Transparency: Charcoal Sketch

This is my final image which I created using pencil for the rough sketch, and charcoal for the majority of the shading. This was only the second time I had used charcoal, but I was excited to revisit it as a means of showing a wide variety of values as I saw fit based on the photograph. There are many aspects to the sketch which reflect what I intended to depict. Firstly, I made a very deliberate choice to rarely use the darkest black value, because there were many intermediary values which were more specific and appropriate based on their distance and positioning from the light bulb. While the photo had very thin lines scattered throughout the shadow, I was more concerned with the transparency, and therefore generalized those lines with blending. On the right half of the bulb, the shadow is distorted to give a bending effect. I am happy with how I was able to show this using charcoal application direction, going upward and downward with the charcoal piece. Also, I avoided the use of strong outlines especially on the lower left and top right, to the point where the object almost blends into the paper, an element I saw used by Janet Fish frequently. Lastly, highlights were added on at the base, and in the middle of the bulb, and at the tip, to give the image a sense of realism. Looking back I wish I had exaggerated a bit more the shape of the shadow, because it lacks the fantastical visual effect it had in the photo. Also, I think that by using more similar values with the light bulb itself I could have allowed it to "settle" on the paper figuratively, as opposed to appearing as if it were standing upward. However, overall I feel that elements I saw in Janet Fish's work were utilized, and I am happy with how I expressed the idea of transparency.