I've written this due to the large amount of topics in the Art Attack forum, which seem to be distracting from the true purpose of this forum - to provide constructive feedback and advice on members work. Any suggestions that could be added to the list would be appreciated. Firstly, I learnt in school that every object can be divided into one of two categories, mechanical and natural. What is very often the case is that an artist would excel in one category and not do so well in the other. Some people may disagree with this theory, but I believe it.
Now, natural doesn't mean natural in the scientific understanding of the word, in an artistic sense it is hard to describe, but something that blends with nature, obviously every organic object, i.e. bananas, oranges, trees, etc would fit into this category, but so would books, wine glasses, cloths and chairs, even the human body and animals.
Mechanical is a lot easier to understand, every object man made, i.e. cars, cameras, computers, all fit into this category.
You've probably already decided what category you're best at, so that concluded, what you choose to draw will be based on what category you are adept at, a simple sketch could be one or two objects from one or either category. A still life will require a mix of colours and textures, I notice most people seem to stay within the one category in the choice of their objects, but art does not fit in a box, you can choose what you want.
If you are creating a still life, remember that composition is just as important as what objects you choose to include, and it is very popular at the moment to crop the still life so that not all objects are kept with in the border of the canvas or page. You should also do some preliminary drawings first, to have a good idea of how the eye will be lead around the work.
If you are just doing a simple sketch, why not do a pencil drawing and beside it draw the object(s) again but with a different medium, try ink, charcoal, pastel or anything that comes to mind!
If you really are stuck for objects to draw, here's a list of what I've always found interesting and you might too:
A pepper cut in half.
Apples.
Faces.
Wine glasses.
Fire.
The covers of DVDs.
Album covers.
Hands.
An un-made bed.
Flowers.
Candlesticks.
Post edited at 3:09 pm on Mar. 19, 2008 by ElephantStone
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Punctured bicycle on a hillside, desolate,
Could nature make a man of me yet?