REFLECTION: I used scribbles to complete my drawing, and Henry Moore's techniques influenced my drawing the most. With scribbles, it was really easy to create really dark values, so finding the balance between light and dark and being able to show contrast took a bit to get used to and figure out. My drawing has lots of different values, ranging from light to medium light, to dark, to really dark. The difference between my pre-instructional drawing and my final still life is crazy! My original drawing had no values, and also had very little detail with no evidence as to if there was a light source, or any contrasting values at all. I see a lot of improvement in using values to create detail, and instead of just drawing details in, I can show them using values. I think the biggest takeaway I have from this unit is that you can do anything and improve on anything if you put the work in. Learning different skills during this unit has helped tremendously with my drawing ability! To have a convincing still life drawing, mastering being able to create values is key. To create the necessary detail in your drawings, instead of taking the easy way out and having your drawing be less realistic by just drawing the detail in, showing the detail will make it jump off the page. I also think it’s important to choose your marks wisely, because some drawings look better with one type of mark, like cross-hatching, and others look better with another mark, like scribbles. It all depends on what you want to achieve with the drawing. Another important aspect of creating a realistic still life drawing is making sure that you don’t have too much extra space on the page. If your drawing is in the middle of the page and on the smaller size, it doesn’t fill up the page and look as realistic as it could. Finally, considering perspective and how the artist is looking at the drawing is vital. To make a drawing look realistic, you need to use 3d objects, but you also need to decide if you will use 1 or 2 point perspective, and how your drawing will look and change depending on what you use. If you don’t draw all your objects with the same perspective, things will look wrong. It’s important to keep in mind the perspective that you’re using, as well as perspective of the actual objects themselves, like cylinders, spheres, blocks, and more.

I went for Henry Moore's style of mark making: scribbles. I chose to use scribbles in my final still life drawing because they can make or break a drawing, and if you do it well, they can look really good. I also chose scribbles because I think they look effortless when done correctly, as well as really pretty. Scribbles allow lots of different values, and are easily built upon.