Media Experimentation: Part 2

After trying out glass in various media, I worked on drawing a piece of cloth. One version I did in watercolors, like last time, but I also tried charcoal and pen. I don't use pen very often, so I wanted to try using it for drawings from life and practice shading with pen. I do use charcoal a good bit, especially in my portraits, but I usually pair it with graphite. In this experiment I used the charcoal by itself. For the cloth, I just used a small piece of white cloth for cleaning glasses, and I layed it in different positions each time.

Drawing 1: Pen

Cloth Set-up for Pen Drawing

I started by outlining the drawing in pencil and marking the sections that would need shading.

With the outline done, I started with the pen. I first filled in the shadows, going along in the general direction of the wood. Then I moved on to the darkest parts on the cloth itself and worked my way to the lighter areas. In order to make it a little smoother, I kept the pen lines in the same direction, going along with the folds in the cloth. For the lighter areas, I made the lines a little farther apart and used the edge of the pen tip to get a thinner, lighter line.

Drawing 2: Charcoal

Cloth Set-up for Charcoal Drawing

I began in the same way with the pencil, and I went ahead and sketched out the shadows as well.

Moving on to the charcoal, I began with the shadows again before shading in the dark folds in the cloth.

For the lighter parts, I had to put just the slightest pressure with the charcoal pencil. Since charcoal has a softer, more blended texture, I didn't have to worry as much about the line directions. I also practiced blending the charcoal with the strokes that I made rather than using a blending stump or my finger to blend it.

Drawing 3: Watercolors

Cloth Set-up for Watercolor Painting

Very lightly with pencil, I drew the general shape with its folds and shadows, making sure it was light enough that it wouldn't be seen through the watercolors.

Next came the shadows and folds, which I used thicker paint for. I created the gradations to the white areas by adding more and more water.

While I think each version turned out nicely, the watercolor version seems to work the best. The pen had the advantage of high contrast and clear edges, but the lines took away from the smooth look of the cloth. The charcoal had the advantage of a smoother, more blended texture. However, some of the strokes were still visible, and the edges and folds are a little harder to distinguish. Finally, the watercolor captured the smooth texture really well since the strokes aren't visible and there's a smooth, gradual gradation from the darks to lights. It also has very clear edges and folds and looks very clean.

All Three Versions Together