Blueberries...a perennial plant, and a perennial summer favorite. After doing that detailed drawing of the Royal Burgundy beans over the weekend, I decided to just do a quick sketch of these guys. (And yes, this is another in my unplanned summer preoccupation with drawings in blues and violets. Maybe when the warm weather subsides, it will too.)
When I was scanning my sketch, and making my thumbnail for IF, it reminded me how much I love being able to crop artwork digitally. I never draw digitally, and when I scan, I try to keep the colors as close to my original as possible, good or bad. But cropping...that's one digital tool that I could play with for hours. When I start a drawing, it's nice to know that if I don't get the placement on the page just right, that cropping gives me a second chance. Even on a sketch this simple and small, cropping it differently can really change the look. What do you think...do you prefer one of these alternatives to the straightforward view above? Are you cropping-tool-crazy, too?
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Beautiful blueberries! And yes, I'm a cropping addict too. I like all the views, and I think the (a) version is particularly interesting as the highlights on the bowl draw the eye across the picture.
ReplyDeleteSue
These are such beautiful berries! And I like version A as well. It draws you into the drawing.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful work! I've done a pinecone in graghite too and your filbert nuts are superb!
ReplyDeleteMmm, delicious looking blueberries! I like version a as well because it focuses on those delectable berries, & the highlights on the bowl really make it read 3d even incomplete.
ReplyDeletethey all look great, but i do like A aswell. cropping is SO useful! fab illo :D
ReplyDeleteThis is so beautiful Sarah. For some reason the bowl almost looks silver. It's just an amazing illo.
ReplyDeleteThe blueberries and beans are FAV. I especially like images that fall out of the boundaries of the page as it gives a sense of scale and infinite.
ReplyDeleteooooOOOooohh! I am so glad you commented on my post, because now I am looking at your blog! Love your work! Very nice! Amazing how little blueberries can be so charming!
ReplyDeleteHya, oh you have a good eye and a good hand :) There's something serene and majestic about this work in it's simplicity and I think the symmetry of the first image allows it to breath and underlines the serenity. That said, the subtle assymtery of the berries and reflection holds our interest...
ReplyDeletecropping is good eh? I make a new layer, fill it with grey and cut a window in it, then move that mat around till I find something that works better than the full image
Ah.... very nice sketch. I love blueberries. I think my favorite is the original, followed by alternative a. But... they are all very nice.
ReplyDeleteI like the monochrome look - it works very well for this piece.
ReplyDeleteI too enjoy cropping although, for this, I prefer the original.
I always advocate creative cropping for photographs - something that many people fail to use to their advantage. It can turn an average photo into a stunning photo!
Beautifully done. I love that tone of paper, I should get more colors in my own works. I really like your stuff! :D
ReplyDeleteSarah, do delicately, deliciously done. Everything about this image is balanced--the colors, the line quality, the paper--so very fine, indeed!!
ReplyDeleteI love this. It's so delicate - just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI do like the original crop because you can see the simple shape and texture of the bowl, but maybe I prefer crop A, because the texture of the fruit and the bowl have more prominence. With crop B - and I know that this isn't the case - but it looks to me as if the image has been forced into a square crop, rather than being cropped to enhance the image. Just my opinions!
But the illustration is absolutely gorgeous!
Thanks for your perceptive opinions, everyone! (I agree—I prefer either the original or Crop a.) Thanks so much for your kind comments.
ReplyDeleteThis is really elegant! Fantastic illo - good enough to eat!
ReplyDeleteLovely blueberries! I think I'll just have a nibble on that nice round one over there...
ReplyDeleteA good reminder about playing with cropping too!
Hi Sarah... I am liking the composition of 'a'.Gorgeous work, love the tone.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful work Sarah, so pleased to have found your blog/work
ReplyDeleteEach crop gives a different feel, it's fun to experiment! Great drawing.
ReplyDeleteWhat Beautiful blue blueberries:) love the cropped and uncropped versions.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know what the crop tool was for until I started doing Illustration Friday! Your blueberry illustration is lovely and it makes the cool colors seem so summery.
ReplyDeleteYou've given me something fun to play with that I never thought of: cropping into existing illos to see how different they can look with different croppings.
Great post! :)
thanks for saying 'thanks' :) I'm glad it was helpful - I always compose my work in the real world with a stanley knife - you just cut out the good bits and throw away the rest :) gets some odd Lucein freudish shapes though :0
ReplyDeleteLovely bluish blueberries. A focused drawing.
ReplyDeletePaula
I'm late weighing in on your drawing, Sarah, but these blueberries may be my favorite. The colors are incredible. The juxtaposition of the berries against the bowl against the background is just beautiful. Love it. (Lots of hyperbole but completely justified.)
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