The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › Nature Journaling and Field Sketching › Illustrating the 3D World
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I must confess that life got in the way of continuing with the course as I had planned, but cheers to coming back.
Wanted to share a sketch of an egg from back in March. I remember feeling like I was improving and I am excited to continue to practice and actually take my journal out in nature. My journal is pristine and I've been nervous to break it in, but it is happening - taking it on my 3-day backpacking trip starting tomorrow! Nature sketches to come!
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I still want to work on everything! But I took my first-ever drawing class in the fall and was introduced to most of these concepts. So I was not completely uncomfortable or unfamiliar with them. My goal is 'not pathetic.'
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I still struggle with value - my range seems to be medium dark to medium to medium light - I don't get the contrast I'm looking for.
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I tried using the marks and very much enjoyed the exercise and it was fun to walk around looking for objects. I found it challenging to complete my drawing before the light changed. I realized I was chasing shadows a few times. I walked around the neighborhood squinting at everything, I looked like I needed a new pair of glasses. I took my glasses off and I get the natural blur so I can see the lights and darks without squinting. I just have draw blind! I need to work on seeing the shadows and getting the right proportions. Pat
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I found the techniques very helpful although I am working in a small scale which I imagine is easier. I have trouble with the squint test
but I imagine it is a question of practice.
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Since we are limited to 3 images per reply, thought it would be better to share the ones I had issues with.
Sketching with a continuous one line gave me a sense of confidence. On the other hand, the sketchy lines technique hindered me; the more I sketch a new line the more I hesitant in visualising the shape I wish to sketch. I faced this problem while outlining all of the subjects: the daisy, the acorn, the gingko and the butterfly. Have you faced the same issue, anyone?
With the type of marks in sketching -- I sketched a blue sea crab; luckily, I found a dried one. I divided it into 5 parts to experiment with the marks ' types. I'm sharing the result with you. I'm not sure if I did well with the marks -- I tend to use tinny tip of the fine-liner pens; 0.05 and 0.1. Perhaps I need to try and sketch with a thicker pens/pencils to see the difference.
This is my attempt to try and look at the shades of a subject. I tried with this shell; Ancilla Glabrata. I used an artificial source of light instead of the sunlight - this shouldn't affect the result much but looking at the final result, I think if I was after the shades, then I should have tried to sketch it with one pencil colour.
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My continuous line outlines came out better than my sketch line outlines. One line looks much more confident but requires careful observation.
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I like to use the scribble and spotting technique. The blending technique is what I probably use most. I find the crosshatching the most difficult to achieve what I want.
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I enjoy sketching and the lesson on contour and shading was very helpful to me. The 3D part of it will take me quite a bit more time to learn.
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Having never taken a drawing course, I've never actually learned any of the techniques in the "Making Your Mark" lesson set. I found, however, that I remembered hearing many of my watercolor mentors talk about stippling, hatching, blending, and the like, when referring to the consideration 0f value as a means of infusing light into a painting. I'm now feeling a little more comfortable with using value observations and techniques to help make a shape seem to be 3-dimensional.
I started with "Drawing Basics" on February 23rd, after posting my Yellow Warbler entry, did a bit more on the 26th, then didn't return to finish the lesson set until May 20th. Now it's already June 2nd and I'm only just posting this entry. I tried to apply the techniques of hatching and stippling recently, when I was drawing some rocks. It takes SSSsssooo... long to draw a rock as a sketch the size of a postage stamp on paper. I really do KNOW that practice makes perfect, and that I should practice every day. In real life, though, it's not possible - especially not in the current state of world affairs, when I find myself practicing child care all over again with my grandson, while his parents are telecommuting because of the COVID 19 pandemic.
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I feel pretty good sketching, I tend to use multiple textures and finish up with blending. I could still use the pencil more and make hard lines.
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I’m starting to feel a little more confortable with lights and shadows without color. I still think my drawings are too light.
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I really like the stippling and blending but my son likes to use cross-hatching and contour hatching and we're both enjoying practicing the new techniques together!
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The more time I spent the more I began to see how to use the different marks. As in the last assignment, I began to see the differences in values as I drew...training my eyes I guess. One of the most helpful ideas was how to use the "flower" dots to apply stippling...thanks for that!
