Beginner's Drawing Bootcamp With Mrs. Howard: You CAN Learn to Draw!

*Scroll Down For a Detailed Description of Each Class Day*

Drawing is the building block of all art!  We need to understand the basic skills involved in drawing before we can take the next steps into painting or any other art form.  The biggest misconception is that drawing is a "talent one is born with".  The truth is that drawing is a skill that one develops (just like riding a bike, playing a guitar, etc.) and this class will teach those fundamental tools to gain more confidence in your drawing abilities. You do not need any prior drawing classes as this course is designed for beginners.  

Each day, we will start with a different warm-up exercise to loosen up the muscles used for drawing and develop hand-eye coordination. These include swirls and loops, big and small circles, and dark and light value lines.  We will also be covering art elements and principles including line, pattern, shape (2-D), form (3-D) value (highlighting and shading) and texture.  We will practice these skills through drawing various subject matter.  This course will be an overview of those techniques so that you can better understand the basics to take your drawing skills to the next level.  

My goal is to teach each of these elements and principles in a way that will be hands on so that the learner can build from one concept to the next to gain more confidence in their drawing skills.  If you've wanted to learn how to draw but didn't know where to start than this class is for you!  

DAY 1: LINES AND PATTERNS

1.) Warm Up Exercises: Hand Stretch #1 and Line Drawing 
     >The warm-ups will get our fingers, hands, and wrists warmed up to start the drawing process.  These will help you ease into 
     the drawing process and activate the right side of the brain. 

2.)  Memory Drawing VS Blind Contour Line Drawing Exercise
      >  Do a drawing from memory drawing of an object the teacher chooses.  
      >  Now, we will do a "Blind Contour Drawing".  (This is a technique where the artist continually looks at their subject while 
      drawing the contour lines but does not look at their paper the whole time.)  
      >  Discussion: Compare/Contrast what are the similarities and differences between the images from memory and the images 
      from the blind contour drawing. 
      > If time allows, we will do another object. 

*Artist Tip* Our memory tends to leave out many details so blind contour drawing can be used to train your eye to draw exactly what it sees.  Blind contour drawing allows you to focus on what you are seeing in front of you rather that what you think you are seeing. 

3.) Basic Types of Lines
      "A dot that takes a walk becomes a line" and a variety of lines create both abstract and representational drawings.  Students 
       will view works of art from artist, Pablo Picasso, who experimented with line work.  We will divide our paper into 8 squares 
       and draw a different type of line in the top 4 squares.  We will set this to the side to use for our final drawing of the day. 

4.) Pattern
      Discuss what the word "pattern" means.  Kids will do a quick scavenger hunt around the house to bring back three items that 
      have patterns in it.  We will add 4 patterns to the bottom of our line paper.  

5.) Draw a Zentangle Ice Cream Cone
     A Zentangle is an easy to learn, relaxing and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing lines and patterns.  This technique 
     will be demonstrated and then the students will use the lines and patterns that they have drawn to create their final ice cream 
     cone Zentangle masterpiece.   

*Artist Tip* Kids are more imaginative, talented, and creative that they may think and their Zentangle will demonstrate this and will guide them on to the next part of their bootcamp experience where they will understand that lines create both shapes and forms. 

DAY 2: SHAPE AND FORM 

1.) Warm-Up Exercises: Hand Stretch #2 and Big and Small Circles
    >Share pencil drawing techniques using the tripod grip the wrist using the whole arm. 

2.) 2D Shape VS 3D Shape 
     Show the difference between a square (post-it note) and cube (rubix cube) by sharing a visual.  Repeat by showing a circle 
     (a flat circle) and a sphere (a sports ball).  Teacher will describe the differences after students share their knowledge of both 
     types of shapes.  

3.) Breaking Down Objects into 2D Shapes 
      By breaking down any subject into simple shapes, we can learn how to "construct" any images.  We will do this with a few 
      different visuals.

4.) Basic Principles of Drawing 3D Shapes
     3D shapes are called "forms" and are used to create more realistic drawings.  We will turn various 2D shapes into 3D forms by 
     drawing them next to each other which will show how a subtle shift can create a more realistic image.   These include simple 
     shapes such as a 2D square turning into a 3D cube and recognizable and subjects such as a 2-D cake into a 3-D cake.  

5.) Draw a 3D Sand Castle 
     With the knowledge that the students have gained, we will begin the drawing of a sand castle together.  Once we have the 
     basic structure of the castle, learners continue to build their 3-D castle by drawing lines, shapes, and forms.  Individual 
     creativity is highly encouraged!

DAY 3: VALUE AND TEXTURE 

1.) Warm Up Exercises:  Hand Stretch #3 and Light/Dark Scribbles 

2.) Draw a Five Grade Value Chart 
     A value chart shows a range of tones from light to dark.  A single pencil can produce this range by the amount of pressure 
     applied.  The value chart will demonstrate this.  
   
*Artist Tip* Artists use a variety of pencils and a good combination to get started with is an HB for drawing and a 4 or 6B for 
 shading.  Teacher Demo.  You will incorporate these as you get more comfortable with drawing. 

3.) Basic Principle of Shading
     Shading is like "painting" with a pencil.  Shading enhances your images by creating the illusion of depth on paper.  

4.) Blending
     Blending is an important aspect of shading.  You can a variety of tools to blend but for this next activity, we will use a 
     paper towel or tissue, a q-tip, and our finger.  Let's draw some pencil textures and shading techniques then use 
     a blending tool of choice to smudge them.  Compare/Contrast before and after blending.  

5.) Observation Drawing
     Observational drawing is drawing what you see.  It helps to support deepen the understanding of an objects visual details.  We 
     will draw an apple using this method.  

6.)  Draw a Fruit with a Light Source
      Put your light source next to the fruit.  What do you see happens?  It accentuates the lighter (highlights) and darker 
      (shadows) areas of the fruit as well as may add a shadow next to or around it.  Add details with value scale.  Light areas are left 
      alone, mid-range are colored in and the darkest areas are shaded the darkest.  Use blending tools if you choose.