Week Nine: Form, Proportions, Texture

Everyone explored form and and lines by drawing after Leonardo da Vinci's sketch of an old man, the dog, and the jaguar. Great progress was made in loosening up and sketching quickly while keeping accurate proportions.

As we move into another 8 weeks, returning students will be exploring composition and realism as well as developing their own drawing styles.

Brianna and Alec have some of their drawing styles going on in new drawings posted in eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn. Click here to check them out.

C ya Friday! --Rob

Raquel

Outstanding drawing, Raquel!!! Overall, the proportions of Leonardo's old man are very well drawn. Really nice how you captured the muscle and bone structure (especially his jaw and neck) with contour lines. Your exploration of using lines and tone to show realistic form and texture paid off in a big way! This old guy looks 3D! The quick and loose 'noodle' sketch forming the man's head helped you to loosen up your lines.

Haley

Excellent line work showing this old guy's face!! You nailed accurate proportions and positioning of the facial features by using a variety of angled and cross-hatched lines. EXCELLENT use of lighter and darker tones to show the 3D form of the head. And really nice contour lines showing the edges and textures of skin, especially the areas around the eye and jaw. Keep experimenting with sketching fast accurate lines, Haley!

Freddy C.

Freddy, you've made another big step in drawing realistic form!! I really like how you experimented with drawing angled, crossed-hatched lines and gray tones showing the 3D form and rough texture of the old man's face, especially the area where the jaw and ear connect. The contour lines showing the ear and the shading around it make the ear look realistic. The contour lines showing the man's profile and the eye are very well drawn.

Hannah

Nice to have you drawing again, Hannah!! Wonderful start in drawing realistic and natural-looking contour lines forming the dog's head!! The overall proportions look EXCELLENT, especially the folds of the ears. Great job of positioning the eye and area for the nose. The 'noodle' sketch of Leonardo's old man was a great way for you to loosen up and sketch faster. Very nice start in drawing basic shapes to measure proportions of the head.

Tiffany

Welcome to Star Sketchers, Tiffany!! You jumped right in and learned about overlapping the legs of the frog. Excellent job of drawing accurate proportions (the sizes of shapes compared to other shapes). The gray tones showing the values of color are a nice touch. Really nice start in drawing the jaguar. You captured the proportions and positioning of its body with accurately drawn contour lines. This will be helpful as you explore drawing realistically. Cool facial expressions. :-)

Demetri

Awesome work, Demetri!! You started 'Old Man River' last week and did a REALLY nice job of tightening up his facial features. The contour lines showing the form of the ear and the area around the eye are looking very realistic!

Alec

Alec, once you got rolling on sketching this old guy's face, you pulled off a really cool contour line drawing!! The brow area and the view of the eye are VERY well drawn, showing 3D depth in your picture. Overall, your contour lines show accurate proportions of the head.

Week Eight: Free Draw

On Friday we had a very productive free-draw session. Everyone had the choice of drawing from observation, memory, how you feel, and/or imagination. Some really cool drawings were produced!

Look forward to seeing you all on Friday, the last class for the 8-week course. --Rob

Haley

I think you've found a cool drawing style to explore, Haley! Excellent use of contour lines and shading to produce a powerful illustration. By successfully showing that the girl is thinking about something you've brought your drawing to life. Great facial expression!

Brianna

I knew you'd enjoy a free-draw session, Brianna! You pulled together your observational skills to make an excellent drawing of your iPod. Excellent job of using contour lines to show the earphones! I really like all the details that you included.

Freddy

It's awesome that you made this drawing after a lesson in one of my books. Fantastic job of drawing accurate proportions of the dinosaur's body and wings! Your ability to draw natural looking contour lines really shows in this sketch, Freddy!! The facial features, claws, and textured hair are very well drawn.

Demetri

Glad to have you back in class for the free-draw session, Demetri! Your choice of Leonardo da Vinci's drawing of an old man was a challenge, but you pulled off an excellent sketch! The contour lines showing his profile and facial features are very accurately drawn. And you got an excellent start at using cross-hatched lines to show the texture of his hair and skin.

Alec

I know you spent a lot of time looking at the reference book on surrealism before doing this sketch. You've got an extremely active imagination and you're able to connect it to your drawing hand. You've worked hard at improving your observational and sketching skills and look forward to seeing the future drawings that you produce.

