In addition to the balanced lighting that gives your studio its overall illumination you are going to demand a style to put objects you are drawing or painting into a spotlight. When you're learning to draw information technology's a practiced thing to limit all the general lighting you have in your studio and try to illuminate your subject thing with a unmarried spotlight.

The ideal drawing environment will provide this:

ane. General illumination for you lot and the studio. (many lights, diffused lighting)

2. Spot lighting for your subject. (single light, spot lighting)

The Problem: How are nosotros going to create general illumination and spot lighting in the same surround?

The Solution: Use a box, curtain or other means to separate our drawing surroundings from the bodily subject area thing (nevertheless life or portrait).

Considering I highly recommend you stick with all the same life drawing while you are learning to describe, at to the lowest degree for your first several drawings, I am going to introduce y'all to my favorite manner of isolating a however life from the rest of my studio space.

Think Inside the Box!

To create a still life box:

  1. Find a cardboard box that is big enough to house your still life with some actress room; typically something around 2 feet in all dimensions is perfect!
  2. Cutting a pigsty approximately four inches in bore in the meridian of the box to the farthermost left or correct side.
  3. Using duct tape, braze a clench low-cal on top of the box so that the light bulb shines through the hole, simply the cogitating metallic office of light doesn't fall through the hole.
  4. Once your box is modified, yous tin can place it on a table and ready upwards your still life inside. You tin can add mantle to the background and fifty-fifty use materials to change the surface your objects are sitting on. Find that interior decorator within you to provide a prissy home for your future still life tenants!

still-life-box | helloartsy.com

Now y'all have a controlled still life environs that is completely contained of your studio space. Finally yous have accomplished general illumination on your artwork while spotlighting your subject field matter.

Wait There'due south More

What I as well like about the box method is that things tend to stay put better and don't get as dusty. You tin can even comprehend the front when you're not using it then curious people don't mess with your pristine setup. If y'all like to work on more i piece of artwork at a fourth dimension you can gear up multiple boxes each having their own lighting.

Let me know what you remember of the box method.

Please leave comments below.