Hi Catherine- another interesting branch segment! It is important to have our illustrations be as accurate as possible in size and shape. You can measure the branch or even trace the branch as it is lying on your paper. Yours needs to be longer, wider and I would definitely try to illustrate that angle and jog near the top. You will see on Wendy’s videos and in her books how we start by establishing the highlight and range of tones to establish the subject’s form. Then you can apply the color and keep working on the toning as you go so you don’t lose the form when you add the color. Lighten your cast shadow a little. It will be darkest at the edge of the branch and fade as it moves away. You don’t want the cast shadow to be too dark so that it competes with the branch. There is a lot to keep in mind when you start out, but it will come to be second nature the more you do it!
Hi Catherine, So nice to see you working on these branch studies! I love how you are really getting all those fun details in there. It’s amazing how much there interest there is in such a seemingly simple subject like a branch, right? When trying to get all of those details into a drawing, it’s easy to get so interested and lost in those details that we can sometime forget to show the overall form. I think that may be happening here. If you take Doug’s wonderful advice you should be able to resolve this. Keep drawing!! Can’t wait to see more.
Hi Catherine- another interesting branch segment! It is important to have our illustrations be as accurate as possible in size and shape. You can measure the branch or even trace the branch as it is lying on your paper. Yours needs to be longer, wider and I would definitely try to illustrate that angle and jog near the top. You will see on Wendy’s videos and in her books how we start by establishing the highlight and range of tones to establish the subject’s form. Then you can apply the color and keep working on the toning as you go so you don’t lose the form when you add the color. Lighten your cast shadow a little. It will be darkest at the edge of the branch and fade as it moves away. You don’t want the cast shadow to be too dark so that it competes with the branch. There is a lot to keep in mind when you start out, but it will come to be second nature the more you do it!
Hi Catherine, So nice to see you working on these branch studies! I love how you are really getting all those fun details in there. It’s amazing how much there interest there is in such a seemingly simple subject like a branch, right? When trying to get all of those details into a drawing, it’s easy to get so interested and lost in those details that we can sometime forget to show the overall form. I think that may be happening here. If you take Doug’s wonderful advice you should be able to resolve this. Keep drawing!! Can’t wait to see more.