1) Explain how value is important in this drawing?
Value was extremely important for this drawing because all of the drawings needed to appear layered. For example, the second and third pieces are meant to look like the spoon tongs are turning in. By adding the highlight in the middle and darks fading out to the side, I created the illusion that the tongs are being bent inwards. Adding shadows below each of the tongs shows that they are raised above the base of the spoon. In the first piece, I used strong highlights to show that the spoon was made of metal. Throughout the preceding pieces I made sure to use the same strong highlights and then progressively use less of the metal highlights to create the illusion that the spoon/rib is slowly becoming a different material (bone).
2) Describe several challenges that you faced while creating this drawing. What did you do to overcome these obstacles?
My main challenge with this drawing was not being able to use reference pictures. Since obviously I can't physically take a spoon and morph it into a ribcage, I had to imagine what each image would look like. This was very difficult for me because I had never tried to make a realistic drawing without reference photos before. To overcome this I pulled up pictures of ribcages and the spoon and tried to combine the two to the best of my abilities. I also struggled with figuring out how to make the spoon appear metal. I had never drawn a metal object before, so figuring out how to create the super strong highlights was a tad difficult for me. The severity of the highlights always look too strong. I decided to limit myself and only look at small portions of the spoon at once. By focusing on copying the small sections as best I could without thinking about it in relation to the rest of the drawing, I was able to create a pretty realistic drawing.
3) Explain how your interpretation of texture is essential in capturing the look of the object.
As I said before, I had to make sure that it was evident the material of the object was changing from metal to bone. I did this by progressively mixing the different values of the two and eventually eliminating the existing spoon highlights all together.
4) Name three things you would draw differently if you were to do this project again.
The first thing I would change is the harshness of my transitions. I would love if the differences could be more subtle. This would strengthen the idea of the spoon slowing morphing into a ribcage. However, this would probably take a very long time and I was already growing impatient. I would also change the spine of the third piece. I feel like I could have given it more value around the edges to show it was starting to round off, somewhat like the fourth piece does. Making my pencil strokes, particularly in the fourth piece, smoother is another change I would like to make. I don't like that you can see some of the lines, I feel like it detracts from the realism.
5) What did you learn?
This project really pushed me out of my comfort zone. I have always used a reference photo to base my projects on. There were many times when I grew very frustrated by this. However, I think it taught me a very valuable lesson. I learned how to create a realistic image based on imagination. I know this will be very helpful in my future because I plan on making more pieces using realistic drawing techniques to make imaginative things. I also feel like it taught me more basics on how to utilize basic understanding of how value works in order to create a realistic image of an imaginative object.
6) How important was it to have clean crisp edges to your drawing?
Having clean crisp lines was not as important to this drawing as having faded and smudged lines was. I used faint and smudged lines to start suggesting where a new bone or value will be in the next piece. Had all my lines been clean and crisp, I wouldn't of had been able to show the transition as clearly.
Value was extremely important for this drawing because all of the drawings needed to appear layered. For example, the second and third pieces are meant to look like the spoon tongs are turning in. By adding the highlight in the middle and darks fading out to the side, I created the illusion that the tongs are being bent inwards. Adding shadows below each of the tongs shows that they are raised above the base of the spoon. In the first piece, I used strong highlights to show that the spoon was made of metal. Throughout the preceding pieces I made sure to use the same strong highlights and then progressively use less of the metal highlights to create the illusion that the spoon/rib is slowly becoming a different material (bone).
2) Describe several challenges that you faced while creating this drawing. What did you do to overcome these obstacles?
My main challenge with this drawing was not being able to use reference pictures. Since obviously I can't physically take a spoon and morph it into a ribcage, I had to imagine what each image would look like. This was very difficult for me because I had never tried to make a realistic drawing without reference photos before. To overcome this I pulled up pictures of ribcages and the spoon and tried to combine the two to the best of my abilities. I also struggled with figuring out how to make the spoon appear metal. I had never drawn a metal object before, so figuring out how to create the super strong highlights was a tad difficult for me. The severity of the highlights always look too strong. I decided to limit myself and only look at small portions of the spoon at once. By focusing on copying the small sections as best I could without thinking about it in relation to the rest of the drawing, I was able to create a pretty realistic drawing.
3) Explain how your interpretation of texture is essential in capturing the look of the object.
As I said before, I had to make sure that it was evident the material of the object was changing from metal to bone. I did this by progressively mixing the different values of the two and eventually eliminating the existing spoon highlights all together.
4) Name three things you would draw differently if you were to do this project again.
The first thing I would change is the harshness of my transitions. I would love if the differences could be more subtle. This would strengthen the idea of the spoon slowing morphing into a ribcage. However, this would probably take a very long time and I was already growing impatient. I would also change the spine of the third piece. I feel like I could have given it more value around the edges to show it was starting to round off, somewhat like the fourth piece does. Making my pencil strokes, particularly in the fourth piece, smoother is another change I would like to make. I don't like that you can see some of the lines, I feel like it detracts from the realism.
5) What did you learn?
This project really pushed me out of my comfort zone. I have always used a reference photo to base my projects on. There were many times when I grew very frustrated by this. However, I think it taught me a very valuable lesson. I learned how to create a realistic image based on imagination. I know this will be very helpful in my future because I plan on making more pieces using realistic drawing techniques to make imaginative things. I also feel like it taught me more basics on how to utilize basic understanding of how value works in order to create a realistic image of an imaginative object.
6) How important was it to have clean crisp edges to your drawing?
Having clean crisp lines was not as important to this drawing as having faded and smudged lines was. I used faint and smudged lines to start suggesting where a new bone or value will be in the next piece. Had all my lines been clean and crisp, I wouldn't of had been able to show the transition as clearly.