Let's talk about...Jewellery

As promised today's post will focus on the process of rendering my design for Opal Auctions Jewellery Drawing Awards.

I'm happy to say that I made a substantial amount of development work and finally moved on to rendering the final collection. I was so focused on work that I nearly forgot about my birthday (9th August)! To celebrate good progress I scanned and photographed some of the things I've been working on, so today's post will be featuring models, more of my design development drawings, and a small sneak peak of final renderings.
Enjoy!












 Looking back at my process of rendering (in pictures) I'm quite surprised to notice that I don't have a single way of working. I sort of go back and forth between designs; I might do a bit of shading here or add some colour there. I generally add gouache highlights when all designs are drawn out and coloured in; but it's always pretty much  about whatever works for you.
 My main tips for anyone interested in rendering will be -  get templates to draw gems nicely, keep a scalpel close by when rendering in coloured pencil to ensure the tip is sharp, cover paper you're not currently working on so you don't smudge design. Listen to the music. Stay focused.

Hand-drawn jewellery rendering is very time consuming process - it's much easier to create render using specialistic software, like Matrix V-ray styles or Keyshot. But one doesn't always have availability of those software, which is why it's good to know how to create render by hand. It's not that difficult - one should just have basic understanding of light and shadow and how metal reflects light.






Everybody has different rendering technique and it's good to try different things before settling on one that feels best for you. I try to keep it simple - after all less is more. When it comes to colour, I personally find it easier to render silver, because it's kept mainly in black and white. Gold is more tricky, and frankly I should probably do few mock ups of gold jewellery pieces. Gems are a nice touch although facets can get bit tricky. The more you practice the better it will be!

Fern Collection - Pencil Crayons, Gouache

Petals Collection - Pencil Crayons, Gouache

Water tablepiece - Marker Pens

Water tablepiece - Marker Pens

Rose Cascade necklace - Pencil Crayons, Gouache

 To practise my fine rendering skills, I did a small scale drawing of my spinning pendant, including some photos of the process.