LESSON 8 VEGETABLES AND FRUITS STRUCTURE 8.0 OBJECTIVES 8.1 INTRODUCTION 8.2 VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 8.3 FORMS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 8.3.1 DRAWING WITH CRAYONS 8.3.2 DRAWING WITH PENCIL 8.3.3 USE OF DESCRIPTIVE COLOUR 8.3.4 CREATING SPACE 8.4 ASSIGNMENTS 8.4.1 CLASS ASSIGNMENTS 8.4.2 HOME ASSIGNMENTS 8.5 SUMMING UP 8.6 POSSIBLE ANSWERS TO SELF-CHECK QUESTIONS 8.7 TERMINAL QUESTIONS 8.8 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED FURTHER READING 8.9 GLOSSARY 1
8. VEGETABLES AND FRUITS Flowers are the most fascinating gift of nature to mankind. Flowers are related to happiness and cheer in life. Pleasing colours of the flowers bring a smile even on the rudest faces and same is the effect of the pictures and drawings of the flowers. In the last lesson you learnt about the pattern of arrangement of flowers, leaves and fruits on the plants. In this lesson you will study how to draw vegetables and fruits. 8.0 Objectives After going through this lesson: Understand the volume and mass of the subject. Explore drawing of Fruits with different media. Understand the basic shapes of Fruits and how use of colour and shading add the 3- dimensional feel to a 2- dimensional drawing. 8.1 Introduction After knowing about flowers, let us talk about the other natural objects which bring health and pleasure to everyone and these are the vegetables and fruits. Nature has a wide variety of them, the variety of colours. Vegetables and fruits prove to be a healthy and interesting subject of drawing. All the vegetables and fruits possess a round or elliptical structure. But of course they have their own cross sectional pattern and structure as you have read in the previous lesson. Thus we can draw them easily by using simple geometrical rounded shapes. Let us learn in this lesson how to depict these beautiful objects more naturally using the different drawing media and tools. 8.2 Vegetables and Fruits Vegetables and fruits have volume and mass. They are solid objects, unlike leaves and flowers. Where Leaves are nearly thin, flat and may be one can say two dimensional and flowers are three dimensional objects mainly due to the placement and combination of its elements like Petals, stamen, stem etc., vegetables and fruits are very definitely a fully three dimensional objects. 2
In drawing Vegetables and fruits, the contour outlines and the shading treatment must convey the volume and mass of the object.in this, shading is of great importance. As you may have noticed, the vegetables are predominantly in shades ranging from whites, greens and a few reds and purples. Fruits are generally found in what we call fruity colours yellow, fresh green, orange, red, etc. The fresher the colour, the fresher the fruit!! Now let us explore the use of different techniques for drawing vegetables and fruits, and make it a lively object. 8.3 Forms of Fruits and Vegetables Let us make a drawing of a group of fruits. In order to draw the Vegetable and Fruits, the artist. must always concentrate on making the object look solid and three dimensional (Fig. 8.1)Various steps which are involved while making object drawing are described below. 8.3.1 Drawing with crayons i) The shape of the fruit and the plate should be first drawn in lightly in line paying careful attention to the way light falls on the object (Fig. 8.2). The artist should now start shading to indicate the direction of the light. ii) Try to identify the darkest and lightest areas of each fruit. This will help you to identify the form of the Fruit. Fig.8.1 iii) A darker brown crayon has been introduced into the background (Fig. 8.3). A common mistake which generally one makes while drawing, is the use of strong outline to the object which destroys the effect of the shading. Fig. 8.2 Fig. 8.3 3
8.3.2 Drawing with pencil: i) In Pencil Drawing shadow plays an important role and must be considered from the beginning. ii) Study your subject closely, and lightly sketch the simple shapes to which the details will later be added (Fig. 8.4). iii) The Pear as shown in figure is made up of two joined circles-one large and one small (Fig. 8.4). iv) Once these basic shapes are drawn, begin shading with strokes that are consistent with the pear s rounded form (Fig. 8.5). Fig. 8.5 Fig.8.4 8.3.3 Use of descriptive colour i) Look at the picture in Fig. 8.6A. Now draw the basic shape with charcoal (Fig. 8.6B) and then move to the use of range of colours (Fig. 8.7). Fig.8.6 A Fig.8.6 B Fig. 8.8 Fig. 8.7 ii) You have to first identify the main local colour in the subject. 4
