WHAT TO EXPECT: 
How to Draw classes are art courses based of the fundamental techniques of art and drawing. These courses are designed to teach young artists how to draw anything by building important skills such as mark-making, line drawing, shading, proportions, and more though the lens of observational drawing. Observational art is a method of drawing that emphasizes visual perception with three principles in mind: understanding of the subject, building looking skills, and practice of artistic technique. These classes combine lecture periods, worksheets, and free-hand drawing time to ensure learners understand the material and get ample practice time. 

In this How to Draw course, young artists will learn about texture and fabric fold drawing. Texture is an illusion of tactile sense in artwork. With careful attention to the way one draws lines, shades subject matter, and simplifies what they see, an artist can create skillful illusions in their artwork. The inclusion of thoughtful textures in art will make works feel livelier and create a sense of interest with variety. Learning how to draw texture in an artwork will help artists develop their observational, simplification, mark-making, and shading skills. Learning to draw different types of fabrics and folds is essential for young artists who are interested in developing a strong sense of form, designing characters, drawing people in costume, and creating interesting still life subjects. 

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE: 
It is recommended that learners come in familiar with basic drawing skills and vocabulary. Be sure to ask your learner if they know what the grades on their pencils mean, what values are, and if they know what a contour is. If they cannot answer these questions, I recommend checking out my course How to Draw Basics: Still Life Drawing first. If your young artist is completely new to art, I recommend How to Draw: Foundations. 

LESSON SUMMARY: 
Lesson 1: Materials, Marks, and Lines, Oh My!
Our first lesson will be dedicated to exploring our materials, learning how to create marks in different ways, and understanding the five ways of varying line quality. Young artists will start by exploring their materials by creating marks with them. They will be challenged to create as many different marks as possible by holding their tools in new or unusual ways, pressing harder or softer, and varying the part of the arm they draw with. Then, I will introduce the five different ways of varying line (weight, size, layering, direction, and spacing) with a live drawing demo.

Lesson 2: Following the Arrows 
The second lesson will cover important aspects of developing an object drawing and help young artists to conceptualize drawing fabric. First, we will begin by drawing ribbons or arrows. Practicing drawing arrows will demonstrate how fabric (and other materials) fold and bend over itself and other objects. Once learners have a grasp on drawing arrows, we will proceed to drawing forms. Drawing simple forms will teach young artists to look for and deconstruct subjects into forms to make their drawings more accurate. Finally, we will discuss cross-contour drawing. Cross-contour drawing is a way of developing volume using line that will help young artists observe different planes of objects and teach them the directions they should shade in. 

Lesson 3: Valuing Values
Our third lesson will be dedicated to building knowledge and practicing shading. Young artists will learn about value scales, how create value scales, the “parts” of a shadow, and different ways of creating value. They will note that different shading methods can be accomplished with what they have learned in our first lesson about line variation. And, they will discover that different shading techniques create different textures all on their own. 

Lesson 4: Creating Textures
The fourth lesson will begin with a quick review of what we have discussed so far. We will review the five ways to vary line, the parts of a shadow, and different ways of creating values. Once our review is concluded, I will demonstrate how to observe, simplify, and draw textures. Young artists will be asked to create six flat texture squares using textures of their choice. Finally, we will combine our texture practice with shading practice by completing a series of at least three texture cubes. 

Lesson 5: Pipe Folds 
This lesson will begin with a quick warm-up. Together, we will practice drawing arrows and we will draw a simple shaded cylinder together. With hands and brains warmed up, learners will dedicate the rest of their lesson to drawing pipe folds. I will draw alongside them and be there to answer questions and guide them through the process.Young artists will need to ensure that their pipe fold drawings take up the entire sheet of paper, that they begin the drawing constructing with forms, and that they shade it properly. 

Lesson 6: Drop Folds 
This lesson will begin with a quick warm-up. Together, we will practice drawing arrows and we will draw overlapping forms. With hands and brains warmed up, learners will dedicate the rest of their lesson to drawing drop folds. I will draw alongside them and be there to answer questions and guide them through the process. Young artists will need to ensure that their drawings take up the entire sheet of paper, that they begin the drawing constructing with forms, and that they shade it properly.

Lesson 7: Diaper Folds 
This lesson will begin with a quick warm-up. Together, we will practice drawing arrows and we will practice drawing with straight lines. With hands and brains warmed up, learners will dedicate the rest of their lesson to drawing drop folds. I will draw alongside them and be there to answer questions and guide them through the process. Young artists will need to ensure that their drawings take up the entire sheet of paper, that they begin the drawing constructing with forms, and that they shade it properly. 

Lesson 8: Zig-Zag and Spiral Folds 
This lesson will begin with a quick warm-up. Together, we will practice drawing arrows and we will practice shading planes. With hands and brains warmed up, learners will dedicate the rest of their lesson to drawing drop folds. I will draw alongside them and be there to answer questions and guide them through the process. Young artists will need to ensure that their drawings take up the entire sheet of paper, that they begin the drawing constructing with forms, and that they shade it properly. 

Lesson 9: Final Fabric Project
Throughout our lessons together, young artists have been dedicated to very specific drawing exercises with not much room for fun or creative drawing. In our final project, I want young artists to use their new knowledge and skills to create a fabric-based project of their choosing! The only two rules for this project are that it MUST include fabrics and textures AND an aspect of the artwork has to be taken from reference.