Stitch The Sketch #5: 3D Thread Sketching

I’m thinking spring.  The weather has been mild this week, what with 40-degree temperatures and above.  So I’ve already started thinking spring.  And what better to symbolize spring than beautifully colored flowers budding and filling the air with their fragrance.

In episode 5, I’ve sketched a sunflower that is lovingly held in the palm of someone.  I purchased a stock photo to use for this drawing and I altered it a bit to suit my purposes.  Since this sketch is all about spring, I added some budding petals to symbolize the start of the season. I don’t really know if sunflowers bud this way but hey, I took some artistic liberties here and made this sunflower do just that. The theme of this episode is 3D thread sketching. My goal is to create a 3D effect rather than have the picture look flat.

Here is the pencil sketch

Followed by the front of the 3D thread sketching

Then the back of the 3D thread sketching

And then finally, the video showing how I put it all together.

If the video does not appear, please click here.

Continue to read on to discover the techniques I used to create the 3D thread sketching effect that makes the petals look like they are opening up and also makes you feel like you’re looking down at the center of the sunflower.

Tips, Techniques, and Tools

3D Thread Sketching

1. Value sketching is the key to making your artwork look three dimensional. Varying the values in your work helps to create the illusion of depth.
2. Work in at least three (more will be better) values of thread: light, medium and dark colored threads
3. In order to create harmony in a specific area, make sure your transition is smooth and gradual. That is to say, when you’re changing thread color inside a specific area, move slowly from say, medium to dark or from light to medium – gradual change.
4. When you want to create an edge (a line), you’ve got to make a sudden change in the value of thread you’re shading with. For example, when thread shading, immediately switch from light to dark threads in adjacent areas. This creates an edge that separates the two areas.
5. Create a focal point (draw attention to a particular point in your artwork), by increasing the contrast in that area
6. use your lightest value thread to stitch your outlines, that way when you start shading, your outlines will vanish,

I hope you have picked up some tips on 3D thread sketching and how to make your work look more realistic by staying with the same color and only varying how light or dark that thread color is. I look forward to hearing your comments.

Warmest Regards,

 

Watch all the Thread Sketching  Videos and Learn the Thread Sketching Tips & Techniques.