Drawing glass

Line drawing - broken glass
12 x 6 - mat board

For people learning to draw, the prospect of drawing glass, metal or water seems daunting and it is a question that I get asked over and over again.

This piece is the basis for a tutorial that I am creating for drawing glass. I love drawing glass or another other reflective surface. To me, its like a jigsaw puzzle. There are many pieces, consisting of light and shade and they only work when placed next to each other for contrast. Only then does the beauty of the surface appear as if by magic.

I start out with a detailed line drawing that can take quite some time, depending on the complexity of the piece. From there, I start putting the puzzle together, starting with the lightest values and working up the layers until I reach the darkest, leaving the white of the paper for the brightest highlights.

Establishing initial values - broken glass
12 x 6 - mat board

Drawing reflective surfaces demands patience and keen observation. If you take your time and slowly build your drawing, you will be rewarded. Drawing metal, glass or still water are all very similar in technical skills as they are all reflective surfaces. If you can successfully render one, you can render any of them.

I am using mat board for this drawing. I scrounged some samples from a framing shop as I wanted to test it as a drawing support. I quite like it! The surface is very similar to the Bristol Illustration board that I have used and is pretty forgiving. I will be using this again.