The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › Nature Journaling and Field Sketching › Illustrating the 3D World
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This drawing I did of a fawn shows three dimensional effects - including the reflected light as the jaw turns under the head and the cast shadow of the head on the neck. I was careful to draw in the direction of the form. The original drawing is a little more distinct and the darks are darker. The scanner lightened and blurred the drawing a little. I'm sorry don't have Photoshop now to correct it.
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This was a good exercise and also challenging. Will continue practicing to develop 3D skills. I found the lemon difficult but the pear was a better attempt.
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This was fun! I like working with shadow and adding 3D effects to my drawings. I drew a banana and a tangelo. :)
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Fun fact: after I drew the tangelo, I ate it! :)
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I followed Fuller's course [and all the info her more experienced students offered], work as she suggested and have fun, be comfortable and not be too self critical. I've enjoyed what I gained, so far, but I've yet to complete the class. Since summer ends in central New England rather quickly, my perennials will survive. The last time I was able to sit outside with my sketch book and watch the birds enjoy that view I was able to do some planning for what was to come. Then the world [except for the birds I can feed in the winter] went wacky. Holly
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Thanks. Holly. It was very thoughtful of you to give us some very helpful tips. I have my 19 year old cockatiel taking the class with me.
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I always thought that the difference between a tight conifer cone and one from the same tree that had opened up had to do with when they fell off the tree. These two drawings are of the same cone on two consecutive days. Bringing the cone inside, where it warmed up and dried, made it start to spring open. Much more of a challenge to draw! I still haven't gotten the scale patterns very well, and need to work on its looking cylindrical, but it was fun to try drawing the differences.
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Pinecones can actually be used to tell the weather. That is why you are having the spring open problem. Just get it wet again. That should help. When the weather changes, the pinecone will start to close up, if it gets cold or wet it will snap tighter then a drum. Happy drawing
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Wow! My attempt was with a cluster of Bananas. Here are some take aways. 1) Dull skin not very reflective. 2) Indoor lighting cast three shadows. 3) The natural green around the stems was difficult to differentiate from the shadow , at least it was from this noob drawers stand point. Drawing image was saved PDF so couldn't upload. I will convert the image and share in the next couple of days.
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I'm having trouble finding the right balance between drawing and suggesting detail. On my pine cone, I found I couldn't actually draw what I saw--it just seemed too complicated. So I sketched it pretty quickly and I'm fairly happy with how it came out. I labored over the oyster shell, though, and got all twisted up trying to find the right degree of shading to suggest the contours. Not very happy with the 3-D effect of the barnacles. Anybody have any thoughts on how I could capture their depth better?
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oops. I realize that's a Loblolly Pine, not a white pine.
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Y
Initial attempts at 3d object. Moon snail.
Another attempt at 3d with an apple.
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Like the apple! I think you have also hit on the perfect way to draw something fuzzy, like a peach or a tennis ball.
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My first time drawing a 3D object! I have never paid attention to the light and dark values of anything before, so it was fun to see everyday fruit and veg from a different perspective.
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You got the shine on your tomato beautifully!
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I was pretty happy with this fat little lemon. It had a really shiny skin, which made the shading a little easier to get.
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Nice drawing, Natasha. You locked the 3D effect down on this one.
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Capturing the shading on something that's highly textured was a challenge for me. Each little nub on this O
sage orange fruit had its own shading, which I don't think I was successful at getting right.
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I had trouble with the translucence of the shell. The little light patch at the left margin is where the bright light coming in from the right was shining through the shell. It's a little odd to see light there, because that's the side in deepest shadow.
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Another awesome drawing. Congrats again, Natasha.
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It looks like a walnut! It looks like a walnut! The tip about practicing with fruits and veggies is a game changer. Too cold to take the journal outdoors this weekend. 1.4 degrees F tonight. I think I will stay with the nuts, seeds and produce indoors! Sticking with the various methods of shading, understanding value and practicing chiaroscuro for a few weeks will keep me occupied and feeling more confident. Thanks!
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I love the way you captured the texture on the walnut. I think I get too bogged down in the details of texture. You've done it by simplifying the shading and irregularities. Nice!
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Also w/ my .005 Micron, a white breasted nuthatch creeping down a tree (from a photo).
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I had this textured paper left over so I had a second go at using my .005 Micron to sketch (from photos) a blue headed vireo.
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Very detailed and realistic. Great drawing Mary.
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Very nice! And I like your use of red lettering w the pencil drawing.
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Sorry for the picture of doll’s tea party. that was an accident.
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You know, my favourite part of this photo isn't your skill, your dedication to capturing the light/shadow at various times, your use of shading/value/chiaroscuro on your beautiful little leaf... No, my favourite part is capturing all of this at your dining table while your child enjoys a tea party. You have, perhaps unintentionally, provided her with a model of what life-long learning looks like. Modelling the learning of something new, the ability to 'play' with new skills as they develop. You are also modelling a love of the natural world and a sense of wonder and appreciation of the "mundane" leaf or a simple apple as well. For your course-mates, you are also modelling for us the essential need to carve out time for ourselves in our all-too-often busy lives; you are balancing motherhood with something just as important- your own beautiful self. Thanks for this lovely photo.
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Terrific drawing skills, Linda. Great to see your journal notation too. Bravo!
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Northern Spy Apple. It was hard to do the shadow and the reflection of the apple.
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Nice exercice, for me it was difficult to get the tight textures
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I enjoyed using my Micron .005 pen to do a lot of mark-making. This was done from a photo - I think my shadows/shading are off. But I'm happy with some elements of how it came out.
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I still need more practice with light and shadow, and making objects look 3-D
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I drew this damselfly from a photo I took - trying to get a 3-D look with shadows
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I had some trouble with the shadow especially.
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I think this came out well. I'm curious about where your light was coming from. It seems strange that the highlight would be on the same side of the apple as the cast shadow.
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I was ready to jump to the next lesson, but have made a conscious decision to stay with this lesson for a while. There is so much to practice and there is plenty of time with covid, so I am trying to take my time and hone some skills. A few photos of my journal. The camera does strange things w the lead drawings.
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Love this! I just bought my first set of watercolours- haven't even opened the package yet. Don't even know how to use the tubes of paint! But this is just so inspiring. I'm sure it will take me awhile to get to this level and that's okay! Just loving your garlic!!! And also the way you did your paint test squares and the examples to show the thickness of the pens you uses (sorry, I don't know all the technical terms for these things). Microns. New vocab for me too! Cheers.
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Mary, are those B&W garlic drawings done with pencil? They look like watercolor. They are lovely!
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