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After six months (!) of neglecting this class, I decided to get back to work. I've been having a great time today picking it back up, and am pretty happy with the results. I think I need confidence in making darker marks, and just overall practicing for confidence. I couldn't resist adding color and ink to this one, where I was practicing values.
Chiaroscuro is tricky! By the time I got to the blueberry, I think I was starting to get the hang of it. I found a good black & white photo with strong shadows to use for practice.
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Hi Anne. Your blueberries are gorgeous and the use of chiaroscuro in it makes them leap off the page. It took me a long time to practice as well with the darker lines to get comfortable. You’re right about it being tricky.
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@Colleen This is something that will require continued practice. Moving on to something that isn't round is a bit intimidating to me!
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Anne, I like that you made a diagram of Chiaroscuro. I think that will be helpful for me too. I am excited to move on but I think some more time with this lesson will help in the long run
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@Deb Thanks Deb! I'm hoping to get out into my yard to practice this in a natural setting. Definitely a skill that will take a lot of practice!
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I had to laugh when my husband told me my eggshells looked like hamburgers. I experimented several more times, but have not quite mastered (well, not even close!) the values that make such a difference in definition for sketches. I know what I need to do, but can't quite meet the goal yet. I'll keep the lessons learned in this section as I go along.
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I am amazed to see improvement in my drawings with the few cues I just learned. The chiarocuro really helps in giving a 3D look. I was aware of that but was not comfortable applying it. To me, there was only 3 shades. Dark, mid, light. Also, I was not that good at seeing them. I never noticed the reflected light under the subject. Amazing! I still wonder how to combine chiaroscuro and the rendering of colors. But one thing at the time. As for the filling strokes, I don’t have the patience of doing straight lines or crossed lines... and it looks ugly when I try it. I would say that my technique is a mix of scribbling and blended lines... I don’t know if it is good or not but I have more fun drawing like that.
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Hi Marjolaine. That’s awesome. I can see how the stokes make the detailed feathers in your drawing. That’s something that I just have not seemed to figure out yet. Thanks for sharing this.
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@Colleen Hi Colleen! Thank you for your comment! Drawing the feathers is a big challenge for me too. The interesting thing is that I was not trying when I drew this grackle. The only thing I was focusing on was the chiaroscuro. I scribbled with the pencil... using some blending and some contour sketching too, but in a very rough way. But you are right, there is a feel of the feathers texture after all... it is a surprise for me! Your shells are very stylish, I love them!
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@Marjolaine Thanks. I am noticing that the chiaroscuro is making a huge difference in my drawings.
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It was a little bit. I am feeling more comfortable putting marks on the page. I still need to work on feather features on birds.
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Your lines are so sharp and detailed. You have composed almost photographic images here.
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@Cynthia Thanks Cynthia for your comment. I feel much more comfortable with using chiaroscuro in my drawings, but sometimes I feel that I am pressing too hard (almost imprinting) or should add color, which is not something that I am currently confident about. I was pleasantly surprised with this one when I did it.
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I found this very challenging but was amazed how the grapefruit took shape. Its a relaxing exercise to closely observe such everyday objects. I found this time of day( late afternoon)the light changed quickly so I just had to pick one and go with it.
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Not to say I am proud of everything on this page, but I am excited that I filled a sheet of paper with my learning.
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It is really like a revelation for me to define the chiaroscuro concept into 6-7 distinct zones. I was already aware of some of it, but to put it all together so neatly is great.
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I'd like to work on the perspective.
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Here are some of my random sketches of things I have easy access to. The elephant on the bottom of the second page came out cuter than I thought it would.
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I love the animal skull! The nail/iron spike is pretty on target also. Elephant is cute! Good work!
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I'm a perfectionist and often don't start things because I can't decide the best way to go about it or the best thing to draw or whatever. One reason I wanted to take this course is to draw more things without my own restrictions on whether or not it's a "good" subject, or if it's going to make a "good" finished piece. I used to work in an art museum and I did drawings and wrote in sketchbooks a lot over those years, and I have gotten away from it and want to get back.
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Hi Morgan, I see so many different kinds of mark in use here and the values are so clear. You skills are still with you!
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@Cynthia :) thank you!
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I really had to force myself to relax. I found that once I did relax, things went much better. I like the shading process.
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Love how you included the objects and your sketches. Nice!
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