The skill of drawing is the basic skill of art, so it makes sense to start with this skill in any art studio lessons. Students need to learn to describe space, and draw the human body, and depict objects. If they can master these skills, they will go far in art. Students should provide their own materials.
Life Drawing
Have your students draw from life. Drawing from a live model is basic training in art, so include this in your lessons. Have your model start with quick, 20-second poses, with an emphasis on dynamic positions. The students should focus on broad, gestural lines, with the emphasis of catching the basic movement of each pose. Move on to some longer poses, five minutes long or so, where students focus on getting the general structure and positioning of the body correct. Have the model do one or two extended poses, where your students will work on getting the proportions accurate, and develop skill rendering textures.
Perspective
Have your students learn the basics of perspective drawing. Move your students into a corridor. Have them sketch what they see of this space and the objects that are receding from them. Your students should pay special attention to the lines that recede together toward various points. Any perspective point has lines which, if extended, will converge on it. Your students should try to identify all the points of perspective. They should recognize these relationships and use them as a tool to create more illusionistic images.
Still Life
Have your students draw a still life. Arrange some interesting objects together, with an emphasis on different textures, linear qualities, and ways of occupying space. Have each student choose a location to draw from that affords an interesting view. The students should try to use marks that capture the surfaces of the objects, experimenting with creating accurate textures. They should use different kinds of marks for different kinds of lines.
Landscapes
Have your students draw a landscape. If there is a park nearby, take your students there. Allow them to choose scenes to draw. They should employ wide views in their landscapes. Much can be included in a landscape: buildings, fountains, trees, plants, people. Many of the skills they learned in the earlier lessons can be put to use here.
