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I've talked about this before, but I thought I'd cover it again since it's probably the first thing I think about with cups. So, I've set up a cup(s) and am going to draw it. First I find its boundaries: top, bottom, left, right, & ellipse bottom. I've drawn dashes to indicate these 5 boundaries in the picture to the right. I draw these same dashes on my surface (canvas, panel, etc.), with paint, trying to get them in the right places. If I have other objects in my setup, I place their boundaries as well (top, bottom, left, right), before going further.
Next I draw one vertical and one horizontal line (as shown) through the cup. Now I just need to draw the ellipse so that each of the four quadrants are equal pieces (no, you sticklers, they are not exactly equal, but I personally am not shooting for exact in my paintings - perfect is the enemy of good enough). Then I draw the two quadrants of the front (side) of the cup, making those two mirror images of each other.
The idea of drawing the dashes first and only completing the cup once you are sure these are correctly placed is to save you the effort and heartache of painstakingly perfecting your cup only to realize it needs to be moved over 1/4". Been there, done that? The "cross" helps to ensure that your proportions are correct. Handles come next.
If you have questions, please ask them in the comments so everyone can benefit from the answers. I will get to them as quickly as I am able. Thanks!
I have seen a lot of your cups. How many cups do you suppose you have painted?
ReplyDeleteHi Carol
ReplyDeleteGreat explanation-instruction. But don’t ellipses have perspective also? Or is it negligible enough not to worry about?
Thank you!Tomorrow AM..☺️
ReplyDeleteThanks Carol! I just tried a few cup sketches after reading your tips and it was SO helpful! If you’re drawing a clear glass cup, do you just do a double set of ellipses on the same vertical line?
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, Carol. I struggle with elipses on cups and glasses and never seem to get the far edge curve believable. It's always too sharp, too fat, uneven. I'll practice your technique.
ReplyDeleteJo
Thanks for the demo! I always enjoy your work, nice to have a technique to help inoculate myself from wobbly cups!
ReplyDeleteMy problem with first placing little dashes in the right places has always been this: I simply cannot see if they are correct until I have almost finished the drawing. Same thing goes with everything, not just cups: I simply cannot see if my proportions are right until I have drawn a substantial part of the thing.
ReplyDeleteI seem to mostly conceive of things as interlocking shapes; I have almost no ability to judge proportions on things. I have to draw the shapes and see if they fit.
And thus, try as I might, I have never been able to follow the advice that says "first make sure the proportions are right."
I'm assuming this is done while using your viewfinder.
ReplyDeleteHow many cups have I painted? : ) Well, as of today, I have posted 465 daily paintings with cups in them, each with usually more than one cup. You can see them here: http://carolmarine.com/artwork?category=Cups#/category=Cups&mode=search
ReplyDeleteJoanne- Yes, cups have perspective too, but it's so subtle that I find getting close is good enough. When I put larger plates in my paintings I spend a little more time trying to portray how the curve is different in the back vs. the front.
ReplyDeleteHi Gina! Yes, that is exactly right - if I am drawing a clear cup then there are two ellipses on the line. I will post soon about how the second ellipse is a little different from the first. : )
ReplyDeleteBrian- When I draw anything, I am also thinking about interlocking shapes, just like you. It's the same with the cups. I also am using my viewfinder. I have a trick where I make little marks on my viewfinder and corresponding marks on my panel. It's sort of like a simplified gridding, and this makes it much easier to place my initial boundaries of objects. I put all this in my book, "Daily Painting," but you can see a little excerpt in this blog post: http://carolmarine.blogspot.com/2014/10/pink-house-2-again.html Start with the second paragraph... But the most important thing to do that will make placing objects easier, is practice.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - yes, I use my viewfinder for this. : )
ReplyDeleteI found it helpful too:) Viewfinder?
ReplyDeleteHappy to see the teacher in you is still alive and rockin' it even without still life workshops. 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 Your book will forever be the Bible of panting for me. Your posts are so valuable too. No questions here, just high praise! 🤗
ReplyDeleteI have been on Daily Paint Works in the past, and I am back. I have been wandering around trying out different sites. So this is a compliment for Daily Paint Works, I left other sites and made my way back here. I believe I am home here, meaning I won't be going anywhere. Sometime back I read about the challenge of painting a car of the past, and I did a drawing of Pop's first car, in front of the house he grew up in, but I believe I want to place it in a mountainous landscape scene. I want to start at the challenges from the beginning and work my way up to where we will be at the present time. I don't want to miss out on the skills we will learn as we fulfill each challenge. Thank you Daily Paint Works for being here for us. Sincerely, Rosie Foshee
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