Still Life Drawing and Study of Objects
What the exam tests
Still life tests observation of form, material, light and grouping. You may be asked to draw a bottle, fruit, drapery, metal or ceramic object. Examiners look for correct ellipses, a single light logic, varied edges and a composed group rather than isolated objects.
Core rules
- Choose three to five objects with varied height, width and surface.
- Group them by overlap and a triangular arrangement, not a straight row.
- Mark the light direction once; all cast shadows must agree.
- Draw ellipses with curved, not pointed, ends; their fullness changes with eye level.
- Separate local colour from light and shadow; do not outline every object.
- Use lost-and-found edges: sharp at the light side, softer in shadow.
Worked example
For a bottle, apple and cloth, block the bottle as a cylinder and neck, the apple as a sphere, and the cloth as broad planes. Shade the bottle's core shadow, the apple's terminator and the cloth folds; cast shadows fall away from the light. Reasoning: each object is a simple solid, and the cloth connects them into one composition.
Traps
Floating objects, identical values on different materials, hard outlines around everything, cast shadows falling toward the light, and a table edge that cuts through the group. Avoid overworking highlights; reserve the paper early.