Detailed Observation: Check and Log

Which drawing media did you find most effective to use, for which effects?

Drawing pens were very effective for the line work at the beginning of the project. They give a bold and graphic effect. It would have been good t also experiment with dip pen here as it gives a different character of line and is less controllable.

Soft pencil was good for subtle and gradual tonal variations but a range of pencils could also be used with a sharp point for creating interesting textural marks (such as on the leaf of the artichoke)

Drawing pens were also very good for stipples and dots as the density of the black ink contrasts well with the white of the  cartridge paper.

What sort of marks work well to create tone, pattern and texture?

An enormous variety of marks can be created to represent pattern and texture - they are not just limited to dots and hatching lines. The type of marks which work best really do depend on the texture and character of the object being drawn. I have made some sample marks in my sketchbook:

Look at the composition of the drawings you have done in this project. Make some sketches and notes about how you could improve your composition;

I did not spend much time considering the composition with these small, single object drawings. The drawings would have benefited from this. It would have been a good idea to use my viewfinder to enable me to more clearly see the negative shapes around the objects which would likely have helped with my placement of the objects on the paper. In particular with the stipples and dots exercise the object was not well placed on the paper - tho photograph looks better than the actual page because it has been cropped.