Exercise 8.2 Elaborate Still Life

For this exercise, you will choose 12 objects you want to draw and place them in a composition that you arrange . Try to find interesting items or a theme for the drawing. The main focus should be on the objects and not the area around them. Think about how they fit within the picture plane or drawing area. Also, make sure to group the objects so there is not a lot of empty space between them. When you draw your arrangement, start slow and light. This project should take some time to develop your composition and complete your drawing.

Materials needed:

• Pencils – 4H, HB, 4B, or woodless graphite pencil
• Erasers – white and gray
• Stump if needed for shading

Time to complete: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Instructions:

• Set up your arrangement.
• The arrangement needs 12 unique and different objects within the composition. No two objects should be the same.
• It helps to have the objects overlap with each other and minimize gaps between objects.
• Find objects that are not overly simple and are complicated enough to fit within the time requirements to draw.
• You need to take a photo of the actual real life still life (not the drawing) from the location you did the drawing. The camera lens needs to be at the same location as your eye. This will be used for comparison. Make sure the additional image is cropped or framed so the objects are the same size in the area as the drawing.
• The drawing needs to be on one full page (18″x24″) of your drawing pad.
• Fill the entire drawing area with your objects and keep any empty background space to a minimum.
• Lighting on your objects should have a strong contrast from light on one side of the objects to dark on the other side.
• Try to add as much detail and shading as possible. Really try to develop the drawing as much as possible. Shading can be any type you prefer.
• You need to submit both the photograph and your drawing.