STILL LIFE THREAD!!!...GET BETTER AT DRAWING and SEEING..at the same time!!

[Jason Manley]

hey all...

I think we have all noticed a lot of improvement out of everyone over the past six months. I think that part of this has to be owed to the daily excersizes such as the self portraits and the speed paintings.

I have seen a tremendous amount of growth in the areas of imagintive drawing and painting. In the areas of observational drawing I think that we all still need a LOT of work.

and thus...ITS STILL LIFE TIME.

this new period is inspired by one of our newest members...JD HILLBERRY.

Take a look at this thread link to see what I am talking about.

http://www.jdhillberry.com/images/Onions%20and%20Garlic.jpg

and this site

http://www.jdhillberry.com


This kind of drawing is very patient and controlled. it will develop your eyes and will develop your skills. you can do it both digitally and traditionally.

Lets see how many we can get ok!

i will post some other still life images as I dig them up. Feel free to post some awesome still life stuff ok??

choose anything you like...just draw some stuff!!

placing a light near your objects will make things easier on you. One light source in an environment where the light is not constantly changing will be beneficial. Drawing in "north light" is ideal.

Life drawing is perhaps the most single important aspect of learning to draw and paint. It is perhaps the most difficult thing an artist ever attempts to do. It is something that must be refined. we have been letting the life drawing section slide...its time to get back to basics...and to what is important!

feel free to ask questions.

PLEASE post your images in this thread.


j

[I.was.ink]

Originally posted by Jason Manley
Life drawing is perhaps the most single important aspect of learning to draw and paint. It is perhaps the most difficult thing an artist ever attempts to do. It is something that must be refined. we have been letting the life drawing section slide...its time to get back to basics...and to what is important!

PLEASE post your images in this thread.


j

Well since you said life drawing is welcome, then I'll also post here my life drawngs from school!:)

Here are today's life drawings. These were done towards the end of class. Each pose is two minute drawings. The model would start where it says the #1 and end at #5. I think they're pretty good for 2 minute poses!:)

http://conceptart.org/forums/images/imported/2003/01/94.jpg

http://conceptart.org/forums/images/imported/2003/01/95.jpg

http://conceptart.org/forums/images/imported/2003/01/96.jpg

These are blind drawings. The model would pose. then we turn around and have to draw from memory for two minutes, and these are the results! The one in the middle was: study for 2, draw for 2, study for 1, finish with 2 minutes. I had never done this type of "blind" drawing before. It was really fun!:D

http://conceptart.org/forums/images/imported/2003/01/97.jpg
:)

[Jason Manley]

just for that...you owe me a still life!

:)


j

[davi]

Awesome work :)

Does anyone have suggestions on how to do a nice still life digitally? I would go tradiational but i have no scanner.

ps:i use my wacom on my lap..

[I.was.ink]

to J> but aren't these still life's? :p I'll do one eventually. But my real question is: Is this thread for life drawings? that way i know what to post and what not o post!:)

[jhibbs]

heres a still-life in oils from the first day of painting2 (just started), in case you cant tell the thingy in the back left is a chromish portable water container (theres a pic of one on feng's site) any crit is great, especially from other oil painters

http://www.geocities.com/jhibbs27/apple.txt

[Blackhawk]

I hope this is what you were looking for Jason. I spent 3 hours on it last night, I closed up shop when I noticed my clock read 6am.

Digital still-life. Not too spectacular but it was a learning experience.

http://members.cox.net/spagina/life/dig.jpg

[Oblio]

uh - great stuff everyone-
COUNT ME IN (although.. i still have 9 bugs to do ;) )
Geronimooo

[Jason Manley]

nice start blackhawk...Id like to see how far you can finish one of those...


oblio..get those damn bugs done. you are needed in here.


j

[keyth]

well this is a lot harder than it seems. i put an avocado, a potato, and some crumpled garlic on a peice of paper and stuck it in a shallow bowl.

this was really tough for some reason. some really weird colors in the shadows....

i'll try another, time for sleeps.

http://members.fortunecity.com/keyth/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/stilllifeconart.jpg

[Oblio]

:iws:

5 bugs done.. 5 more to go. Yet.. i couldn't stay away from this.

