Cylinders, Volcanoes, and Coffee Mugs

     After drawing spheres and squares, I am drawing the last basic shape in the book, Cylinders. Cylinders are probably the most difficult of the basic shapes. You have to make sure the top of the cylinder is foreshortened and, according to Mark Kistler, make the bottom curve a little more rounded than the top curve (Kistler 100). Regardless, they are fun to draw and I got a little carried away during the lesson and did a lot more than Kistler taught me.

     Later, I learned how to take the cylinder shape even further and drew a volcano and a coffee mug. I noticed a lot of drawings that i made have a lot of foreshortened shapes in them. Mark Kistler says, "Recognizing foreshortening and other laws of drawing in the world around you will help you learn how to draw in 3-D" (Kistler 158). That made me realize that foreshortening is one of the most important part in drawing.

     Do you think that foreshortening is one of the most important part in drawing? Or is there something of even more importance?

     Kistler, Mark. You Can Draw in 30 Days: the Fun, Easy Way to Learn to Draw in One Month or Less. Da Capo Lifelong, a Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2011.