Thursday, 11 April 2013

Still Life Analysis

In my tutorial with Marie Claire this week, we discussed how I will be spending a more focused session on texturing my model for BA6 and she suggested I look into 17th and 18th century painters. In particular, to look at their positioning of differing textures (eg silk and wood) and of how they have painted the light to react differently with each one.

In compliment to this, our latest drawing session at Castle Mall included a brief talk from Will Teather (Life Drawing Tutor) on the way painters depict light, distance and texture - and how we can transfer these techniques into our own work in Photoshop, and Maya!

Below are some examples of the type paintings I am referencing for light and texture;

  • In this piece you can see how combinations of soft and highly shiny objects have been juxtaposed together to create areas on intrigue throughout the scene. The overall diamond shape of focus in the painting allows for light to be bounced off most of the objects. 

  • I particularly like the highlighted folds of the cloth with the polished shine of the platter in the foreground which support a half-peeled lemon. The zest and pith of the lemon are painted in direct light, and whole shadow and this combined with the spiraling shape, draws the viewers eye to it immediately. 

  • If you look closely however the darker areas of the zest have been famed in what could be 'artistic' lighting of the cloth in order to bring out the curvature of the shape (lest it be lost in shadow.) 

  • As with many paintings of this era, there is a lot of brown used in the shadows of the piece.

  • Curved and circular shapes are repeated across the Still Life, drawing the objects together in their  common form.






The repeating patterns in the previous painting also feature here; as do the objects, but there are far more straight edges in this composition. The folds in the fabric give the impression of a thick, almost velvet like texture seen in light and shadow in this piece.  Distance has been achieved in this piece by making the edges less crisp, and the colours more muted as the items are father away. This can be seen most clearly in the two glasses at the far right of the piece.



In this piece, the strict lines and contrast in the material of the foreground contrasts the natural organic shapes of the fruit. Different surface textures are highlighted by how much light they reflect, and how it is reflected. The enticing shine of the peach in the foreground contrasts the dull tones of the vine leaves. In this piece the painter has made the objects more dark in the background and highlighted the foreground with a bright pallet.






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Robin Silcock

I am a Second Year Games Art and Design student at Norwich University of the Arts. After exploration of a number of roles in my first year, I am now looking to graduate as a 3D Artist with applicable skills in Maya, Mudbox, ZBrush and Photoshop. I understand that my skills in this field are not there yet - but I aim to achieve this goal through consistently working through the programs in my University and Personal Projects. I love to be busy - I have always had a lot of things on my plate since the age of 7 where I successfully balanced school with Ballet, Tap, Horse-Riding, French, Piano and Singing Lessons! In the same fashion, my university schedule is just as hectic and varied; I am a Peer Mentor to first year students, Student Rep for Second Year, and President of the Enterprise Society. Like I said, I love to be busy! I am a Games Hippie - so to speak - I believe that Games if designed and harnessed in the right way, will be able to help solve many of the global issues we have today - even if it starts off in a small way. Just look at the positive effects that Facebook and Twitter have already had... When navigating my blog;
  • Works in Progress - This section is a constantly running account of all my current projects - personal and for university. It will contain reference images and website links and sometimes less than coherent posts, so be prepared!
  • Finished Pieces - This is where you will find my more polished artwork. Looking for help with Maya? Check out the posts tagged "Maya How-To's"