How to Draw a Vase

پړاو په پړاو

1. پړاو 1

   Draw a light horizontal for eye level.

   Everything about the ellipses follows from where your eye is. Decide now, consciously, and mark it - letting it drift mid-drawing is how the rim and base end up disagreeing.

   پاملرنه Not deciding, then drawing contradictory ellipses.

   کتنه You should be able to say if you are above or level with the rim.

2. پړاو 2

   Put the opening in as a single ellipse.

   Round three or four times in one fast continuous motion and keep the best pass. Speed is what makes an ellipse smooth - drawn slowly it lumps on one side every time.

   پاملرنه Building the ellipse from four careful arcs.

   کتنه The rim should be symmetrical about its long axis.

3. پړاو 3

   Take both sides down from the ellipse.

   Start each side exactly at the widest point of the rim ellipse. A step where side meets rim is instantly visible and almost impossible to hide later.

   پاملرنه Sides starting inside or outside the rim's ends.

   کتنه Each side should leave the rim at its widest point.

4. پړاو 4

   Close the bottom with a rounder curve.

   The base is further from your eye than the rim, so it is ROUNDER - same width, more curve. Getting this backwards is what makes vessels look like they are sliding off the table.

   پاملرنه A base flatter than the rim, or a straight line.

   کتنه The base curve should be rounder than the rim.

5. پړاو 5

   Put a second curve just inside the top.

   One curve just inside the rim gives the material its thickness and turns the top from a painted disc into an opening. It follows the rim's curve, not parallel all the way round.

   پاملرنه Skipping it, leaving a flat disc on top.

   کتنه A visible band should separate the two curves at the front.

6. پړاو 6

   Draw the change of profile.

   Where the profile changes is where the form lives. Draw the change on both sides at the same height - a shoulder at two heights makes the whole vessel lean.

   پاملرنه The profile changing at different heights left and right.

   کتنه Both sides should change shape at the same height.

7. پړاو 7

   Draw the handle, both ends touching.

   Both ends must touch the body - a floating handle is the most common error on any vessel. And it is a strap with thickness, never a single line.

   پاملرنه A handle drawn as one wire line, or floating.

   کتنه Both handle ends should touch the vessel's side.

8. پړاو 8

   Add what makes it a vase.

   The identifying details go on last and they follow the form - a label, a pattern or a spout curves with the surface it sits on.

   پاملرنه Flat detail pasted over a round form.

   کتنه Any pattern should bend with the body.

9. پړاو 9

   Shade the shadow side.

   A cylinder's darkest band sits just INSIDE the shadow edge, not at it. Lay the strokes vertically, following the form, and build up in passes.

   پاملرنه Scrubbing horizontal tone across a vertical form.

   کتنه The darkest band should sit inside the outline.

10. پړاو 10

    Add the bounced light at the edge.

    Light bounces off the table back onto the very edge, so leave a thin lighter strip at the outline. That strip is what makes the form read as round rather than flat-shaded.

    پاملرنه Shading right up to the edge.

    کتنه A light strip should separate shading from outline.

11. پړاو 11

    Put the cast shadow down.

    Darkest where it touches the base, softening as it spreads. The cast shadow is what anchors the vessel - without it the thing floats no matter how well you shaded it.

    پاملرنه A detached grey blob nearby.

    کتنه The shadow should touch the base.

12. پړاو 12

    Go over the keepers and erase the guides.

    Weight the rim and the silhouette, erase the eye-level guide, and check the two ellipses one last time - they are what the whole drawing stands on.

    پاملرنه Leaving the eye-level line in.

    کتنه Rim and silhouette should be the darkest lines.