I've created a couple of great exercises you guys can do to get your brain thinking in value and to bring some depth and realism to your art!
Try doing whichever one sounds most interesting or do both to be extra awesome!
Try doing whichever one sounds most interesting or do both to be extra awesome!
Object Still Life
- Find an object (or several) around your home to use.
- Light your scene with a single light source (to keep it simple).
- Draw or paint that scene using only grayscale (no color).
This piece has a good range of values, the composition is an a-symmetrical zig zag, the focal point (the coffee cup) has the most contrast, and the negative space on the lower half has been activated with gentle wrinkles to create interest and implied line of sight to draw the viewer back to the focal point.
- Find an object (or several) around your home to use.
- Light your scene with a single light source (to keep it simple).
- Draw or paint that scene using only grayscale (no color).
This piece has a good range of values, the composition is an a-symmetrical zig zag, the focal point (the coffee cup) has the most contrast, and the negative space on the lower half has been activated with gentle wrinkles to create interest and implied line of sight to draw the viewer back to the focal point.
Shoe Box Still Life
- Paint the inside of a shoe box with white paint (acrylic covers really well).
- Cut out some abstract paper forms and place them in the box. I suggest abstract (non-identifiable) forms so you don't have any preconceived notions about what it is that you're depicting.
- Set up a single light source to light your abstract still life. You can cut holes in the box (top, bottom, sides) to achieve interesting lighting conditions.
- Draw or paint your scene using only grayscale (no color).
Using the box I made above I created this piece by cutting a hole in the top right corner of the box and lighting it with the flashlight on my cell phone. I used charcoal paper and charcoal/ grayscale pastels.
I hope you found this exercise useful. These are both great ways of developing your skills to define forms, train your brain to see in value, and add some depth and realism to your pieces. If you've done either of these, or if you have any other examples of ways to practice value control, let me know! I'd love to see what you guys create.
Thanks for reading
-Christine Lane-
Thanks for reading
-Christine Lane-