5/16/22 Wedgwood on trash day |
I’ve noticed a pattern: Whenever I make a composition study
and then try to make a full-size, color sketch afterwards of the same
composition, I lose steam. It feels like I’ve already made the sketch, and the
freshness is gone. It’s a problem that I need to resolve if I want to learn from
the obviously valuable tool of making thumbnail studies.
Seeing a potential sketch in the Wedgwood neighborhood, I dutifully started making a composition study first. I observed the values and put in the prominent lines, but then I stopped without filling in the shapes and values. I wondered if that would keep the process fresh enough for me that I could make the “real” sketch.
Indeed, that did seem to do the trick – I still had enough to do that I hadn’t already done in the thumbnail, and that made the sketch fun (at left). When I had finished, though, I realized I hadn’t paid attention to the much-tighter cropping I had done in the thumbnail – even though that was a significant part of observing the composition.
Cropped to match the thumbnail study at left |
The cropped version does work better.
ReplyDeleteI like the cropped version! Maybe adding more contrast between the tree trunks and greenery behind them would push the focal point back there? (if that's where you wanted it)
ReplyDeleteI agree keeping thumbs bare bones helps, but it's still hard to remember to cut things!
Thanks for the feedback, Lee! Putting the high contrast where I want the focal point to be is an important aspect of composition that I definitely need more practice doing! I always think I know the "rules," but while I'm drawing, I seem to forget. ;-)
DeleteSame here, Tina! But it's always gratifying to see you keep improving as someone working on the same skills :)
ReplyDelete