Drawing Cloud Formations P.80

Drawing Cloud Formations P.80



I am finding this exercise really enjoyable and will continue to add cloud sketches to this blog. The great thing about doing this is the spontaneous nature of how clouds form and I am finding it really handy to have a sketch pad on hand because as quick as they form they disappear or lose shape just as fast.

In the top left picture, the sun is hidden quite deep behind the cloud, but it is illuminating the cloud edge. I have used a graphite Pencil to create the cloud, the added a soft pastel grey to create a sky effect (which was blue at the time). I have tried to create semi transparency in places, with dense thick cloud at the darkest points.  In the bottom Left & Right sketches, I was lucky enough to catch a distant rain cloud, but it was moving out of view so I quickly draw the right sketch first to basically highlight tones, and to tell me which direction the the rain was going. I then did a soft pastel sketch on the left, using a smudge technique to drag the rain/mist downwards.

More cloud attempts from my sketchbook, using a variety of mediums. I found the colouring pencils work quite well, concentrating on the colouring in the blue negative space to create the cloud. I found ink much harder in getting the cloud effect, not so much with shading but with the outline that the pen makes.

I did attempt to try oil pastel to create a sunset ( from a photo I took in Autumn) but I was having difficulty with overlaying the orange red clouds against the blue/purple background. I felt it looked too flat, like the red cloud was not in front of the sky like on the photo.It is a shame as I was starting to get the distant dark clouds on the horizon looking quite well. However, I know the oil pastel can be lifted off (hence the scratch marks) so it is a picture I may go back too at some point.