You are off to a great start Susan! There are a couple of areas I would I would revisit with shadow toning. First off, I would lighten the cast shadow and look at the shape again. It seems too large and the shape should follow the shape of the end of the bark. I would add little more dark tone to the right edge of the bark and transition it lighter as you move left. This will help emphasize the curve more. For the scrolled piece it is a little confusing to have a cast shadow on both sides. It seems like most of the cast shadow would be on the top and right side. I would add a little more dark toning to the right edge of the the two scrolls and transition lighter toward a highlight to emphasize the curves. I hope this makes sense. I can do a sketch for you if that would help.
This was one of my first pieces of birch bark, following Wendy’s tutorial in the ‘The Joy of Botanical Drawing’. I know I need to practise these – I have a done a second one but don’t think it is any better.
You are off to a great start Susan! There are a couple of areas I would I would revisit with shadow toning. First off, I would lighten the cast shadow and look at the shape again. It seems too large and the shape should follow the shape of the end of the bark. I would add little more dark tone to the right edge of the bark and transition it lighter as you move left. This will help emphasize the curve more. For the scrolled piece it is a little confusing to have a cast shadow on both sides. It seems like most of the cast shadow would be on the top and right side. I would add a little more dark toning to the right edge of the the two scrolls and transition lighter toward a highlight to emphasize the curves. I hope this makes sense. I can do a sketch for you if that would help.
This was one of my first pieces of birch bark, following Wendy’s tutorial in the ‘The Joy of Botanical Drawing’. I know I need to practise these – I have a done a second one but don’t think it is any better.