Watercolor Artist - USA (2019-12)

ArtistsNetwork.com 13

Th is may seem obvious, but it can be tricky to make
a rounded form like a dome look round. Have you ever
noticed sketches in which the edge of the dome seems
to have a sharp corner?
Th e key to drawing this shape correctly is understanding
that domes appear as a stack of ellipses, each sharing a
common line down the center. Each ellipse appears fl atter
the closer it gets to your eye level. First sketch these
shapes with light construction lines as if they were trans-
parent, starting with one ellipse and adding a center line,
then drawing the stack of ellipses about that center.

Radcliffe Camera, Oxford (approx. 1½ hours; watercolor and pencil

in a Pentalic Aqua journal, 7x7) by Stephanie Bower

TIP: DOMES ARE ROUND. LAMPSHADES, TOO.

Drawing the center line will help you
align the ellipses and accurately locate
the top of the dome’s cupola.

Ellipses appear fl atter the closer they
are to your eye level (in blue).

Vertical lines get gradually closer together
as the form rounds to the backside.

Note the gently rounded

profi le. This edge

shouldn’t appear as

a sharp corner.

Notice the relationship

between the eye-level line and

how the lamps read. When

above eye level, you can see

up into the lampshade. When

below, you see down and into

it, but at eye level, we see both

a cup-down ellipse at the top

and a cup-up ellipse at the

bottom of the lampshade.

Once again, we’re breaking down complex forms into simple shapes. Th ink of
a car as two stacked rectangular boxes. Use the vanishing point(s) to draw these
forms, then sculpt the shape of the car. Add ellipses for tires, and draw a dark,
fl at shadow underneath to attach the car to the ground.

TIP: CARS ARE LIKE STACKED BOXES.