How to draw a Vase - Drawing Fundamentals for Beginners

1. Introduction : If you are looking to develop your still life drawing skills or you're having trouble drawing objects accurately, then this class will help you in the right direction. Hi, my name is Damini and I'm an artist from Mumbai. I have been teaching painting since 2018 and have taught thousands of students in physical workshops. Now I'm so excited to teach online. The most effective method of making your drawings appear three dimensional is understanding the light and shadow. If line creates the proportions, handling of tone creates the form. By applying the principles of tone, light, and shade, you will improve the illusion of form in every drawing you do regardless of the subject. In order to draw beautiful drawings, you need to be able to draw the basic ones. In this class, you will learn how to draw a vase. To do this, all you need is a paper and a pencil. To know more about me, you can visit my website, www.dominsargumart.com. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook at dominsirgum dot RT. 2. Practice Textures: Welcome to the class. In this class, we are going to learn shading and smudging. So I've taken two sheets of paper and a pencil and an eraser. So we are going to create this vase using an HB pencil, and we are just going to use one pencil to make all the shading and all the effects. So before moving on to the actual drawing, first, we are going to practice various techniques that we are going to use. So take a separate sheet of paper where you can practice these techniques. So first, I'm starting with making a square, and then I'm going to fill in the square with the pencil strokes using horizontal lines. So just apply horizontal lines and fill out the entire box. Make sure there is no white paper visible anywhere. So I'm just using the pencil and wherever at the edges if there is any empty space visible, just apply a few rounded horizontal strokes to cover the side parts. So this is how we will have to fill the entire box with the horizontal strokes. Now, I'll take an eraser and I'll just erase the extra parts, any pencil lines that has come out of the box. So this is for practice. Now moving on to the second technique, we are going to create vertical lines. I have made a square and then I'm filling in the square with the vertical pencil lines. These are continuous lines. Here I'm just demonstrating with one square for each technique. You will have to practice them for about three to five boxes per technique so that you understand I now I'll just fill the side gaps or the side places where it is not covered with pencil, I will just make a few rounded strokes at the edge. And this is how you will have to fill in the entire box. And now taking an eraser, I will just erase any extra pencil lines which has come out of the box. Repeat this activity three to five times for each box. Now I will make another box, and in this box, we are going to apply horizontal as well as vertical lines. So first starting with the horizontal lines, I will just fill in the entire square. And then using vertical lines, you're going to apply vertical lines within the box. So you will be able to see the difference what difference you get when you apply horizontal or vertical or the combination of both. And this is also for practice so that you're able to make any shading or sketching or any other technique Now we will learn shading. So I'm going to create a bigger box. And then I will start making horizontal lines, which are going to be darker at the start. And as we move downwards, they are going to get lighter, as in you will have to apply less pressure as you go downwards. So I'm just filling in the side gaps now and I'm darkening the upper part of the box, and then I will go to the down part, and I'm going to repeat the process. It's going to be lighter strokes at the bottom and darker strokes at the top. And I will fill in the side gaps. So this is how sketching or shading is done. You see the difference from dark to light. When you apply darker strokes, you have to apply more pressure. As you come downwards, it's going to be less pressure with a pencil. And I'll erase the exterior any lines if there are any. Now we are going to learn smudging. So we are going to create vertical lines. We have to fill in the box. So on the upper side, it's going to be dark horizontal lines. Just fill in the upper part of the box with a pencil, and then we are going to use our fingertip to just smudge the lower part. So we are going to start to smudge, and it's going to be a transition again from dark to light. So as you can see, the top part is darker and we are just smudging it so that it becomes lighter at the bottom and erase the remaining outer parts so that you get a clean, nice rectangular square. 