Week Seven: Form, Texture, Roundness

The Crate of Realism: bones, skulls, shells, rocks, and rusty old stuff

On Friday we drew from real life! First we focused on the roundness and contours of a pumpkin. Then everyone selected an object from the 'crate of realism'--shells, skulls, bones, rocks, and rusty old stuff. Although it was challenging at first I saw big breakthroughs in accurate, natural looking sketches. Alec's drawing of the coyote skull spun off into a cool drawing that's posted in eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn. Check it out!

This week's drawing challenge (if you have time, of course): Find an object from the classroom or your backpack. Select this object specifically for its different textures. For example, show the fabric of a jacket or piece of cloth (try shading the areas where it folds), or the roughness of a piece of wood, or the difference between shiny and rough metal. Show textures by using tones, cross-hatching, jagged lines, wavy lines, or broken lines. Have fun!

We've got some fun experiments on Friday (it's the last day of the course). See you then! --Rob

Raquel

Your drawing has improved steadily during the past seven weeks, Raquel. Your positive attitude about learning new skills and techniques shows in your line work and accuracy. You jump in, focus your attention; then draw swiftly, confidently, and accurately. The roundness of the pumpkin and accuracy of its proportion is drawn well. The texture of the stem looks natural. The textures and contour lines of the shells are drawn VERY well. And your 15-minute sketch of the lantern (one of the most difficult objects in my pile of rusty old stuff) is awesome!!



This week's drawing challenge (if you have time, of course): Find an object from the classroom or your backpack. Select this object specifically for its different textures. For example, show the fabric of a jacket or piece of cloth (try shading the areas where it folds), or the roughness of a piece of wood, or the difference between shiny and rough metal. Show textures by using tones, cross-hatching, jagged lines, wavy lines, or broken lines. Have fun!

Haley

Haley, you've pushed your drawing skills to new levels each week, and your drawings show it!! When you're in the zone (iPod and all), your observational skills are sharp. The contour lines showing the roundness of the pumpkin and the texture of its stem are a great example of your improved sketching skills. The textures and contours of the shells are very well drawn. I really like how, toward the end of class, you got into drawing the contour edges that form the weird-looking shell for a really nice study sketch.


This week's drawing challenge (if you have time, of course): Find an object from the classroom or your backpack. Select this object specifically for its different textures. For example, show the fabric of a jacket or piece of cloth (try shading the areas where it folds), or the roughness of a piece of wood, or the difference between shiny and rough metal. Show textures by using tones, cross-hatching, jagged lines, wavy lines, or broken lines. Have fun!

Brianna

I'm not sure what your iPod playlist, but you got into the zone and pulled off a couple of excellent sketches. Drawing from real life objects was a little scary for you at first, Brianna, but you stayed focused on drawing the accurate contours for the roundness of the pumpkin. Where the stem attaches at the top is very well drawn, showing the realistic form of the pumpkin and depth to your drawing. The imagined background is a cool touch. Your sketching skills really turned on for the shell! Great job on drawing the contour edges and patterns showing the textured surface. Your determination to improve throughout the course shows in the confident lines of your latest drawings.

This week's drawing challenge (if you have time, of course): Find an object from the classroom or your backpack. Select this object specifically for its different textures. For example, show the fabric of a jacket or piece of cloth (try shading the areas where it folds), or the roughness of a piece of wood, or the difference between shiny and rough metal. Show textures by using tones, cross-hatching, jagged lines, wavy lines, or broken lines. Have fun!

Alec

A distinctive drawing style has definitely emerged in your work, Alec. You've consistently applied yourself to learning new skills and have pushed your drawings to new levels. I'm seeing confident, accurate line strokes in your latest realistic work. Fantastic job of capturing the contour lines that show the roundness of the pumpkin. The texture and positioning of the stem looks very natural--a big step in realism, man! And your drawing of the skull, that took off into an expressionistic composition is totally cool! I posted it in eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn. I also look forward to seeing any of your character studies if you have time to work on them.

This week's drawing challenge (if you have time, of course): Find an object from the classroom or your backpack. Select this object specifically for its different textures. For example, show the fabric of a jacket or piece of cloth (try shading the areas where it folds), or the roughness of a piece of wood, or the difference between shiny and rough metal. Show textures by using tones, cross-hatching, jagged lines, wavy lines, or broken lines. Have fun!