Learning draw well takes time and practice.
Learning to draw is very much like learning to write. In writing, we learned form letters by making certain kinds of movements and shapes. We made endless copies of each letter until it became easy and automatic. In drawing, we use what we know about making marks, but we add another element: We must lean make the drawing hand follow what the eyes see. With practice our ability to observe detail gets stronger, and our skill in making the marks represent what we see increases. The following drawing activities are suitable for students in grades 3 and up.
Continuous Line
The artist's own hand is readily available as a model.
A continuous line drawing is a drawing done without ever lifting the pencil from the paper. This means that there may be a lot of overlapping lines and shapes as the artist progresses through the drawing. It is a very good activity for helping a young artist strengthen observational skills and practicing drawing what he sees. Use the non-drawing hand as a model; lay it on the table to one side of the drawing paper. Before putting pencil to the paper, the artist will use the pencil to lightly trace every detail of his hand just as he plans to draw it. Starting on one side of the wrist, the artist will move the pencil up toward the thumb. He will slide the pencil along any creases or lines that he will be drawing. He can continue up toward the first finger, look for creases and lines that originate on that side of the hand. He will move up and down each finger, touching the pencil to the creases of the joints. As he comes down the other side of his hand, he will move the pencil over lines in the palm and return to the outer edge. He will end a short way down the other wrist. Next the artist will move the pencil to the paper, place the tip where he will begin drawing and follow the same process as before. This time as his eyes move along all the lines of his hand, he will be making a drawing of what he sees. He should be looking mostly at his hand and checking the drawing only briefly as he draws. This is an activity meant to be repeated with many objects and models.
Blind Contour
A bag conceals the artist's drawing hand.
In this activity, the artist's hand practices drawing without her able to see it. Place drawing paper inside a paper grocery bag, shopping bag or gift bag so that the artist cannot see the paper. Set up an object to draw from life. The artist will use the same technique as with the continuous line drawing above and practice once as before. Then, have her position her pencil on the paper inside the bag (she may look while she does this) and then have her proceed with a continuous line drawing without peeking until she is finished. This activity allows the artist to practice her observational skills as well as helping her learn to coordinate her drawing hand with what she observes.
Gesture Drawing
Students can take turn posing for gesture drawings in an art classroom.
This activity is designed to have the artist use her observational skills to create a quick drawing of a human model who poses for no more than 2 minutes. Students can take turns being the model while the others draw. Charcoal is a good medium for practicing gesture drawings as it is easy to make large, visible strokes quickly. Each model should stand or sit in a pose that can be held comfortable for 2 minutes. Hands, arms, legs, and head should be arranged to create different gestures each time so that artists get the chance to draw many different poses. Gesture drawing reinforces observation and drawing skills.