iii) Careful attention must be paid not just to identifying the colour of an object but also its tone. iv) The colours are built up by laying various layers. Notice the cool violet and blue of the drapery, in contrast with the warm, rich colour of yellow. (Fig. 8.7). The drawing is now complete, with the colours developed and the tonal contrasts preserved (Fig. 8.8). Self-check Questions Fill in the blanks: 1. Vegetables and Fruits have volume and mass. How do you convey this when drawing them? 2. In drawing shading, what will you be conscious about for effective shading? 3. Fruits are generally found in what we call colours 4. To identify the form of the Fruit, identify the and areas of it. 5. The use of strong outline to the object destroys the effect of the. 6. If you observe your subject closely, you can start drawing it by sketching the shapes to which the details can be added later. 7. Careful attention must be paid not just to identifying the colour of an object but also its. 8.3.4 Creating Space The main aim in this drawing is to identify warm and cool colours. By emphasizing on the colour quantities, a feeling of depth is created which improves the quality of drawing. Steps involved in creating space are: i) The main shapes of the group of Fruits have to be drawn in line, and then in colour. ii) Patches of yellow have to be introduced to help you access the depth of colour needed for the blue colour. iii) The drawing is now well established and the main colours are blocked in. iv) The colour of the grapefruit, the largest foreground object, is built up; while the other colours are gauged against the immediate foreground. 5
Activity v) Blue can be a recessive colour, but in this case its vividness is emphasized by the striking contrast with the yellow. The same method can be applied for drawing Vegetables. 1. Study three different types of fruits in pencil, sketch pen and colour with shading. 8.4 Assignments 8.4.1 Class assignments i) Study three different types of vegetable as a whole and with their cross sections in pencil and pen; give shading also. Study the vegetables in black and white and colour with shading. Your exploration must reflect your understanding of the character of the Fruit through its outline form and its surface texture and mass through shading. ii) Study the Fruit and draw the whole fruit and its cross section with use of Water colours or Poster colours. Your exploration today in two different media of colour will show you how the mediums are used and how they appear in the representation of the same object. 8.4.2 Home assignments i) Sketch three different types of plants and trees with water colour composing them on 1/4 Imperial sheets. Submit two sketches. 8.5 Summing Up This lesson discusses the forms of different fruits and vegetables from the drawing point of view. In order to draw an object as lively and naturally as possible, a stepwise procedure has been prescribed here for an artist that encloses the following: i) Drawing with crayons ii) Drawing with pencil iii) Using descriptive colours iv) Creating space 6
8.6 Possible answers to Self-check Questions 1. When drawing vegetables and fruits, their volume and mass is conveyed by the shading treatment. 2. When shading vegetables and fruits, the shading should be done with strokes that are consistent with the subject s (fruit s or vegetables) rounded or voluminous form i.e. the direction of shading is along the lines of the form. 3. Fruity 4. darkest, lightest 5. shading 6. simple 7. tone 8.7 Terminal Questions 1. Explain the methods of drawing vegetables and fruits. 2. How can liveliness and reality be added to a drawing of vegetables and fruits? 8.8 References and Suggested Further Reading 1. Anonymous. 2006. The Complete Guide to Drawing and Painting. Quantum Publishing Ltd, London. 2. Dunnigan, D. 1987. Improve Your Painting. Foster Art Service, Inc., California. 3. Foster, W. 1997. The Art of Pastels. Walter Foster Publishing, Inc., California. 4. Powell, W.F. 1997. The Art of Drawing Still Life. Walter Foster Publishing, Inc, California. 7
8.9 Glossary 1. Recessive colour Colour used in between 2. Consistent Uniform shape 3. Gauged Guessed 4. Mass Bulk 5. Predominantly Much greater in number or influence 6. Strokes Shots 7. Contrasts of altogether different natures 8. Volume The amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object 9. Colour line A line joining a particular spatial attribute, for example a line drawn on a map connecting points of equal height. 8