When you’re turning a form, or rendering a form—meaning, transitioning from a light area to a dark area, or from a distant plane to a front plane—that presents some challenges. You certainly need to learn and practice the technical aspects of how to render value, color, and masses. But, equally if not more importantly, you need to practice thinking in terms of color, in terms of light, and in terms of mass. Mindset affects ability.
It is important that the feeling of mass is conveyed to the viewer. If you are drawing something, consider the physical, three dimensional characteristics of that thing. That is best done when you seek to understand the object in multiple mediums. Sculpt it before you draw it. Draw it before you sculpt it. Draw its profile before you paint its orientation in your work. Seek to understand the object. One of the best practices for developing a three-dimensional mindset is constructive drawing. This is precise, planar, schematic drawing which forces you to first consider large masses, then various orientations of planes and their linear contours.
The next mindset you need to consider and practice, is light. Everything we see is enveloped in light, and that light has a source. The source of light—its distance from our object, its temperature, its intensity—are very important considerations. Think about where the light is coming from, the intensity of the light, how close the light source is to the object, and because most light is reflected light, consider the nature of the object’s surroundings. All of these influence the intensity of the values you are trying to render. Considering the light source will make values more intuitive.
The light source will affect the color, the next thing you must practice to develop an eye and mindset for. What relative temperature is the light source? Are the light value areas warm or cool? Is the object’s own-shadow warm or cool? Is the cast shadow warm or cool? Is the reflected light warm or cool? The color of your shadows defines the nature of your light. The feeling of the atmospheric light is most often found in the color of the shadows. The characteristics of the light source is described in the color. That description is not given in the light value areas, but in the midtones and shadows—own shadows and cast shadows. An objects actual color is described in the midtones, and the light-source is described in the color and hard/softness of your shadows. This eye for color takes practice. Do a lot of color sketches.
These three mindsets are interrelated. Understanding the masses and real or imagined planes of an object through constructive drawing will intuitively tell you what value a certain plane is or ought to be. Understanding the orientation of a plane, and what colorful neighboring object is reflecting onto it, will tell you what color a plane is or ought to be. What colors you place on those planes and surrounding objects will tell the viewer what the light source is like.
Certainly you should practice rendering values, mixing color, and turning shapes into forms—but the key to applying them artistically is to practice understanding mass, light sources, and color relationships. Developing these mindsets and understanding is why we do still-life, plein air, and figure studies in both monochrome and color mediums. The goal is the mindset, not the ability to render realistic forms.
That’s what I think.
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