Drawing People Summer Art Class - Day 1

This class is for kids ages 10-15. There are 6 kids in the class. Today was our first day. This is a re-cap I send to the parents and students, but if you happen to wander onto my blog and find this information useful, great! Let me know and link back to me if you use it. 

Day One– Intro and Basics 

1.    Pre-instruction drawing

a.    Put your name and age on the paper and draw a person. This is done on a loose sheet of paper and I keep the drawing until the end of the week. Students are given about 10 minutes on this drawing. We will re-visit this drawing at the end of the week to compare it to our final drawing--done after all instruction is finished. I love to start my Drawing People classes this way. I think it's a great way for the students to see how much they can improve in just a weeks time!

2.    Intro to Drawing

a.    Basic Supplies – no. 2 pencil, kneaded eraser, sketchbook and/or loose paper

b.    Sketchbook vs. loose paper - some people are intimidated by a sketchbook and afraid to ruin a page in it. If that's the case, use loose pages until you feel more comfortable. 

c.     Draw: (from Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists by Carla Sonheim)

                                               i.     Things you like - if you HATE drawing horses and the thought of practicing drawing horses makes you cringe, don't draw horses!

                                             ii.     With materials you like working with - some people like to draw with pen (I do!), others hate it. Some love the mess of charcoal, others (myself included) don't.

                                            iii.     Using styles, methods, or processes you like - if you love fashion illustration, go for it! Don't completely limit yourself to just one genre, but if something speaks to you, explore that.

d.    Why I like drawing

                                               i.     It’s quick - you can do a quick sketch in a matter of minutes. That can be it or you can return to it later to add more detail

                                             ii.     It’s portable - throw a small sketchbook and pencil in your bag and you're ready to go

                                            iii.     It’s fun

                                            iv.     It’s a way to express yourself creatively - I have several different drawing sketchbooks going at all time (people, lettering, fashion, etc.)

e.    Have your supplies handy and get them out and just see what happens - not feeling inspired? Just get out your sketchbook and pencil, sit with if for a bit and see if something comes to you. See if you just start doodling. Or see if a full detailed drawing wants to emerge.

3.    About Drawing People

a.    We looked at some of my samples—both realistic and funky, both straight graphite drawings and mixed media work (if you want to see more, feel free to explore this blog)

b.    There are rules

                                               i.     Rules, in art, are made to be broken

                                             ii.     To break the rules, you must first KNOW them. Then it’s a choice, not a mistake. (We will begin with the real math of drawing people tomorrow)

4.    In the sketchbook

a.    Make an “Eyes” page, a “Noses” page, and a “Mouths” page - we will be adding to this all week

b.    Start an “Art File” now - this is a folder or a box full of picture you gather, pictures that speak to you. I have several sections in my art file (I use a pocketed folder)--technique (the work of other artists that inspires me), faces, fashion and full body pictures, food/flowers, animals, design, and misc. Your categories will be different than mine. Or maybe you don't like categories. Figure out what works for you and start saving pictures.

5.    Let’s Get Started

a.    Gesture Studies using an art mannequin, magazine pictures, or imagination

Here are some samples of the students gesture drawings:

Take Home (Optional -- this isn't school!) Assignments:
1. Do more gesture drawings
2. Start looking for pictures in magazines for your Art File
3. Practice the Grid Method - this is another very useful tool in drawing people