Day 4 - STUDYING SHAPE
Hello and I am so pleased to be welcoming you back to Day 4 of Nature Wonderers!
So here is what we’re going to be doing during the last two days of our course:
Today is ‘Day 4 - Studying Shape’ where we’ll be looking more closely at some of the objects that have inspired us over the last few days, and exploring different ways to represent their shape in our paper wreaths.
And on Day 5 we’ll bring everything together to create a beautiful paper wreath that celebrates your own personal journey on the course, and that you can display to inspire you in the future!
In the course so far we have created a nature inspired colour palette, found words or a phrase that connect us to nature and made an inspiring moodboard. In this process there may have been shapes that have emerged throughout the different activities. For some of you this might be natural shapes like leaves, feathers or fungi, but for others it may be more abstract shapes like waves, moss or shadows.
Today we are going to look at some different ways you can represent these natural forms, both as realistic drawings and as abstract shapes or patterns, both of which you can use to create your paper wreath in Day 5.
People often feel overwhelmed at first when they think about making paper shapes to reflect natural objects. The first step that makes this process easier is to spend some time looking at the object. For example:
Is it symmetrical or asymmetrical?
Are the edges curled, spiked, or smooth?
Where are the shadows?
Where does the light land on it?
What are it’s key features - are their veins, pores or tendrils?
Observational Drawing Mini Tutorial
First I’d like to share a few different approaches to drawing if you would like to develop your observational skills. Please be aware that this is my approach to drawing, and I am a very detailed orientated artist! You made be drawn more to a style that is looser or bolder, which you are so encouraged to embrace in this course. There is no one way to draw.
But to give you an insight into how I approach a drawing using pencils and fineliner pens you can watch the video below:
Video text:
I began with a leaf I used on my moodboard.
To start I look at the shape and try and break it down into basic shapes. So for a leaf you might think ‘it’s an ellipse!’. But the base is a triangle. Followed by a rectangle (though it’s not equal so I think technically it’s a quadrilateral?). And then a semi circle at the top. I’ve shown these in blue so you can see clearly but you will want to use a pencil lightly which you can rub out later.
Now I have these shapes sketched out, I can use them as a guide as I begin to draw in more details like the leaf edges using a fineliner pen.
This creates a simple line drawing outline.
Another useful way to think about it at this point in the drawing process is to consider the negative space. This is the space around the object. So if you look at the negative space around the object you are drawing, and then compare this to the negative space in your drawing, it can sometimes make it very clear if your proportions or angles aren’t quite accurate. It can also help to draw a box around your line drawing to make this clearer.
The next step would be to add hatching to create shadows - which is using tiny lines to make a shape appear to have curves or show shadows.
I do this along the stem and the edges of my leaf.
Then then go in to add more shadows, and details on the veins.
And finally I coloured my drawing. I was working digitally for this tutorial on my i-Pad but you could also use coloured pencils. I recommend starting with the lightest colour and then adding the darker tones from the lightest to darkest.
Other ways to study shape
Now that we have thought a bit about the shapes of natural objects your task for the day is to take some pieces of paper - this can be plain copy paper if you’d like, or it can be coloured paper it’s up to you. Then spend some time thinking about how you could make shapes using this. Here are some ideas:
How can you cut the paper? Can you feather it, cut it with a wobbly line, or cut it into strips that coil together? Can it be simple abstract shapes, or intricate details?
How can you tear the paper? Can you tear it neatly, rip it or rip into it repeatedly?
How can you fold the paper? Can you fold it half, quarters, concertina it, or crease lines into it?
How can you layer the paper? Can you fold it into layers, glue it or cut through to a layer underneath?
On Day 5 I’ll be sharing some of the techniques that I used to create paper sculptures and we’ll be making out wreath to celebrate this journey! In preparation you could gather together papers that match your colour palette, for example by painting sheets, or even searching through magazines if you have some!
I hope you enjoy Day 4 and I’m really looking forward to sharing Day 5 with you!