Do you want to learn how to draw? Where to start? From the outline? Right, and then what? Then you should master the art of staging a still life. Thanks to still lifes, a novice artist will quickly master the subject drawing, and an experienced draftsman will be able to improve his skills. How to properly collect still lifes?
Still life should be interesting to the artist
What should the creator experience when setting himself some task? Inspiration. A man should like what he does. Therefore, the quality setting of a still life is so important. The artist should be delighted with the composition, which he needs to transfer from three-dimensional space to two-dimensional.
But what if the person does not yet have enough skills to represent complex objects? You need to draw something simple. But not everyone has a soul for cubes and balls. Therefore, find at home items of simple shapes that you will like. For example, instead of a ball, you can take a watermelon, and instead of a rectangle, bring a brick from the street. An artist should pay special attention to the selection of each subject.
For some reason, many people think that the more bizarre things are used in the composition, the still life will look prettier. Believe me, this is a myth. If you take an elegant figurine that disgusts you, you can never draw it beautifully. Therefore, always make a composition of those things to which the soul lies.
Objects must be fresh.
The second rule that an artist must follow is to take only fresh products for a still life. If you plan to draw something perishable, then you need to sit down at the easel immediately after you assemble the composition. If you do not plan to draw in the coming days, then do not use anything perishable in the production. It is better to take products whose shelf life is not limited to two to three days or to replace real food with models. If it is not possible to use dummies, then choose those edibles that, in your opinion, are the freshest.
After you find a place for each item in the production and draw the first drafts, circle the location of the items on the drapery and put the objects themselves in the refrigerator. Thanks to the contour that remains on the fabric, it will be easy to restore not only the location of objects, but also the distance between them.
Things must unite meaning
How to assemble a quality still life? To do this, all things should be united in a common sense. For example, if you are collecting a composition about a forest walk, you should use a basket, mushrooms, branches and leaves, as well as berries and stuffed birds. If you decide to put together a still life with the theme of “women's little things”, you should use fancy powder boxes, perfumes, mirrors and makeup brushes. In the production of the still life "gourmet breakfast" various fruits, bread and a jar of jam can be used.
The theme of each composition should be well traced by anyone watching. No need to suck the connection of objects from the finger. If you really want to use the sickle in the composition with breakfast, it is better to put it under the table, but not on the table. The whole picture will be spoiled by inappropriately placed things. They will be knocked out of the composition. But a still life is not a warehouse of products randomly thrown on the table. Still life is a well-composed composition that can be broken by any trifle.
Harmony between similar and different forms
The staging of a still life for painting is a whole art. A person should find such objects that will be in good harmony with each other in color, size and shape. Particular attention should be paid to the latter criterion. In one composition you do not need to pile up many identical objects. If you use bottles, they must be of different sizes. No need to build a background of eggplants of the same shape and size in the background. You should use such items whose shape is visually similar, but whose size is different. For example, you can find a rounded rectangle, a cylinder and a ball. It will be difficult to enter a cube or something faceted into such a composition.
Contours, outlines and smooth lines should be repeated. Then the composition will look whole and harmonious. You can combine incompatible objects, because in art there are no rules that cannot be violated. But before crossing the boundaries of what is permissible, a person must learn the classical canons.
The center of the composition must be one
Any, even a novice artist, must observe the simple rule of any good composition - the center should be one. The staging of a still life for painting obeys this rule. Looking at the production, the eye should immediately cling to something. The easiest way to highlight the center size. Put a large object in any corner of the still life, and it will be striking.
If you don’t want to highlight the central thing by size, you can experiment with color. In this case, the shade of the subject should radically differ from the shades that are used in the composition.
And another way to whiten the center is to form a void in the composition. But in this way, only experienced artists should highlight a center. With the wrong arrangement of objects, the void will cease to be the center and make the composition unbalanced. If you want to achieve the best effect, then you should use only one of the above methods. All together they cannot be used, otherwise the still life will cease to be balanced.
The game in contrast and nuance
A photo of the still life, which is assembled in accordance with all the rules, is presented above. If you are just starting to comprehend the art of composition, then choose the components of the production that will contrast with each other. A similar still life looks juicy and catchy. But remember that more than three colors are better not to combine. The fourth shade can be used in drapery. But in this case, it should be neutral, black, white or light pastel. Contrasting still lifes are simply not only collected, but also drawn. The color difference to the artist will be obvious. All that needs to be done is to choose the right shades.
If you know how to collect beautiful compositions, then try to create a production with an emphasis on nuance. All components of a still life should be designed in the same color scheme. The difference will be in shades. It will need to be found by the artist. It is difficult to write such productions, since not all artists manage to correctly place accents and highlight the center of the composition.
