SKETCHING HANDS AND FEET

Not an aspect of mixed media, you might say? Many artists use faces and figures in their collages,
paintings, and other mixed media artwork.
But have you noticed how many people hide
the hands of their figures?

Practice drawing many different poses of hands

and feet, and you can't help but improve!

Charcoal study

This was done with Conte in several colors.

A good project for high school kids.





A DRAWING PRACTICE ALL ABOUT FORM, LIGHT, & SHADE

DRAPERY: A STUDY IN HIGHLIGHTS & SHADOWS

First, arrange a good-sized rectangle of fabric on a large piece of corrugated cardboard. When you arrive at a shape you like, with "bumps and hollows," ridges and valleys, fix it in place with stick pins.

Don't be too easy on yourself! Make it a challenge.

Place the arrangement on a table with a strong light source striking it, mostly from one direction.

 

Choose white or cream drawing paper, toned pastels paper, or one of your other favorite papers for this drawing.

Notice how the shadow on the "table" grounds the drapery.

Very lightly, sketch the outer contours of the main shape first, as well as lines to suggest the inner forms.

 

I and my students used Berol Prismacolor colored pencils, but chalk or oil pastels will do, too.

 

DRAWING TIPS                                  

Leave bare paper where you want

strong highlights. You can always

add white later if your paper is toned. 

The best finished drawings will have more than a single color!

An orange fabric might have burnt sienna in its crevices.

Mix blues, violets, grays, and/or other hues into the shaded

areas and have fun "molding" and rounding the folds,

working in their directions.

A grounding shadow keeps the object from "floating."

ANOTHER DRAWING TIP
Berol makes a waxy blender pencil that is very useful with their colored pencils.

TO CHALLENGE YOURSELF                        
OR AN ADVANCED STUDENT
Use striped cloth! This is an
excellent drawing project
for gifted students.              

THANKS FOR FOLLOWING THIS BLOG!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



TWO FIGURE DRAWING ACTIVITIES TO PRACTICE

FAST SKETCHING PROJECTS TO

HONE YOUR SKILLS

 The first is done with a peeled crayon, used broadside, although you could use stick charcoal, pastel, or any other medium in stick form.

You know how school kids love to be the one posing instead of drawing someone else? At home you can enlist someone to be your model, too. Mass in the figure from the center outward, working on the form but keeping an eye on the proportions, too.

Work in a size that's comfortable for you.

Scribble outward until you reach the outer edges of the form. When you have the entire mass built up, go back and press harder in the bulkier areas to give visual weight.

 Our second art activity is contour drawing, looking at the outer edge in contrast to the massed-in figure above. A felt-tip or rollerball pen works good for this. You must concentrate on the figure's boundaries! Do more than one pose, and work quickly.
 

These are not strictly continuous contour examples.

Continuous contour drawings are done without lifting the pen from the paper. Blind contour drawings are done without even looking at the paper! Regular continuous contour drawings allow you to peek and to lift the pen sometimes!






PROPORTIONS OF THE FACE - A Guide for the Novice

1. First, draw an egg shape. The chin portion should be more narrow than the crown.
2. Believe it or not, the eyes must be placed nearly halfway down! (Especially if you're drawing a young person.)

                                         

3. In the lower half of the face, divide the space into thirds (with the bottom of the chin being the bottom of the final third). The bottom of the nose is at the bottom of the first third, and the bottom of the lower lip as at the bottom of the second third. These are only approximate proportions, of course.

 

4. The ears in the front view should not protrude too far. The top ear tip is about at the eyebrow, and the bottom of the ear lobe is about even with the bottom of the nose.

 

5. Don't forget to add a neck, and not too thin, either!

 

Finally, add lots of strokes for the hair. TIP: Youngsters often begin the hairline too low on the forehead. Don't do that!



KIDS' DRAWING ACTIVITIES FOR ART TEACHERS AND PARENTS, PART III

Note how the shading adds depth to the leaf.

SKETCH A LEAF

Materials:

·        White drawing paper

·        Ballpoint pen or fine-line marker

·        A real leaf

BLOB-DOODLES

Materials:

·        Copy of the image below (or make your own)

·        Pencil and/or other drawing tools

            Have you ever gazed at clouds and imagined you could see the shapes of animals, people or more? We can get ideas for creating art from inkblots, too.

What to do:

1. Study the blob-shape below and see what images come to mind.
2. Turn the paper in different directions and discover the hidden figures, faces, animals, and objects you can draw there.
3. Add details to the many pictures you find

Questions to Ask Yourself:

            Did you find a variety of things to draw? Variety is a principle of art that means “different, not all the same.” Did you fill all of the space well?

How many hidden images can you find here?

FABULOUS FOOTWEAR

Materials:

·        White drawing paper

·        Pen or fine-line marker

·        A shoe or pair of shoes

What to do:

1.      Shoes make a great subject for contour drawings. Place your shoe (or a pair of them) on the desk or table. Look very closely at the shoe, following all the edges with your eyes.

2.      With a pen or a fine-tipped black marker on a large sheet of paper, draw all the edges you see. No pencil allowed! Look back and forth many times between your paper and the shoe.

3.      Be sure to add the details—all the openings, seams, and designs. Remember to draw only lines! Since the shoe is not flat, your drawing should not be a strictly side view.      

Questions to Ask Yourself:

            Is your drawing complete? Did you include details such as laces, buckles, straps, stitching? If the proportions (relationship of the parts to one another) aren't quite right, try again on another sheet of paper.

                                                                          

NO PEEKING!

