What is this concept of “still life” for a beginner, of course, an artist? What can it include? And how to draw a still life with a pencil yourself?
What, in fact, are we portraying?
First of all, you probably imagine a vase of flowers or fruits, a jug of milk or vegetables, cups, dried bream. In general, this word literally translates to "dead nature." And the still life itself may contain different (inanimate usually) objects in an amount of two or more that lie on any surface. More often these are fruits and flowers, sometimes vegetables and kitchen utensils. It is also customary to draw glasses or vases. How do we draw a still life with a pencil in stages? We will understand all this by following the simple instructions, guidelines below.
Easiest method
We will draw a fruity-floral still life in pencil (for beginners). Naturally, experienced artists can (and probably should) write differently. And we will start with the basics!
Geometry is our everything
Step 1 First of all, you need to imagine any item in the form of a simple form. Connect your imagination. What does a vase look like most? Right, on the cylinder. A basket is a parallelogram, an apple is a circle, a pear is an oval, and so on according to the same principle! Its symmetry affects flowers, and petals, and leaves. By the way, for this it may be useful to preview the cubist paintings. That's where the geometry of the universe opens before us in its entirety! It will also be very important to place objects correctly on a piece of paper. They should not “slide down” from the table, but lie or stand straight. So, our sketch is more like geometric shapes.
Step 2 Next, we bend a little line to get the shape of the objects we need. For example, add a pen to a fruit basket or a vase of flowers. We make the lines smoother, softer, without sharp corners.
Step 3 We continue to draw a still life with a pencil in stages. In circles and ovals we designate fruits. They can overlap each other. Therefore, our circles will not be very even.
Step 4 Denote the flowers, their centers, as well as the petals. Add leaves gradually.
Draw a texture
Step 5 Draw the petals.
Step 6 Now we thoroughly stroke our drawing. In this case, add a wicker texture to the basket. Stroke the fruits around, leave more glare to make our fruits look juicier. Shade the petals and leaves from the center to the edge.
Step 7 Our still life with a pencil, moving in stages, is almost ready. If you decide that the light is falling in the figure on the left, then add horizontal shadows to the right of the objects using hatching.
Additional image tools
You will be surprised, but with the most ordinary eraser you can not only erase the unnecessary, but also draw, creating lighter tones. This is done on an image made with charcoal and pencil. It seems to many that the basics of graphics are line and hatching. And only with the help of them artists distribute dark and light colors. However, sometimes it’s easier to use an ordinary eraser, that is, an eraser. It is especially convenient in cases where you need to get pale, quite thin lines that gently turn into darker tones. Here, for creativity, you need smooth paper that facilitates the process of erasing coal lines.
Another means of image can be an ordinary finger! It is easy for them to grind graphite powder on a sheet of paper when you draw a still life with a pencil in stages. Such a peculiar technique also exists in nature and can very well be used to depict a "dead nature" - your still life.
So do, draw, dare. Perhaps it is you who will come up with some new technique of drawing, who knows ... Good luck and patience!