Lockdown #6 Covid Challenge

 Here we go again! It's a bit of a merry-go-round, eh? But I hope you are all well and isolating and keeping well away from this dreadful disease.

Something that has helped me during these trying isolation periods is to remember to draw! I try and do something every week, a doodle, a page in my nature journal, a complete finished work, or a few sketches here for the blog for you to work on.

I hope some of you take on this challenge this week:

An Oval is just a Circle in Perspective

...Or, my morning cuppa...

I would like you to get back to some basics this time and review something we have done in class previously - ovals. Remember this?

How to draw a circle and ovals

And do your also remember how we drew wine glasses and investigated drawing them in perspective using ovals and perspective boxes?

Drawing the glass in perspective

Well, this week I'd like to see you draw that morning cup of hot drink. It can be a mug, a tea bowl, teacup and saucer or even a traveler sippy cup.  I'd like you to focus on getting the ovals correct and in perspective. Concentrate on the correct proportions and curves. A couple of points:

1. If you haven't done this before choose a simple straight sided cup or mug with no decoration.
2. About the decoration - leave that until last. Concentrate on the shape, form and tones of the cup first, then add any decoration over the top. This can help you avoid getting confused between the detail and the tones.
3. I suggest you lightly sketch the perspective boxes and ovals in blue pencil first before using your final medium.
4. Avoid erasing, use the blue pencil to make your first marks.
5. Make your final marks in what ever medium you wish. I have used graphite pencil, but use color if you wish, or charcoal, or paint or pastel or whatever.
6. Remember this is an exercise, not a test. Your result may look a little wonky but will have made an honest effort to understand the shape and form.

Simple mug sketch. Note how I started it in blue pencil as the one on the right.

Those of you who have had more experience may wish to try doing a more complex item like a teacup and saucer. Remember to put any decoration on last!