Materials:

·        White drawing paper

·        Pencil or other drawing tool

·        A “screen” such as a large book

            Blind contour drawings are practice sketches that are called "blind" because you can't look at your drawing until you're done! Contours are single lines that define forms. Blind contour drawings help train your eyes to see edges as you draw. They may look strange, but they'll help you become a better artist.

What to do:

1. Choose an interesting subject.  Objects with lots of edges, folds, or other details are best for this exercise. Is there a person in the room who can pose for you?
2. Set up a “screen” (a large book works well) in front of a large sheet of paper.
3. Place your pen or pencil on your paper. You can look to make certain your starting point gives you enough room so you don't draw off the edge of the paper.
4. Study the person or thing and draw very slowly. Don't look at your drawing! You are training your eyes to see and your hand to record every detail correctly. Don't lift your pencil or pen—just drag it around the paper when you need to draw a different shape.

For Your Understanding:

            Your finished drawing probably appears quite weird to you, but try several more blind contour drawings of the same object. It's good practice!

LESSONS STRICTLY FOR ART TEACHERS & PARENTS!

This is the first in a series of fast and fun drawing activities 

for kids,beginning with line.            

Here you'll find drawing prompts that are authentic and economical, foolproof and fun. These are experiences in creating two-dimensional works of art with "dry" media, not paint or glue. No elaborate preparation is required!

            These ready-to-use lessons are easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions for children in elementary and middle school. They allow young artists to work on their own with the adult as a facilitator only.  They're tried and tested, meaningful tasks to engage the interest of the creative kid.

            You'll discover that the fifteen-minute marvels in this series are a convenient, educational way to use short periods of time productively.  And most of the artworks can be finished in about a quarter-hour or less.

            We begin with the fundamentals in the first posts—the basic art elements. Each post will highlight a different component. Line, the principle factor in drawing, is the focus of this first section.

            A word about pencils: A common 2B pencil will suffice for most drawings. However, for deep, dark gradations and shadows, try a special 4B or 6B. An HB (or any H pencil) is too hard for softly blended shading effects.

Line: a continuous mark made by a tool onto a surface.                                          

TO THE LETTER

Materials:

·        White drawing paper, pencil &/or other drawing tools

 Have you ever looked at the lines and shapes of alphabet letters and pictured other things? You can “see” a snake in the letter “S” if you try!

What to do:

1. Lightly draw a letter—either capital or lower-case—on a large piece of paper.
2. Squint your eyes and imagine the letter as part of something else. Draw in new lines and shapes, and add more on to it to finish the letter-picture. 

Questions to Ask Yourself:

            Is the artwork as complete and interesting as you could make it? Could you draw a number instead of a letter, and make it part of a brand-new picture?

TAKE A MARKER FOR A WALK

Materials:

· White drawing paper, markers 

What to do:

1. Draw a shape (an animal, a person, a flower, or any other outline) in the center of a large sheet of paper. Shapes are made by enclosing an area with a line. 

2. Next, "take a marker for a walk" around the shape, as closely as possible without touching it. The marker line should go all the way around the first shape, until it touches the place where it began. Then choose a different color marker and create another outline just outside the first, and then another, and another, without touching the other lines. If you can, use markers of different thicknesses, too. Some wide, some thin. Draw around the shape again and again until the page is filled with lines!

For Your Understanding:

       When you repeat lines over and over, you make a rhythm, a regular pattern that lends a feeling of movement. Did you begin with an interesting shape? Did you fill the page with many lines?

WHAT CAN THESE LINES BECOME?

Materials:

·        White drawing paper, pencil &/or other drawing tools

What to do:

1. Lightly draw a squiggle on a large piece of paper. (See those below.) The line can be curvy or sharp and all angles.
2. Squint your eyes and imagine the squiggle as part of something else. Draw in new lines and shapes, and add more on to it to finish the picture. 

NOTE: You mixed-media artists out there, please remember that, besides this series of kid's art activities, I will continue to post material just for you!

Thanks for stopping by!

PASTELS OVER INDIA INK

Sketch loosely with a brush...in fact, use a rather large brush if you wish! Guaranteed to keep you from getting all nit-picky. Create a black and white drawing with the ink on any white paper you like. Then let it dry.

Use soft or hard pastels to accent the piece. Spray lightly with fixative when you're done, if you wish.





20 Fast and Fun Drawing Projects!

In a rut, sketching the same old thing all the time? Break out of the box!

Maybe some of these ideas will excite your muse.

1. Use a small mirror and draw your own eyes. Fill the page.  
2. Draw a clothespin and add shading. Work large.
3. Draw an underwater scene. Add sunken, man-made items.
4. Design your own piece of jewelry.
5. Sketch a scene on another planet. Use every value from white to black.
6. Crumple a sheet of paper and draw it, wrinkles and all.
7. Make up your own futuristic vehicle and draw it, adding lots of details.
8. Draw a composite animal made up of the parts of several real animals.
9. Combine a man-made object with something from nature. Add texture.
10. Sketch a dragon. Add a castle or a knight in the background.
11. Combine a human face with that of an animal.
12. Draw the view outside the window.
13. Sketch the inside of your locker or closet. From memory.
14. Draw a shoe or a pair of shoes.
15. Sketch a glove or a hat.
16. Draw a composite machine made of parts of lots of different machines.
17. Draw your own hand. No tracing!
18. Sketch the back of the head of a person sitting in front of you.
19. Draw an empty candy wrapper.
20. Make a black and white design based on a small section of a map.