Sorry Keyth - this is not eatable. (i don't know how is this called in english. Here it goes by "Tartacuta" - ornamental only nature spam.)
Don't worry J - the next one will be traditional. ok?

http://members.fortunecity.com/afantana/tartacuta5.jpg

Oblio

P.S - the composition suck .. i know! :(

[Nold]

A still life thread is a great idea. Let me add my first two tries, both pencil. I'm quite happy with the first one,it came out better than I expected, so i will post it although some people told me already that there is NOTHING good in it.
Nice work everyone ! :thumbsup:

http://www.nhoch2.de/images/obst.jpg

http://www.nhoch2.de/images/weint.jpg

[miasmak]

http://www.o2w.nl/~maia/cg/sl0120-9s.JPG

a fork for your knife, Nold ...

[Oblio]

Wow.. mia - superb!
Mind that the fork is bent at the handler (a litle little bit) :)

Oblio

[jester]

Thought I might join as well... :D

Good starts everybody. I struggled about 45 minutes on mine.

http://conceptart.org/forums/images/imported/2003/01/136.jpg

Jester

[Nold]

Thanks for the knife :D ! Well done, I love the colors.

[jhibbs]

heres another in oils, for my painting class. 36x36"

maismak, the colors in that one are fantastic. how about another one? :P

http://www.geocities.com/jhibbs27/stilllife.txt

[MindCandyMan]

my first still life ever...first of many

http://www.phantomarts.co.uk/freeimagehosting/candle still life.jpg

[miasmak]

what is the intention of this thread, should I be commenting on as much of the still lives posted as part of the learning experience as well?

Sorry I bent my fork Oblio, I thought no-ne would notice. I tried to fix it but it got worse. I try harder nextime.

jhibbs, thanks I was trying out this trick I read in a watercolour book lately. To make the orange look really orange the highlights are a very pale blue. Good work with the oils, I have never tried them myself.

good one MCM definitely 3D feel.

[MindCandyMan]

mia that one is amazing...sure yeah the fork is bent VERY VERY little. But the fork is the best part to me...the reflections are awesome...you really painted what you saw with this...great work. I hope for the clarity of vision myself.

jhibbs - looks awesome man...love the way you did the cloth.

nold - great work man. I would try to push the values more. But great work man...keep it up!

jester - good stuff man. That's a really complicated one sheesh hehehe. I would have a really hard time with that. For the next one shade it completely out. I think yours will look lovely completely rendered out.

keyth - boy that was hard one...sheesh...great work with the textures though.

oblio - the top part of the pumpkin thing looks awesome.

[Eric Lange]

First art post for me... this is me learning Painter.

http://bone.thajungle.com/images/owl.jpg

[mojo]

This is my first post here, and before I begin I must say I am soooo impressed with everyone. It is going to keep me from getting too complacent. Inspiring work from all of you. I welcome your comments and criticism.

Here are 2 of a series of autobiographical still lifes I did back in 2001 - done in Corel Photopaint. no references. (oops, i lie - the penny is a photo- the apple and frog are referenced)

Admit One

http://www.jodigital.com/portfolio%20images%20and%20thumbs/fine%20art/admit%20one_.jpg

Quixotic (when you wish a frog was prince)

http://www.jodigital.com/portfolio%20images%20and%20thumbs/fine%20art/quixotic%20_.jpg

[egerie]

! What a coincidence... I found some really old film rolls last week and went to get them developped out of curiosity. Had the suprise to find pictures from when in fine arts a few years ago.
http://mysite.directlink.net/thierry/urgh.jpg
The scanner flared the right side of the picture but that's okay considering it was my first "nature morte" with paint. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
I have no regret ; some poor desperate soul stole it right after exhibition !

I'm finishing emptying boxes and finally setting my easel back home.. it's hard to motivate yourself when you get back home at 11pm tho. Damn game developpers !! ;)
Anyway, I'll try to get back into painting.. scared..

ege
-spam. Spam, spam, spam and eggs, and spam.. and eggs.

[wes9000]

i did these sketches this morning over in the disection labs of the hospital...
guess they can count as "human" still lifes..

http://www.stormpages.com/wes9000/new/cadav3.txt


http://www.stormpages.com/wes9000/new/cadav2.txt


http://www.stormpages.com/wes9000/new/cadav1.txt


you guys are lucky you cant smell these drawings....bleh they reek of formaldehyde

-wes

[HellTaxi]

Did this just now real quick... mainly a color study, some proportions are off. I saved my first step seperate so i can go back and do the whole thing with detail (for once:D ) I love the work on this thread. Those cadaver sketches are great, albiet creepy. good job wes. Egerie, that looks totally professional (you must be). Mojo, thats a cool idea, i should try it. Job well done.
http://www.angelfire.com/comics/helltaxi/images/still-guit-fin.txt
http://www.angelfire.com/comics/helltaxi/images/still-guit-fin.txt

[Oblio]

Wes is back dead! aaa.. from the dead.
good to see you alive capt.

