Exercise: Getting Tone and Depth in Detail

Getting Tone and Depth in Detail   P.54

I did enjoy this exercise, and found it a challenge to instead of drawing in dark lines around the object but to fill in shade around the object, dark against light. For this exercise I used 4B, H and a 6H pencils.

Red Onion

I chose this red onion because I liked how the peeling texture added interest to the piece plus I positioned the onion so that one of the roots would protrude out from the object. I think I could of done a better job with the crosshatch work in the background, perhaps leaving less gaps. I really tried not to over work the piece by outlining the onion and from the way I was drawing only a few weeks ago, I think this is progress. 

Potted Plant

I spent a lot of time on this piece, trying to follow the instructions to the letter.  When I screwed up my eyes and looked at the potted plant, I began to shade in the dark areas I could see, slowly picking out areas that were more darker. Using my H pencils I shaded in midtones then followed up with the 6H for highlights. Finally I went around the picture, shading in only the darkest areas with the 4B.