For this exercise I chose a white conte stick on brown paper. I wanted to describe a random set of objects by their simple outline without shading or tone, as well as paying attention to their 3D forms.
Choosing an array of different textured objects from books, a leather shoe, a box of tea, various glass bottles and tins, I took notice of texture, labels, the 3D forms and the effect of objects behind the glass jars.
This helped focus my attention to the detail of the forms while thinking how the outline could describe the shape of the object. The sides of a tattered old book would be drawn with a bit of jagged clumsiness, the leather with a soft but defined line, and the jerky sharpness of the distorted labels behind the glass jars.
It was interesting to pay attention to the ‘weights’ of the objects and try to convey that in the lines, helping to give a better feel of them. The detail of the book pages really helped give the books definition and form and the thick solid lines of the pestle and mortar helped give it substance. The bag of pasta was drawn with quick sharp lines just to give a reference to the crumpled plastic and the subtle distortions of the objects behind the jars helped define the shape of the glass.
A great exercise to draw attention to how versatile drawing a single line actually is, and how much impact it can have on explaining the texture of an object, I think this is a fundamental foundation of drawing and mark making in general.
Eeyanski Arts 