HellTaxi - come on.. a little more work on it could make it a lot more better.

egerie - wow - lovely. That metal thing is superb. Some perspective problems on the vase thing back there - i think. It looks a bit flat. MORE!

mojo - ohh.. not current work so.. i'll be quite. Anyway.. how odd it may sound they look too clean. The light does not varry on the whole picture enough to create a mood. I hope you get my point. So.. MORE! :D

eric - perspective pb. on the lower part - it looks ready to fall.
nice start though.

MCM - nice start. you can value the benefits of a still life.. it holds still :) doing so many SP's made me love something that doesn't move.
So.. no excuse for the measurements errors, perspective and so on. The value is good though. Rock on MCM. Rock on...

Jhibs - Oooh.. aaahhhh (i love it)

Jester - very nice. very clean. Yet.. you can not have the same white value allover. i know the glass is transparent but it is a different material. same with every other object - different material = different value. or better, let me quote a cool guy:
:different plane=different light=different value = different color" – Kevin Chen

there you go - feedback. Now.. post some more. :p
i will too.

Oblio

[egerie]

Thank you very muchly Oblio :)

wes9000 - OMG !!!! You lucky man .. I wish I could get in there to do anatomy studies, etc. I takes a lot to rattle me ;)
Will you do more ?

[jester]

Thanks, Oblio, yes, you are right (I read this great thread, too) - but somehow I forgot while drawing. Will keep this in mind for the next one - which I will hopefully draw tonight. Founding a company (albeit a small one) is quite demanding and keeping me busy currently.

Jester

[mojo]

Oblio, thanks for the criticism, of course you are right. - there is a part of me that likes it bright and almost surreal - but of course I haven't even attempted to create something moodier. It might be great to see what would happen if I put the postive aspects (objects) into the light and the ones I'd rather forget about into the darkness...will work more and try that out.

Please never fear offering criticism - old, new, anything...I am counting on you all to push me into trying new things...

thanks again.

:fish:

[jester]

Well, another attempt, this time with markers. That spoon in front is made of horn btw, so no metal reflections can be expected here. Tried to keep Oblio's tips in mind - not sure whether I was successful or not. There are parts which I like and some I don't.

http://conceptart.org/forums/images/imported/2003/01/146.jpg

Jester

[Oblio]

small update on the "tartacuta" :)
a frien told me: I know it looked smashed on the lower side but it bothers me. So.. i go and make him a new pic looking like this one. Then he told me:
See? Now you're the king of your drawing!
Well.. i'm not even a beggar but he had a point. Draw it to look good. Nature should just inspire you. Don't copy - use reference.

Oblio

P.S. - Stand by - i plan a traditional one too - damn.. if i could only have the time.

[jester]

Oblio - that tartacuta (in Germany it is called Bischofsmütze - bishop's hat) looks great. Only that shadow (?) on the left (that bold black stroke on the table) bothers me.

Jester

[jester]

Oh, it's me again :o .

Same stuff, different arrangement, different medium (just plain pencils, H, HB and 2B). Didn't spend too much time on the cloth (I fear that shows...). Anything else I could improve (certainly there is, but I hope you will tell me ;)).

Jester

http://conceptart.org/forums/images/imported/2003/01/148.jpg

[MindCandyMan]

Good stuff jester...I would push the values a lot more. There are too many places that have stark whites in this one. If the darkest dark is the hardest push of the pencil and the whitest white (like the center of a lightbulb) is the white paper then you have to function according to that...check out JD's onions again and you will see what I mean.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2917&highlight=onion

Almost every area of the picture has tone laid down...there are very few places where he left no tone. Only at the shiniest part of the onion (may have tone there too) and at the tops of the onions...look for the little white areas. Sorry I'm babbling but my point being that to make something more like real life more tone variation needs to be laid down. Check out this drawing by da vinci...may not be the best example but see how he reserves the lightest parts for the things only in direct light

http://banzai.msi.umn.edu/leonardo/vinci/anghiari.jpg

It makes still life's take a whole lot longer to do it this way but it's the right way. Use that 2B pencil! I am just learning this myself so I thought I would pass on the info...if I am incorrect someone correct me.

[jester]

Thanks, MindCandy, especially for leading me to JD's onion and garlic still life - this is amazing!!! Yes, probably I rush it too much. But that's the way I'm used to work - fast. :o I'll try to remember for the next one!

