Shiny stuff

One thing I learned recently - light is important. Yes, it puts emphasis on shape, but that is not what I mean. A more important function of a light source is to light the object so as you can actually see what you are drawing. I don't know about you, but drawing shiny things like this watch by use of just ambient light is confusing. It often takes a couple good looks just to figure out what you're looking at. Having a strong, nearby lamp like this USB one in the photo, really makes the object and all it's parts pop into view.

Also, I put a piece of gridded paper under the watch just so I can see the space around it better.

Spot light

Here's a quick sketch I did.

Quick sketch of my watch

I actually find it quite fun drawing things that have many interlocking parts. If you get the general shape and proportions of the object down close enough, that is. Else it can be a real pain. Make one mistake in the beginning and it all goes horribly, horribly wrong afterwards. I know because this is my second time drawing this watch. Last time I got this stage wrong, so later when I started filling in the details it all went so wrong I decided to just start over.

Don't be afraid to start over. It's better to accept failure early on just so you don't get disappointed having spent a long time doing something that was doomed hours earlier. The sketch above took me just a couple of minutes. And although that may seem like a lot to someone experienced, for someone with my level of skill that's quick.

This is what I had previously. I don't have the file anymore, but I took a photo of my monitor just in time. Lucky me...

Photo of monitor