflection it was generating.
For the final stage of the drawing I repeated a previous process of replicating the shapes in each wooden panel to create a high level of accuracy. This was the most time consuming element because of how fine the details were, and with every panel being unique. The design of each piece of wood gradually came together to give the feeling of panelled walls, much like the reference. I noticed that the wood had similar knots and shapes depending on the side of the wood I was looking at. This allowed me to create each panel in such a way that they would compliment the previous one. I think my mark making skills, as well as my general drawing technique was required the most in this area of the piece because I was trying to replicate a pattern and texture rather than just drawing a surface. I am pleased with this aspect of the drawing.
FINAL DRAWING
This is the final drawing. I am really please with the outcome of this piece because I feel like I have mastered the use of the pen for depicting wood. I think this is shown through each panel, their tonal range and their level of detail. I see this as a step forward from my previous drawing because I was able to focus on getting one material accurately depicted into fineliner. I hope to do something similar with more complicated references further into the project. I do however feel that this piece can be improved. I think how I draw smoother surfaces, such as metal, needs to improve. Like with the previous drawing, smoother surfaces become more challenging with a scratchy fineliner pen. I need to find a method of mark making, or an even thinner pen that would allow me to create a smooth, shiny outcome. But, I feel that this has been a successful piece of work because of the use of the correct tonal range, accurate proportions and perspective. Although this piece is quite simple in its subject matter, the level of detail makes up for this simplicity. Overall I am really pleased with the outcome.
Comments