Hi There, can you provide input on whether the light source is positioned properly? Also, I often see the subject/plant being held in the artist’s hand instead of mounted in some fashion. Hold, mount, rest on paper — does it vary according to what’s being drawn? Any tips on what’s best for this course? I did this submission [see next photo] with the branch resting on the drawing paper, positioned as shown. Don’t know if this is good practice or not. Often, right now, I spend as much time trying to get things set up properly as I do drawing, sort of like, position, then draw, then wonder and reposition, and so forth. Then to add watercolor, not easy yet…Thanks for your input.
10 January 2020
Mary, as you’re discovering, positioning is important. There is no one right answer to this, but I’ll try to give you some insight. First, I do not recommend holding your subject in your hand. There are just too many variables there. You need both your hands to draw, sharpen pencils, etc. If you’re holding your subject, you’re inevitably going to move it or turn it, or tilt it, and you’ll never be able to capture one view in your drawing if the view keeps changing. Set that specimen up so that it stays right where you want it, and you don’t have to touch it. More often than not, if you are doing a bonafide botanical illustration that shows a plant as it’s growing, you’ll want to set it up at your desk so that it is propped up or hanging from something and you are able to view it as if it were still attached to its larger plant. We’ve seen all sorts of creative ways that people do this: some will clip the plant to a board, some will use makeshift contraptions, tape, sometimes a frog prong is enough to keep a flower upright; there are many ways. Be creative. The idea is that you want to depict your subject truthfully, so set it up as if it is growing. With that said, often we just want a sketch page or a practice page or we’re just drawing a branch like you are here, and it is totally acceptable to place that branch on your paper, just like you have here, and draw it that way. This is a nice approach because you can even snag a few preliminary measurements just by “tracing” a few key areas on your paper. There is no one answer here for setting up your subject, but the one thing to remember is that no matter how it’s set up, it should be CLOSE TO YOU, not far away. You want that specimen as close to you and your paper as possible, so you get accurate measurements and proper detail. Depending on how you choose to set up the specimen, you’re going to get different highlights and shadows, right? You have your light set up nicely here, and that gives you some dramatic cast shadows. You can choose to show those shadows or not, but often when a subject is drawn sitting on the surface of the paper, the addition of a cast shadow will accentuate this effect. It is normal to spend a long time setting up your specimen. You want to show it in a “flattering” and also truthful way. You want to be sure to show details that you find interesting, or that help to identify the plant. So choosing a view that shows these things, as well as calculating where the darkest darks and lightest lights will be, is important and can take time. I’ll comment more on your drawing in the other post. Sorry for this long response! Hope it helps. Let me know.
This is a terrific response, packed with information, and cleared up a number of confusing points. I never understood how an artist could hold a sample without changing the perspective on the drawing, even as a sketch. Which is why your comments on positioning are so helpful, also time required to set something up in the best possible way. I love this help, thanks so much, Vern !
Hi There, can you provide input on whether the light source is positioned properly? Also, I often see the subject/plant being held in the artist’s hand instead of mounted in some fashion. Hold, mount, rest on paper — does it vary according to what’s being drawn? Any tips on what’s best for this course? I did this submission [see next photo] with the branch resting on the drawing paper, positioned as shown. Don’t know if this is good practice or not. Often, right now, I spend as much time trying to get things set up properly as I do drawing, sort of like, position, then draw, then wonder and reposition, and so forth. Then to add watercolor, not easy yet…Thanks for your input.
Mary, as you’re discovering, positioning is important. There is no one right answer to this, but I’ll try to give you some insight. First, I do not recommend holding your subject in your hand. There are just too many variables there. You need both your hands to draw, sharpen pencils, etc. If you’re holding your subject, you’re inevitably going to move it or turn it, or tilt it, and you’ll never be able to capture one view in your drawing if the view keeps changing. Set that specimen up so that it stays right where you want it, and you don’t have to touch it. More often than not, if you are doing a bonafide botanical illustration that shows a plant as it’s growing, you’ll want to set it up at your desk so that it is propped up or hanging from something and you are able to view it as if it were still attached to its larger plant. We’ve seen all sorts of creative ways that people do this: some will clip the plant to a board, some will use makeshift contraptions, tape, sometimes a frog prong is enough to keep a flower upright; there are many ways. Be creative. The idea is that you want to depict your subject truthfully, so set it up as if it is growing. With that said, often we just want a sketch page or a practice page or we’re just drawing a branch like you are here, and it is totally acceptable to place that branch on your paper, just like you have here, and draw it that way. This is a nice approach because you can even snag a few preliminary measurements just by “tracing” a few key areas on your paper. There is no one answer here for setting up your subject, but the one thing to remember is that no matter how it’s set up, it should be CLOSE TO YOU, not far away. You want that specimen as close to you and your paper as possible, so you get accurate measurements and proper detail. Depending on how you choose to set up the specimen, you’re going to get different highlights and shadows, right? You have your light set up nicely here, and that gives you some dramatic cast shadows. You can choose to show those shadows or not, but often when a subject is drawn sitting on the surface of the paper, the addition of a cast shadow will accentuate this effect. It is normal to spend a long time setting up your specimen. You want to show it in a “flattering” and also truthful way. You want to be sure to show details that you find interesting, or that help to identify the plant. So choosing a view that shows these things, as well as calculating where the darkest darks and lightest lights will be, is important and can take time. I’ll comment more on your drawing in the other post. Sorry for this long response! Hope it helps. Let me know.
This is a terrific response, packed with information, and cleared up a number of confusing points. I never understood how an artist could hold a sample without changing the perspective on the drawing, even as a sketch. Which is why your comments on positioning are so helpful, also time required to set something up in the best possible way. I love this help, thanks so much, Vern !