For this project, I had to do mostly contour drawing but the conditions around it were changing drastically.
Contour Drawing
I've chosen my simplest white mug to concentrate on the contours, but one that had an interesting curve. I've used my trusty Stabilo felt tips for this.
I've found myself thinking like a designer again: how do I make an "icon" of this mug, how do I show this shape in the simplest vector-like outlines, and how do I fill out my A4 paper best? At first I thought, this will be my learning detriment. But thinking like this helped me to make continuous movements while working on separate sections. The top and side curves, bottom continuing almost uninterrupted into the sides, and the handle with 2 separate outlines (outer and negative space), an oval in itself but with a straight finish. The more I drew, the better I understood the degrees of the curvature and the relations different shapes had to each other. Comparing the first sheet to the last one shows that improvement.
Another helpful thing was drawing the object in different sizes. It helps simplify, and bring me closer to the true shape of the object, instead of one I "think" I am seeing.
'Blind' Contour Drawing
This one was a little disorienting on the first try. I intended to fill out the paper so I used my tactile senses alongside visual one, and it felt all a little futile. My hands trusted my eyes more that their own sense of the paper.
In the second try i let the shapes overlap and didn't worry about the outcome. I prefer this blind drawing as well because the final result is exciting, like a memory of an object coming into your mind's eye.
The first blind drawing resembles a blurry-eyed vision, a drunken iteration almost.
This whole exercise reminded how my sister and used to play this as kids: drawing each other 'blind', for the sole purpose of laughing at it later, "you put my eye on the forehead!".
I've done a similar drawing as a warm-up in a life drawing class earlier this year. Perhaps it could help getting to know one's subject. Perhaps drawing itself would give my ideas on how to show movement, memory or some kind of distortion.
Drawing from memory
I've used a mechanical pencil with a 2B graphite for the last two exercises. I've taken the recommended colander so I'd have more negative spaces.
When observing the object, I've concentrated on the two bowl shapes and how they interrupt each other. I've counted the holes and memorised them as a clock shape (outer 12), and a flower (middle 7). I've memorised the handles' curvature and started drawing loosely, with no sharp edges. This may be a good exercise to simplify a subject down to its simplest parts.
Drawing Blind
I've observed the object for two minutes and drew for five minutes. I used loose movements again with the soft, tilted pencil. I refrained from big outlines and concentrated curves and the shadows.
On the second try, I've gone back to the outlines again. It helped already knowing this object well, and I really like the final drawing. It reminds me of a rendering mistake in a video game, a glitch that makes you question the reality.
