Human Cerebrum.
Date: April 18, 2022
Medium: Prismacolour pencil crayons
Audience: General Public
Purpose: To practice creating the detail required for hyperrealism and to be able to create the illusion of life on paper.
DEVELOPMENT 1: PHOTO REFERENCES
Photo references of various veal brains were first collected from specimens and studied for colour, texture and detail as well as the pattern of sulci, gyri and blood vessels.
DEVELOPMENT 2: IDEATION
For this drawing, the idea was to have the brain fit into the hands, which is why veal brains were studied and used as references. I drew a rough sketch of the brain sitting in my photograph of gloved hands to determine accurate placement of the brain. This would in turn determine how light interacts with the tissue to define the shape of the specular highlights and colour of the reflected light.
DEVELOPMENT 3: COLOUR EXPLORATION
Determining colour was done using textbook and my own photographic references. I initially created a colour swatch sheet of all the tones of pink, red, beige, orange etc hues so I would have a colour chart to refer to. I would also make rough colour swatches (left) to ensure no mistakes were made and so I could see what the hue looked like prior to applying it to the drawing.
DEVELOPMENT 4: PLANNING SHEET
Prior to creating all of my hyperrealism drawings, I like to create a ‘planning sheet’ where I bring together my ideas for colour, form and texture and create more refined sketches. For this drawing in particular, I also created a sample of one piece of the brain (middle) experimenting with how colour would be used to create the curved form of a gyri and the deep cleft of a sulci.