Jester

[mime]

long time no see people ...

i know, i know i neglected those boards and my skills a little thelast 4 weeks, first 2 weeks of vacation at my mom's place for christmas (where i did draw a little ...)
and about 10 days where i was sick and not in the mood to draw ...

But i am at it again now, about time

here is something i already showed, i did it last year in pastel, about 6 hours of work.

http://conceptart.org/forums/



well this one is not really a still life, it has no composition work, it is just studies of isolated little stuff ....

http://erhnam.free.fr/gouache3.jpg


and something even older

http://erhnam.free.fr/composition.jpg




ok those were old works, i will try to do new one ...

[wes9000]

oblio- heheh thanks man

eegerie - yep, ill be drawing from the cadavers every tuesday this semester. it should be really cool because i'll be drawing the cadavers as they are slowly disected over the semester...right now only the chest has been opened up. eventually they'll have all the skin removed and at somepoint they'll be cut in half and quartered. im looking forward to drawing the heads and arms when we can fully see all the muscles and details...should be cool
i'll scan in some more in the following weeks...


-wes

[mojo]

mime: i love both your still life with water, and the object studies. really wonderful, the plastic water bottle is a real challenge to pull off but you did it, and I love the bit of twine.

what medium are you working in?

jester: i agree with mindcandyman - but, without doing the whole thing over again, even just softening the edges of the dark shadow would help a lot. it is too sharp and feels too solid.

:fish:

[mime]

Thanks Mojo

for the large still life, it is Soft Pastel (Rembrant brand) on an Ingres paper (50*65 centimeters size)
At first i made a mix of powdered blue-gray pastel and yellow ochre pastel in order to lay on the paper a uniform coat of some slightly warmish grey. (i spill the powder on the paper and then rub slowly with a clothe)

After that i first "painted" the larges value areas, with a white or very light sienna for the ligh parts, the paper color for midtones, and a mhhhh if i remember some burnt umber for the shadows ... I use warm colors for the "underpainting" since most of the still life was in cold tones, it brings interesting contrast in the end, when you can see the underpainting with the grain

after that it is just slow layering of pastel layers, choosing the colors and mixing/blending them on the paper

i rarely smudge when i work with pastel, i rather layer some more solid pastel and let them blend.
But some people like to use brushes or tissues in order to smudge and blend the colors.

I have myself always a problem with saturated colors and strong contrast, so i decided to not smudge at all, in order to fight this tendancy a little ... but still, i am always ending up using desaturated colors ... maybe just because i like it =)



and for the other color work, it is gouache. the whole thing is about 30*40 centimeters.

[jester]

In a hurry...

http://conceptart.org/forums/images/imported/2003/01/156.jpg

Jester

[mmza]

hi all, haven't posted since the "big crash" so some of you might remember me :)

here's an old one, must do more still lifes! Very relaxing.

oil on masonite:

http://www.workshopcrew.com/mmza/still_life_grapes.jpg





also, for those interested there's a Sargent Show coming soon to LA for more info:


http://www.lacma.org/

[keyth]

ah yes...the big crash...i remember those days.

nice mmza, really nice.

http://members.fortunecity.com/keyth/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/stilllife2conart.jpg

[miasmak]

http://www.o2w.nl/~maia/cg/sl0123-10s.JPG

[tayete]

Well, maybe it is too late to get in this thread, but I am a newbie here, and it seemed particulary interesting to me. My life painting:

http://www.tayete.com/2d/joy7.jpg

[mime]

not really a full composition

but thats a still life

http://erhnam.free.fr/skull1.JPG

[JoshuaTheJames]

Originally posted by mmza
hi all, haven't posted since the "big crash" so some of you might remember me :)

here's an old one, must do more still lifes! Very relaxing.

oil on masonite:

http://www.workshopcrew.com/mmza/still_life_grapes.jpg





also, for those interested there's a Sargent Show coming soon to LA for more info:


http://www.lacma.org/

WOW Molly...

I love your paintings!
-Joshua

[MindCandyMan]

Wow these all look awesome! Great work everyone. Inspiring.

