Studio Matrx Monthly · Volume 1 · Issue 2 · July 2026
Amogh N P
✦ In loving memory of Amogh N P — Architect · Designer · Visionary ✦
A still-life drawing on an easel — a pencil rendering of a jug, a bowl and fruit with clear highlights, core shadows and cast shadows — beside the actual arranged objects under a single lamp, warm daylight, no people, no legible text.
Unit IVVisual Arts

Still Life & Self-Portrait

The full light logic — and structure before likeness.

≈ 50 min + studio sheetsByAmogh N P· Architect & interior designer

Two capstone subjects bring the course together. The still life — arrange objects with overlap and one dominant light, then render the full light logic (highlight to cast shadow). The self-portrait — build the head on structure and proportion (the eyes sit roughly halfway down) before chasing likeness. And study a master’s technique.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to — mapped to the course outcomes for Visual Arts:

1
CO4 · Create

Arrange and render a still life with the full light logic and cast shadow.

2
CO4 · Apply

Use overlap, size, detail and softening to create depth, and match texture.

3
CO5 · Create

Build a self-portrait on head structure and proportion before likeness.

4
CO5 · Analyse

Study a famous artist's drawing technique — line and tonal approaches.

Light logic & depth

The still life

Arrange, then render the five values every form makes in light, ground it with a cast shadow, and build depth by overlap.[1, 4]

Five values on every form 1 highlight2 mid-tone3 core shadow4 reflected light5 cast shadow Reading these five turns a flat shape into a solid — the cast shadow anchors it to the surface.
DiagramThe light logic on a sphere — highlight, mid-tone, core shadow, reflected light and cast shadow

The composition is a decision

Before drawing, ARRANGE: vary heights and sizes, create OVERLAP (the single strongest depth cue), an odd number of objects often reads better, set a clear focal point, and fix ONE dominant light source. A still life is composed, not just copied — the arrangement is half the drawing.[1, 4]

Make it sit in space near: big, detailed, overlaps far: small, soft, faint • OVERLAP (strongest)• relative size• diminishing detail• atmospheric softening Overlap is the single strongest depth cue — one object simply in front of another.
DiagramDepth cues in a still life — overlap, relative size, diminishing detail and atmospheric softening
Structure before likeness

The self-portrait & the masters

Build the head on the Loomis construction and correct proportion, then study how a line artist and a tonal one make their marks.[2, 5]

The eyes sit HALFWAY down the head eye line = halfway nose base mouth Loomis: a sliced sphere (cranium) + a jaw, with curved guidelines. A loose guide, not a law — sighting the real face overrides it. Structure before likeness.
DiagramHead proportions — the eyes sit roughly halfway down the whole head, on the Loomis construction

The eyes sit halfway down

The most useful correction: the EYES fall at roughly the vertical HALFWAY point of the whole head — beginners place them too high because they forget how big the cranium is. Rough averages: the head is about five eye-widths wide, one eye-width between the eyes, the nose-base about halfway from brow to chin, the mouth about a third from nose to chin. Loose GUIDES — your own face deviates.[2]

Study line, and study tone Line / hatching Dürer · Rembrandt · Van Gogh Tone / mass Leonardo · Degas · Kollwitz Copy a master to reverse-engineer their marks — pair a line artist with a tonal one.
DiagramTwo ways masters draw — a line/hatching approach and a tonal/mass approach
Myth vs reality

At a glance

AspectOne sideThe other
Still lifeMyth: just copy what's thereReality: arrange it — overlap, focal point, one light
Cast shadowMyth: a flat grey blobReality: direction, soft edge, colour — it anchors
Self-portraitMyth: must be photo-realisticReality: structure first, likeness follows
Eye placementMyth: near the top of the headReality: ~halfway down the whole head
Proportion rulesGuides/averagesSighting the real face overrides them
Vocabulary

Key terms

Core shadow

The dark band where a form turns away from the light.

Reflected light

Light bounced back into the shadow side, keeping it from going dead black.

Cast shadow

The shadow an object throws onto the surface — with direction, soft edge and colour.

Overlap

One object in front of another — the strongest depth cue in a still life.

Loomis method

Building the head as a sliced sphere plus jaw, divided by curved guidelines.

Structure before likeness

Getting head proportion and tilt right first; likeness follows.

Draw it

Studio exercise

Arrange three to five overlapping objects under a single lamp and render the full light logic in coloured pencil — highlight, mid-tone, core shadow, reflected light, and a cast shadow with a colour. Then draw a mirror self-portrait: build the Loomis head, place the eyes at the mid-line, and draw the observed features — structure first, likeness last.

Check your understanding

Self-assessment

1. On a lit sphere, the order of values from the light is —

2. In a head, the eyes sit at roughly —

3. A self-portrait should begin with —

In a nutshell

Recap

A still life is arranged, not just copied — overlap, a focal point and one dominant light source.
Render the full light logic: highlight, mid-tone, core shadow, reflected light, cast shadow.
The cast shadow anchors the object and has direction, a softening edge and a colour — not a grey blob.
Build a self-portrait on head structure and proportion (eyes ~halfway down; Loomis) before likeness.
Study a master's technique — pair a line artist with a tonal one — to learn what marks can do.
The evidence

References & further reading

  1. [1]Bert Dodson, Keys to Drawing, 1985 (still-life composition, light logic, restatement).
  2. [2]Andrew Loomis, Drawing the Head and Hands, Viking, 1956 (head construction and proportions).
  3. [3]Art Fundamentals, 3dtotal Publishing, 2013 (light, form, cast shadow, colour).
  4. [4]Rudy de Reyna, How to Draw What You See, 1970 (rendering objects and depth).
  5. [5]Betty Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, 1979 (its self-portrait capstone project).

Further reading

  • Andrew Loomis — Drawing the Head and Hands.
  • Bert Dodson — Keys to Drawing.
  • Art Fundamentals — 3dtotal Publishing.

Sources gathered and fact-checked June 2026. Published values vary by source, sample and method — treat as indicative and confirm against the cited standard before structural use.

A

The author

Amogh N P

Architect, interior designer, and creative polymath. Studio Matrx began in his notebooks — his vision of design made honest, useful, and open to everyone. Its Academy is written and taught in his memory, and free, forever.

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