Proportionality
When a person is going to make a still life for a drawing, he must take into account the proportionality of objects. A matchbox should not be placed next to a large vase. He will look out of place. Large objects with small ones should be connected by a kind of bridge formed by medium-sized objects. Massive objects should stand in the background and not block small things in the foreground. Someone might consider gradation of sizes as a prime example of contrast. Similarly, you will be able to make disharmony of the composition and introduce dynamics into it. But your still life will not be sustainable in the eyes of the audience. The production will fall apart. If small objects stand next to large ones, it is impossible to correctly balance them. Therefore, pay attention to the harmony of proportions in your composition.
It should also be remembered that volume folds should be considered part of the production. And to put a scattering of beads on a large fold will be unreasonable. If you really want to put something there, it is better to choose a massive jug.
Versatility
Have you seen the color paintings? The model of the multidisciplinary setting of a still life in any thoughtful composition is as follows: at the back are large objects with a minimum of detailed elaboration, and in the foreground is something small and embossed. Objects that lie closer to the artist should be distinguished not only in size, but also in color and texture. Artists veil the background with darker colors, while objects from the foreground are always well-written in bright colors. The composition should be properly balanced, and at the same time, there should be no gross errors with detail.
Someone may be frightened by objects with a pronounced pattern. For example, small ceramic tiles, which are an excellent background, or gypsum heads, which require detailed study. You can put such objects in the background if all the other things in the still life are unexpressive and little detailed.
Details on details
Want to make a still life interesting? Then diversify it with detailed things. For example, use not a simple white service, but cups and teapots with a complex pattern. The pattern can adorn an old rushnyk or small figurines or figurines can act as accents. Things should be beautiful, and the artist should want to consider things more closely. Such details catch the eye, and the viewer does not remain indifferent.
But do not overload the composition. If you use decorative dishes in a still life, then the drapery should be plain. If you use printed fabrics, choose neutral objects that cannot be lost against the background of the catchy material. Do not overload the still life. Compositions in which there are many interesting details are nice to draw. But only an experienced artist, and not a beginner, can cope with such a task. Therefore, always appropriately evaluate your skills.
Still life must have character
Even a simple staging of a still life requires the creator of complex brain activity. Any composition should have its own character. Still lifes are empty, loaded, monochrome or contrasting. There should be no accident in your work. Use only those items that are appropriate in meaning and concept. If you are collecting a still life and doing it at a nuance, then be careful about the objects that you use. They should differ from each other not only in color, but also in texture.
It is not interesting to draw exclusively glossy dishes. The artist is pleased to look for new ways to convey the surface of things. If you are collecting a still life with a breakfast theme, then take bread, egg, cucumber and cake. This food seems the simplest, but all objects have differences in surface texture.
Background
Gathering a still life? The educational setting requires the teacher to know the specifics of the background. As a color substrate, dark matter of a warm shade should be used. On such a fabric, all bright objects will look expressive. The student does not have to think about contrasts for a long time. The background is dark, the background is medium saturated, and things in the foreground are light and expressive. It is on simple tasks that students learn the rules of composition and all the subtleties of emphasis.
As a background, you can use not only fabric, but also objects from the environment. For example, teachers use the corner of the room as a background. Such still lifes help the student to understand that the composition is not something separate, but part of the surrounding space. If classes are held in the open air mode, then the background may be grass or trees. It is interesting to write household items under direct sunlight when the backdrop is a beautiful flowering bush of rose or jasmine.
Folds
You can see the photo of the production for a still life above. One of the emphasis of this work is folds. They should be well drawn by any self-respecting artist. How to choose a material? To create folds, it is better to use the old fabric that was in use. Such material is used not for reasons of economy, but for the reason that the burnt canvas is more picturesque than a new cut with a print.
To create wrinkles, you can use either rough material like a canvas or something flowing like silk. The differences will be in the number of folds and their quality. Massive creases are obtained on the rough fabric, which sometimes even have sharp corners. On silk, small folds are obtained, which are difficult to decompose at will.
How to choose the color of the material? It is advisable to use a fabric of those shades that students will have to mix, rather than those colors that are part of the standard palette.
Lighting
How to draw a still life? An important role in any drawing is played by lighting. It is natural and artificial. Beginning artists are better off painting in natural light. And for students who have already received basic knowledge in the field of drawing, you can go to the performances, illuminated by spotlights. Thanks to lighting, the texture and texture of objects is revealed, and the shape of things is also better read.