3D Art Foundations: Project #1 - Drawing Depth in Space

This project was all about how to create the illusion of depth within a drawing using 5 different objects. This could be achieved through various means such overlapping the objects, changing the scale, foreshortening, and the use of shading. A key aspect of this project was to make sure that it felt dynamic. When things are floating in space it can be easy to incorporate movement depending on your objects.

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The process for this project was 5 steps. Step 1 and 2 was to come up with your objects using 5 lists. Step 3 was to take one object from each list and create a new list with 5 different objects, this would be done 3 times. This was to give yourself a variety of starting points. I was excited to figure out what assortment of objects I would use to achieve this task, and ended up making 5 "mixed up" lists. Now this wouldn't be without challenge, as foreshortening can be tricky especially if the object you're drawing is weirdly shaped. So I really tried to take that into account when creating my lists. When I was making my lists I was thinking of things that I interacted with almost daily, so that way I had a good mental image of what I was drawing. This also allowed my to have physical access to most of these so I could handle the object until it was in a position I like and could reference in my drawing.

All of my lists!

Step 4 is where it starts to get interesting. This step is where you'd make 4 different sketches to act as a rough draft. It was an opportunity to test different layouts, objects and methods. There were only two parameters for this step; 1. You can't crop an object with the edge of your paper 2. The objects can't sit on a surface or ground, you want them to look like they're floating. To really make them look like they were floating I tried different scales, overlap, foreshortening, and I really wanted to make use of shading. These are my rough drafts.

I ended up really liking using the string lights as that is where I felt I could effectively convey a dynamic feeling. I had considered using a spool of thread in it's place, but I really liked toying with the idea of having the string lights being lit and providing different lighting for the objects they were around. Along with these reasons lights or the spool of thread would have really allowed my to play with very organic and soft lines. When I doodle I particularly like doodling very organic patterns rather than very harsh and geometric things.

The pincushion was also a favorite object. It has very rounded and soft edges and I could really do a lot with the pins especially if they were floating around the pincushion. Pincushions can come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but I decided to go with a classic tomato cushion because these also have the strawberry attachment on the top. I could use the strawberry for added movement or so change the scale of it in relation to the rest of the pincushion.

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Step 5 was creating the final drawing. At this point I had a good idea of what I was going to do. I was going to use the list with the lights, soap dispenser, mug, paintbrush, and pincushion. Although I was going to move the paintbrush out of the mug as I wasn't over the moon about the placement. Instead I decided I would put another pincushion floating out of it.

Final piece: "Lights"

This piece started with me trying to figure out what objects I interact with that had the most potential to make dynamic on a 2D surface. At first it felt difficult because many of my lists had similar shaped objects and didn't incorporate much variety. And at the start of the project I was having issues with figuring out foreshortening, until I incorporated the lights which, all things considered, was the easiest object to shorten. As we went through the process and had reviews, I got to see what others were doing which helped give me ideas on how to improve my own piece. Swapping out various objects really helped. What I really like with this piece is how many soft shapes I had which helped to balance the sharpness of the individual light bulbs. The use of different values also really helped to reinforce the illusion of depth. Overall I really enjoyed this project as it was really fun to play around with different ideas and also seeing where everyone else's mind went to.