D R AW I N G P R O G R A M

Fundamentals Phase II:

Objects with Basic Forms

OVERVIEW
In this lesson, you will be exploring drawing multiple still-life objects in a composition. You will be
using comparative measurement to establish a believable illusion of the perspective of the object.
However, rather than running out vanishing points and getting too technical, I will be introducing
you to the art of freehand perspective. This will entail making general estimations of angles by hold-
ing up your pencil and dropping “plumb lines” or dead vertical lines. You can mimic a plumb line by
holding up your pencil loosely in your hand in front of you so that gravity pulls directly down. You
can then close one eye and use the edge of the pencil to drop a line off a key point. You then see
where other objects line up underneath it. It’s not as complex as it sounds, and I will show you in
the video.

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

© Watts Atelier of the Arts, LLC, 2013 www.wattsatelier.com 1
 D R AW I N G P R O G R A M
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Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

© Watts Atelier of the Arts, LLC, 2013 www.wattsatelier.com 2
1
 D R AW I N G P R O G R A M
Fundamentals Phase II:
Objects with Basic Forms

ASSIGNMENT: OBJECTS WITH BASIC FORMS

This exercise will have you breaking down still-life objects using many of the concepts from Phase I.
You will then build it back up to a three-quarter finish.

Part 1: Watch the video content.

Part 2: Utilize provided handouts to repeat the drawing in the video.

1) The first phase will be the lay-in. Make sure to stay very light and linear, line driven
at this stage. Refer back to video if necessary.

2) Next, move on to the mapping phase. This process will be revisited when doing portrait
and figure work.

3) Now, inject the middle value, and take the teapot up to a three-quarter finish.

Note: We will not be taking these early efforts to a full-value finish. It is more important to focus
on the lay-in and mapping phases. We will get to finishes soon enough.

Part 3: Move on to drawing from the supplemental reference I have provided or find your own
objects from around your house or studio.

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

© Watts Atelier of the Arts, LLC, 2013 www.wattsatelier.com 3
1
 D R AW I N G P R O G R A M
Fundamentals Phase II:
Objects with Basic Forms

This is your initial stage, so stay light and

thin with your containment lines. Remem-
ber the angles and plumb lines. Don’t get
overwhelmed. This is a bit more like
technical drawing, but whether you are
drawing an organic or inorganic object is
really semantics. It’s all geometric shapes
glued together to represent the object.

In this phase you will start to incorporate

some edge mapping into your objects.
Many times you will find these stages
overlapping each other a bit. That is per-
fectly acceptable. Keep an eye out for any
strange placement issues or photo distor-
tion. When all is said and done, it needs
to feel like the perspective is correct.

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

© Watts Atelier of the Arts, LLC, 2013 www.wattsatelier.com 4
 D R AW I N G P R O G R A M
Fundamentals Phase II:
Objects with Basic Forms

Now that our lay-in is checking out fine

as is our mapping, we can start to place a
middle tone into our edge map. This should
really enhance the three-dimensional
appearance of your drawing. If after this
stage it is not looking right, don’t go any
further with your value. Go back and check
over your previous stages. This sort of
detective work is often needed when
bringing up a drawing.

You are now ready to inject a dark value

and work the drawing up to a finish. I will
only be touching on this phase as it is a
bit early to be getting too involved with
this. It would be better to do more lay-ins
from other objects of your choice or the
supplemental objects I have provided for
you.

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

© Watts Atelier of the Arts, LLC, 2013 www.wattsatelier.com 5
 D R AW I N G P R O G R A M
Fundamentals Phase II:
Objects with Basic Forms

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

© Watts Atelier of the Arts, LLC, 2013 www.wattsatelier.com 6
 D R AW I N G P R O G R A M
Fundamentals Phase II:
Objects with Basic Forms

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

© Watts Atelier of the Arts, LLC, 2013 www.wattsatelier.com 7
 D R AW I N G P R O G R A M
Fundamentals Phase II:
Objects with Basic Forms

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

© Watts Atelier of the Arts, LLC, 2013 www.wattsatelier.com 8
 D R AW I N G P R O G R A M
Fundamentals Phase II:
Objects with Basic Forms

Preserving the Traditions of the Masters

© Watts Atelier of the Arts, LLC, 2013 www.wattsatelier.com 9