In this class students will be introduced to techniques and basic skills of drawing.

Week 1: Shading, students will watch a video presentation of shading and will follow along with their own practice drawings. Practice drawings will be submitted to the classroom and students will then go on to apply shading technique to a full page drawing (subject of their choice). Students will submit their final drawings to the classroom where the teacher and other students will comment on the drawing with positive reinforcement and helpful tips. Students will also be asked questions in relation to the lesson. Our weekly game of Guess the Artist will take place. 

Week 2: Contour Drawing, students will watch a video presentation of various types of contour drawings. They will follow along at their own pace. This will produce three practice drawings. Drawings will be submitted to the classroom and teacher feedback will be given. Students will then complete a full scale drawing (subject of their choice) using this technique. The final drawing will be submitted to the classroom. The teacher and other students will comment on the drawing with positive reinforcement and helpful tips. Students will also be asked questions in relation to the lesson. Our weekly game of Guess the Artist will take place. 

Week 3: Gesture Drawing, students will watch a video presentation on gesture drawing. This is a timed exercise, which students can do along with the video, or own their own. Drawings based on the video presentation will be uploaded to the classroom for teacher feedback. Students will also share other images used and created outside of the video, and discuss with the teacher and other students the value of gesture drawing. Our weekly game of Guess the Artist will take place. 

Week 4: Perspective Drawing, students will watch a video presentation showing three ways to create perspective drawings. The three practice drawings will be submitted to the classroom by the student to show an understanding of the lesson. Students will then choose their favorite method of perspective drawing and create a full page drawing. This drawing with then be submitted to the classroom to share with the teacher and other students for positive reinforcement and helpful suggestions. We will discuss the usefulness of perspective drawings and how we feel about perspective drawing. Our weekly game of Guess the Artist will take place. 

Week 5: Optical Illusions, for this final lesson we will take a breath, relax, and enjoy a simple optical illusion exercise. Through video the teacher will show how to create the illusion and a variety of ways to use the technique. We will all share our finished drawings in the classroom. Our weekly game of Guess the Artist will take place. 

At the end of our 5 weeks students will be asked to share what their favorite technique or lesson was and why. 

Class will include an explanation and examples of techniques and styles, through video lessons. The advantage of video lessons? You can pause, you can go back, you can watch again! Students will create some practice samples and will then apply what they have learned into a full page drawing. The subject matter of the drawings is in the hands of the students, the focus is on technique and style. 

Students will share multiple drawings per lesson. Technique samples will be done along with the video and are fairly quick. Full drawings will take longer. Some lessons will inspire multiple quick drawings, while others will end with one drawing that could take the course of the full week. I will provide feedback and encouragement along the way. Students should post any questions in the classroom and I will respond, as soon as possible. I am here to help! 

We will also play a weekly game of Guess the Artist! Each week I will share one piece of art by a famous artist and students will try to figure out who created the art. More examples can be given if students ask for a hint.

Students do not need to have any prior knowledge.

Materials needed: Drawing pencils, Eraser (kneaded and regular. If you cannot find a kneaded eraser, a regular eraser is more important), a ruler (week 4), a black permanent marker (week 5)