3. Sketching: Welcome to the class. In this class, we are going to sketch the flower vase. So first, we are going to create a U shape. So apply lighter strokes, do not apply very darker strokes so that it's easier to erase in case you make any mistake. So here, the u is wider at the top and a little narrow at the bottom. Create a shape like that, and then extend the upper part of the U in a narrow way. So we are going to create two lines on the side each. So just make a line and then adjoin it with a U in a curvy way. In a curvy shape. And then just extend those lines upwards in a broad way. And then adjoining these two lines using a curvy line, and we are just going to make an oval shape there. Okay. And then making another curvy line at the bottom part of this oval shape. I'm just darkening the lines that we have already made, and then I'll use an eraser to erase any extra other outlines that are showing up. Also practice making this vase in a smaller size before moving on to a bigger size so that you'll be easily able to make the bigger size. So here, I'll show you this is how you can make a practice vase. So first, you can create a small vase and then make a bigger one. These are still made as a practice. And once you're able to make the proper shape, then move on to the final bigger shape. A Now we will start shading. So I've taken pencil and I'm just going to make vertical lines in the direction of this vase. So it's a curvy shape here. So I'm going to make the lines in a curvy shape, which follows the shape of this vase. So I'm applying pencil strokes and I'm filling the side parts. Okay. And just keep on doing it. And wherever there is any curvy shape, you will have to follow that shape and then make the lines. So here on the top, I'm making smaller lines, and then I'll just follow along the shape of the opening of the vase, that is a mouth of the vase, and that's the neck of the vase. And I'll just give it a curvy shape, as you can see. So here I am leaving some sort of it's like a bump on the vase. So that's a place where most light falls, so we are not going to apply any strokes at that part. So it's going to be lighter. As of now we are making the darker part, which is a shadow. So wherever the shadow falls, we are making lines over there. And then I'll make darker lines here at the edge. That's a place where the most shadow falls. And that's how we will keep doing it. So do not change the direction of the strokes from vertical to horizontal. It's going to be vertical strokes here. 4. Smudging : And then using the tip of the finger, I'm just going to blend in. I'm just going to smudge that pencil work. So this is to soften the edges and soften the lines so that the lines are not visible. So I'm just spreading or smudging that pencil work. And also this shows the light and the shadow. So here, the light falls on the right part of the vase and shadow falls on the left part. So we have shown the light now I'll take the pencil and I'll just darken the part once more. So we are doing this work using a single HB pencil. So wherever it requires more darkening, then we are going to apply multiple pencil strokes there so that the place gets darker shade. And then using an eraser, I'm just going to erase the edge a little bit because that's the place where some light from the backside falls on it. So it's going to be a little lighter. So using the tip of the eraser, we are just going to do that part. And now I'll just make the shape a little more clear Now, moving on to the neck part and the opening of the vase. That's a place where shadow falls. That's the opening. So that is broader and the neck is narrower. So we are just going to make dark lines, dark horizontal curvy lines in the shape of the opening of the mouth. I now this is a pro tip. Place a sheet of paper on the pencil work that you have made to prevent the smudging of the pencil work. And then I'll just darken the part here. There are two curvy lines that we made to show the thickness of the opening of the mouth. So here, half of it would be darker. That's a place where the shadow falls, and half of it would be lighted. That's a place where the light falls. Similarly, making a parallel curvy line at the top part which is going to be darker and which also gets a shadow. So we are just going to add some shadow there with the dark pencil lines. And then I'm just darkening the shape. I And I'll just make few light lines in the remaining part. And then using fingertip, I'll just smudge that part. Taking the pencil again, I'll make the shape even more clear. Take an eraser if you have made any extra lines on the outside of the vase. And then I'm just making it darker. So that's how you will have to do. You will have to make the light and the shadow, and then smudge, and then redo it. So we will again make some shadow wherever there is. And then using the fingertip, we are going to smudge it. We are going to blend the shadow and the light. Now moving on to the bottom part, we are going to make a few light lines, very light lines apply very light pressure and then make a few vertical lines at the bottommost part. So that's a place again, where some shadow falls. And and then using fingertip, just smudge. Smudge in direction of vertical lines and somewhere you can just round it. While smudging, just move your finger in a round pattern. And then we are going to make the shadow at the base of the vas. I'm darkening the base of the vase with a pencil So here, the light is on the right side. Hence, the shadow will be on the opposite side. Shadow will always going to be on the opposite side from the source of light. So here to make the shadow, we will make horizontal lines with a pencil at the bottom part. So that's where the shadow falls. So just make horizontal strokes and cover any part which is empty or which is visible with a white background, and then just make the lines. Using fingertip, just smudge that part. And Use an eraser to erase the extra smudging or any extra lines that are seen. And that's how we have made the sketch of a vase. So that's how we have made the vase. Hope you enjoyed the class. Do leave a review. Also, do upload your artworks that you make. I would love to see what you have created. Look forward to seeing you in the next class. Thank you so much for watching.