A piece of fruit is a perfect first
subject - I've chosen a pear, as its shape is more interesting
than an apple. The dotted lines show how cross-contours move
around the pear (imagine slices throught the middle). Subtly
indicating this in the shading will help give a 3-dimensional
effect.
The Aim: Create a pencil drawing of a piece
of fruit, with a combination of simple contour drawing and
shading.
What You Need: An interesting piece of fruit,
a sketchbook or drawing paper, an HB or B pencil, and a 2b
or 4b pencil. Erasers optional!
What to Do: Step 1 - Contour (Outline) Drawing. If you
aren't sure where begin, hold the pear against your page to
see how it will fit.
Place it on the table in front of you. Using your HB or B,
start near the top of the fruit, and draw the outline, following
with your eyes slowly along the outside of the shape. Don't
worry about erasing mistakes at this stage - just redraw the
line you want or keep going.
Step 2 - Shading Now begin shading. Note where the light shines giving
a highlight - avoid this area - and shade the mid tones and
the darkest shadow areas. Gradually build up the tone with
light, fast pencil movements. I might erase mistakes at this
time.
Step 3 - Building the Form
Continue to build the tone up over the whole shape, lightly
bringing the tone up to the lighter areas. I try to avoid
erasing at this stage, as it tends to smudge.
Step 4 - Finishing the Drawing When you see a dark area, don't be afraid to use
a dark tone. Shadowed areas may be quite black. You will need
the softer(2B and 4B) pencils for darker tones. Look over
the whole drawing and compare it to your subject, Sometimes
a little 'artists licence' might be used to emphasise shadows
and improve the form. My example is much lighter than the
photograph.
Tips:
- A strong light source gives a better range of tones.
- Some artists like to blend (smudge) tones, but while you
are learning to control tone, it is better to
leave pencil marks. With practice your shading will get more
even.
- Don't worry too much about 'mistakes'. A few stray lines
can add interest and life to a sketch.
