Object Drawing and Still Life
What this domain tests
The object drawing and still life question asks you to prove that you can see, not just draw. You are given a group of simple objects - a pot, a bottle, a fruit, a folded cloth, a geometric solid - and expected to record their proportion, structure and light in pencil within the time allowed.
Core rules
- Block before you detail. Begin with a light envelope (a box around the whole group), then split it into individual masses. Compare width against height with your pencil held at arm's length.
- Structure every form. Cylinders are built on a centre line with ellipses at top and bottom; the ellipse is widest at eye level and flattens as it rises or falls. Boxes need three visible faces with receding edges converging to distant vanishing points.
- Build value in five steps. Highlight (bare paper), halftone, core shadow at the terminator, reflected light inside the shadow, cast shadow on the ground. The core shadow is darker than the reflected light; the cast shadow is darkest where the object touches the ground.
- Compose. Overlap objects slightly, vary heights, and avoid tangent lines where two edges just touch.
Worked example
A terracotta pot, an apple and a cube, light from the upper left. Draw the envelope, then the pot's mouth as an ellipse - its minor axis tilts towards the horizon, not straight up. Check the apple is about one-third the pot's height. Shade the pot's right side, keeping a pale reflected light along its shadow edge, and send the cast shadow to the lower right, sharp at the contact point. Leave the apple's highlight as untouched paper.
Traps that cost marks
A hard outline around every object; flat, even grey with no value range; cast shadows pointing in different directions; objects floating because the contact shadow is missing; and a hand resting on the drawing, smudging graphite.