[mmza]

Thanks Keyth
Thanks Josh, hope school is going well for ya :)

Here's another, not as fancy...making it a harder challenge to paint.



http://www.workshopcrew.com/mmza/tea_cup.jpg

[swampbug]

hey tayete, thought id put this up. Its from a few years ago, but i felt liek we had this in common enough so I posted

http://digitalarts.bgsu.edu/portfolios/tstanto/tradart/sketch22.jpg

[nmcleod]

I havent done many still lifes in a while, but I am very interested in drawing and want to improve, so I am going to them a lot now. Crits are welcome.

http://www.geocities.com/nmcleod25/StillLifeBooks.gif

http://www.geocities.com/nmcleod25/StillLifeFruitsVegetablesPlatter.gif

[benzo]

mmza-good that you're back. I love the vibrant color in the first one, but i think the second could use some more work. there are a lot of muddy areas. yesterday, Jason Manley showed us that you could fix that by adding color with the opposite temperature into those areas. maybe adding some more warm darks around the handle will fix what i am talking about. I'm sure you already know this though...you're first post shows that! just a little more time right? Take care and show us more:)

[cucaracha]

drawn from a plastic model

http://www.epm-clan.org/cv/pics/bri.jpg

[kaini]

http://www.alexgering.com/images/66.jpg

this one is oold, I'll post some recent still-lifes once I get time to scan them

@Molly: beautiful paintings, glad to see them again

[jester]

Crits in reverse order:

kaini - this is amazing. Very nice items and very good execution. I like the triangle composition as much as the way you rendered the golden parts of the samowar. Please tell me that this is no hoax and that you posted an old master's piece (hence the oold?!?). Furthermore I'm interested in which medium you used (if you are the artist) and what size it is. How long did it take you?

cucaracha - funny idea :) But I'm not sure whether the trouser is actually what it looked like on the plastic model. Also, perhaps I'm a bit old fashioned, but imo a still life is more than just drawing a single item without doing at least a bit of composition. :rolleyes: :confused:

nmcleod - your still lifes would look much better if you didn't draw an outline around each item.

swampbug - the left joystick looks good. The hand with the pen(?) draws the view from it though.

mmza - very "old fashioned" :) nicely done but the cup isn't truely symmetrical.

and here is mine - tell me what's good and what's bad! :chug:

http://www.jester.de/gallery/sketch/still-005.JPG

Jester

[MindCandyMan]

:xx:

You are killing me kaini...what the heck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!! Aren't you like stinkin 19 years old or something too...something crazy. HOLY HOLY COW. And you say that's old? Please tell me jester is right and tell me that you didn't do that. Look at the fabric! I am amazed. Sheesh. What is your secret?....you are so young to be so good...you must have a magic elixir or something.

[cucaracha]

@jester: i know what you mean, but swampbug postet a drawing of a joystick, so i thought a plastic model wouldn't be that wrong.

i tried sth different than always fruits and dishes (which means not that the most here aren't absolute fantastic!!)

kaini's looks like a photo :eek:

edit: oh and don't think about his trousers, they weren't finished :D

[mmza]

jester - yeah, I was waiting for someone to point that out :) I tried to hit it just right with one stroke, elipses give me grief sometimes.
Ben - I should go back & glaze in some warms, the scan picked up some "chalky" areas that I didn't noticed in the original. There is no such thing as "not enough time" in a still life! Unless you're painting something that would eventually rot away.I have no excuses, just laziness .:rolleyes:

Alex! - I can vouch for him! He's the real deal. I've seen this one before, impressive as always. I'm glad to see you'll have a website up soon.

[jfo]

Hey...noob here. 2nd day checking the site...really great!

Thought I might jump in and try to post some stuff...see if I can make it work. A sketch seemed safe enough:

http://www.foersterstudios.com/conceptart/stillife.jpg

hey! it worked! :p

[kaini]

@Jester: hehe, well it's old because it was painted last year in summer. It is 60*40 cm, acrylics.
I really dont know how much time I spent on this painting, I dont count the hours anyway because I start to rush things when I think I'm slow bla bla bla. Anyway, I'd say atleast 25 h. :)

@MCM: lol, thanks. I wish I had a magic elixir, I really do...

[jester]

kaini - wow! I'm impressed! Thanks for the answers.

jfo - not really a noob, eh? :p The violin head (?) and the flask look really good, the fruit (?) are not 3d enough and lack overall shading; also table edge and edge of the wall don't read well. But overall good job imo!


My blue jeans were enjoying a lazy evening on my soft couch...

http://www.jester.de/gallery/sketch/still-006.JPG

Jester

[kaini]

here's my latest. I burnt my fingers with this one :)
http://www.alexgering.com/red700.jpg

[dakoscwash]

Was doing a search a found this thread, and it inspired me to do my first attempt at still life, this was done with a plain old number 2 graphite.

http://www.boomspeed.com/dakoscwash/stilllife.jpg