Pear to sketch

(Click for larger view)

1) When you start drawing, an apple or pear is one of the easiest things to attempt because you don’t have to capture the exact shape – a close approximate to the original will be fine, especially after you’ve eaten the fruit.
2) If you have a digital camera and are just starting to draw, it makes it easier to see the lights and darks and the general shape of the piece when you work from a photo.  The background and moving light and shadows aren’t a distraction when working from a photo.
3) In your photo software, you can usually change your color photo to grayscale, and this makes the dark and light areas even more apparent (especially if you are drawing in pencil). You can also play with increasing or decreasing the contrast and brightness to get more dramatic lighting.

pear in grayscale

4) Look for the lightest light and the darkest dark on your piece, and don’t be afraid to put them in your drawing.  If you feel like your drawings don’t have the impact you want, it may be because your piece is all middle tones.

5) On an extra copy of your photo, draw a line up the center – if you are drawing fruit or a vase or similar simple still-life, this will make your final drawing much more accurate.

pear photo divided

6) Hatch in a dark background behind the piece, and this will make it stand out even more.

7) You are the artist – you don’t have to put in every blemish and bruise. It’s up to you what to keep and what to ignore.

update 9-21-09:  my sweet sister bought me some lovely pears (the grocery store I went to was OUT of pears!) and here is a really nice small one, in color and in grayscale. (click for large)  Can’t wait to draw them!!

little pear to draw

little pear - grayscale