Weeks 2-6: Proportions, Contour Lines, Positive/Negative Space, and Getting Abstract

Using artwork by artists such as Kandinsky and Mondrian as ideas, everyone worked with lines, shapes and patterns to create their own abstract drawings. Scroll down to view everyone's drawings.

The above pics show the Natural Bridges Sketchers in action. To view more pictures of students in drawing class: Click here

Abstract compositions by Willow (upper left) and Elijah (upper right)

After exploring abstract drawing from the imagination we now shift back to drawing from observation.  Students will be studying proportion and drawing realistic contour lines as well as positive and negative space. 

Dragonfly drawings by Gianna (upper left) and Katia (upper right) explore accuracy in proportions and contour edges.







Kiah's sketch of the egret (upper left) shows how she looked for the negative space in the reference picture to draw the bird's form. Thairie's Jeep (upper right) shows how he used guidelines for basic shapes before finishing with darker outlines.

Natural Bridges Sketchers spend A LOT of drawing! Be sure to check out the amazing student drawings in eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn: Click here Shown above are drawings by Emilio (upper left) and Andrea (upper right)

Click 'Read more' below to view everyone's drawings...

Week 1: Lines, Shapes, Patterns, Overlapping

Really enjoyed getting started with the Natural Bridges Sketchers! Everyone got right into learning how to measure accurate proportions and holding the pencil on its side while moving the whole arm to draw. Shown above left and right are warm-up sketches by Molley and Abel.

As they worked from reference lesson pictures, students learned about proportions (the sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) and drawing on top of mistakes. Kelly dove in with some nice sketching. His crab (upper left) shows accurate  proportions as he drew light guidelines before finishing with darker outlines. Willow's puffer fish (upper right) is a great example of drawing on top of mistakes while searching for the overall shape of its body.




Students also got into adding light and dark tones to their work. Kelly (upper left) laid down some very accurate line work and nice tones. Emilio captured accurate proportions of the puffer fish and did a great job of adding tone and the pointy texture lines.

As we progressed, everyone learned about overlapping shapes. Gianna's drawing (upper left) shows how overlapping the frog's legs gives depth to her picture. And she did a fantastic job in drawing accurate proportions!  Katia laid down a wonderful sketch of the frog (above, right).

Highlight of the day: Thairie struggled a bit with controlling the pencil, but then he got into the Zone and pulled together accurate proportions and clean line work for his frog sketch, shown at left.

To view everyone's sketches and reference pictures...

Welcome Natural Bridges Sketchers!

I look forward to drawing with Natural Bridges High School. This is the official blog for all students to view their drawing lessons, along with my comments and suggestions.

Here's how the first 8 weeks of the course will be set up (2 weeks for each topic):

1. Lines/Shapes: pencil grip, guidelines, outlines, different kinds of lines, combining shapes, overlapping
   
2. Patterns/Textures: repetition, rhythm, surfaces
3. Space: positive/negative space, edges, foreground/background, scale, composition
4. Form: contour lines, light/shadow, perspective

We'll meet each Wednesday, 12:45 - 1:30 p.m. at Natural Bridges High School . I'll post your drawings the following week. You'll see suggestions on what to practice for the next lesson, and ideas for you to explore.

If you would like to try more advanced lessons from this blog ("Start a Lesson" section) along with your weekly class lessons, I'd be happy to coach you through them on this blog. Talk with me about it, and we'll get you started.

Natural Bridges Sketchers, get ready to draw! --Rob