For the final project you will be creating a drawing that includes an interior scene of a table and some things upon it, a window, and a with a view to something beyond. It will either show the interior and exterior the day or night, your choice. This means that during the day you are looking for a darker interior and lighter exterior, at night a lighter interior and darker exterior.
This is quite a complex drawing because it will take some planning to get the composition as you want it, (you have already started working on that over the Thanksgiving break.) There will be decisions to make about:
- How much of the scene do I take on in my drawing?
- What compositional elements will tie the composition together?
- What will be my focal point? Will there be other areas of interest?
- How will I work with the light? Do I need to add a lamp or turn a light on?
CHOOSING SUBJECTS AND TIME OF DAY
Starting here with photographic examples from my living room. I happen to have a round table and round chairs, and I’ve put some round plates on the table, and I have some plants in round pots by the window, and cats in a round bed, a curvy fence outside, so I just happen have an emphasis on circles. What shapes are dominant in your interior and exterior? Is there some way you can make them harmonize so that you have unity?
Some small changes make a difference. Have the patience to try different viewpoints.
Keep in mind things which tend to harmonize the composition, such as the roundness of these pots.
I like how the roundness of the pots complement the roundness of the table. Should they be included or will they make it all too busy? If you want them in, you might have to move things around to make the composition work. You could also to take a different viewpoint to make the composition work.
You might even have to distort things slightly to make the composition work. This is how it’s seen with a wide angle lens. The rules of perspective really do follow here, but they are quite complex. You can see the vanishing point if you follow the doors the down.
EDITING OUT INFORMATION
Personally, I also like my cats, but in terms of a drawing, would the cat add to the composition or detract from it? If I add the cat in, how much detail do I need? Keep in mind that this drawing is about the view through the window from the table.
Cute, but is too much? Will it help or hinder the drawing? In this assignment you don’t need to add stuff into your drawing just because it’s your favorite thing.
LOOKING OUTSIDE
This is the fence I see outside the window. In this photograph I can barely see the fence, but in the drawing I can make it stand out by emphasizing the shape if I want too. In the photograph I can see a tree, and I have a choice of including the tree, or not.
IF YOU CHOOSE TO WORK AT NIGHT
Here is the same general scene at night:
In a photograph, you can’t see through the windows because of the reflections. However, in real life you can set up the composition of the drawing during the time when you have enough light to see outdoors, and you will be able to work on it at night. At night you might have to work with your lighting so that you can see what you are drawing and see outside as well.
But how much do you really need to include in your drawing? Working up from thumbnails will help decide.
[...] Final drawing composition set up reminders. [...]