Week Three: Patterns, Texture, Proportion

Last Friday everyone learned about patterns and texture. It was nice to have Emily and Nick back in class! :-) We had a lot of breakthroughs in students taking their skills to the next level, including Miranda's sketches showing accurate proportions! Scroll down to see your drawings.

Getting Abstract!


eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn Drawings by Matt (above left) and Arianna

Last week's drawing challenge was to make a map of the location of your house from memory. Then, using the lines and shapes from the map you created an abstract drawing. To view your absolutely cool abstract drawings go to eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn.

And now...

This week's drawing challenge:
School Mascot Character Design



Your job (if you have time this week) as a character concept artist is to create a mascot for your school. Use model sheets from professional artists as ideas to help you sketch body proportions, costumes, and facial expressions of your school mascot character. Use your imagination, your mascot can be any kind of fun creature that would represent the name of your school. You can do as many sketches and poses as you like. One pose is all that's needed for your final sketch.

Character Model Sheets: Click here

Keep up the great work SLV Sketchers! C ya! --Rob

Emily

Simply! Amazing! Drawings! Emily! You've made these sketches with blazing speed and a keen eye for accuracy. The proportions of the flower, jaguar, and lizard are drawn VERY well compared to the reference pictures. Your own drawing style is clearly emerging in your controlled line work. Your sense of depth, as shown in the flower and jaguar, is a powerful skill to use as we explore realistic observational drawing.



This Week's Drawing Challenge:
Your job (if you have time this week) as a character concept artist is to create a mascot for your school. Use model sheets from professional artists as ideas to help you sketch body proportions, costumes, and facial expressions of your school mascot character. Use your imagination, your mascot can be any kind of fun creature that would represent the name of your school. You can do as many sketches and poses as you like. One pose is all that's needed for your final sketch.

Character Model Sheets: Click here

Miranda

Wow! Miranda! You've made a huge step towards realism in your drawing of the flower! You started by sketching light guidelines and did an excellent job of drawing darker lines--contour lines--that form the edges of the petals and leaves. Both sketches of the jaguar and lizard show accurate proportions. The position of the jaguar's body is very well drawn, giving your picture 3D depth. Great job of including the patterns and textures in your drawings. The gray tone on the fur coat of the jaguar is a nice touch.



This Week's Drawing Challenge:
Your job (if you have time this week) as a character concept artist is to create a mascot for your school. Use model sheets from professional artists as ideas to help you sketch body proportions, costumes, and facial expressions of your school mascot character. Use your imagination, your mascot can be any kind of fun creature that would represent the name of your school. You can do as many sketches and poses as you like. One pose is all that's needed for your final sketch.

Character Model Sheets: Click here

Matt

Good eye for proportions, Matt! Overall, Your line work continues to improve! The curved lines that show the edges and form of the jaguar and lizard are called contour lines. Your contour lines are very well drawn. Keep focused on drawing accurate contour lines; this skill will be very helpful as we get into drawing more realistically. Great job of including the textures and patterns on the lizard. Nice facial expressions.

This Week's Drawing Challenge:
Your job (if you have time this week) as a character concept artist is to create a mascot for your school. Use model sheets from professional artists as ideas to help you sketch body proportions, costumes, and facial expressions of your school mascot character. Use your imagination, your mascot can be any kind of fun creature that would represent the name of your school. You can do as many sketches and poses as you like. One pose is all that's needed for your final sketch.

Character Model Sheets: Click here

Elvis

Looks like you're getting back into drawing accurate proportions, Elvis! Stay focused on this. You drew both the jaguar and lizard much larger than shown in the lesson reference picture while keeping accurate overall proportions--great job! The contour lines showing the form of the jaguar show that you're ready to get back into drawing realistically, like last year. I really like the facial expression on the lizard.

This Week's Drawing Challenge:
Your job (if you have time this week) as a character concept artist is to create a mascot for your school. Use model sheets from professional artists as ideas to help you sketch body proportions, costumes, and facial expressions of your school mascot character. Use your imagination, your mascot can be any kind of fun creature that would represent the name of your school. You can do as many sketches and poses as you like. One pose is all that's needed for your final sketch.

Character Model Sheets: Click here

Arianna

Nice job drawing the patterns that show the textures of the lizard!! The proportions are very well drawn, Arianna. Your skills are steadily improving. I know that drawing the jaguar was a challenge for you, but you pulled it off! You captured the overall accurate proportions of its body and drew the angle of its body that shows its 3D form. This will be helpful as we start drawing realistically. Also, practice holding your pencil about half an inch from the point. I think this will help to relax your hand and give you more control while drawing. :-)



This Week's Drawing Challenge:
Your job (if you have time this week) as a character concept artist is to create a mascot for your school. Use model sheets from professional artists as ideas to help you sketch body proportions, costumes, and facial expressions of your school mascot character. Use your imagination, your mascot can be any kind of fun creature that would represent the name of your school. You can do as many sketches and poses as you like. One pose is all that's needed for your final sketch.

Character Model Sheets: Click here

Jamee

It's great how you've taken on the challenge of drawing larger on your paper. Stay focused on this. It's going to help you a lot when we start drawing more realistically. Overall your proportions are well drawn. Great job of including the texture of the lizard's skin and the tree branch. I really like the contour lines you drew showing the form of the jaguar. Keep practicing drawing lighter, looser guidelines; then finishing with darker contour lines.

This Week's Drawing Challenge:
Your job (if you have time this week) as a character concept artist is to create a mascot for your school. Use model sheets from professional artists as ideas to help you sketch body proportions, costumes, and facial expressions of your school mascot character. Use your imagination, your mascot can be any kind of fun creature that would represent the name of your school. You can do as many sketches and poses as you like. One pose is all that's needed for your final sketch.

Character Model Sheets: Click here

Nick

Glad to have you back, Nick! Great job of drawing all the details of the lizard and jaguar! The patterns for the texture of the lizard and tree branch and the jaguar's coat turned out really nice! I really like how you tried sketching several shapes of the jaguar. This helped you to draw accurate proportions. As we did in class last week, keep practicing drawing BIG on the paper. Sketch light guidelines before darker outlines. Your accuracy is improving!

This Week's Drawing Challenge:
Your job (if you have time this week) as a character concept artist is to create a mascot for your school. Use model sheets from professional artists as ideas to help you sketch body proportions, costumes, and facial expressions of your school mascot character. Use your imagination, your mascot can be any kind of fun creature that would represent the name of your school. You can do as many sketches and poses as you like. One pose is all that's needed for your final sketch.

Character Model Sheets: Click here

Zach T

Cool! Abstract! Drawing! Zach!! Hope to see you back in class on Friday.

This Week's Drawing Challenge:
Your job (if you have time this week) as a character concept artist is to create a mascot for your school. Use model sheets from professional artists as ideas to help you sketch body proportions, costumes, and facial expressions of your school mascot character. Use your imagination, your mascot can be any kind of fun creature that would represent the name of your school. You can do as many sketches and poses as you like. One pose is all that's needed for your final sketch.

Character Model Sheets: Click here

Our Teachers!

Hilda


So awesome that you're trying a very different direction in your drawing--more abstract expressionism rather than realism. I really like how you drew the frog in different positions to create a composition with lots of rhythm and movement. Keep exploring these kinds of drawings. :-)

Reference Pictures: Character Model Sheets

Scroll down for examples from character concept artists on the Internet, including a vintage model sheet of Disney's Pluto. These model sheets will help you create body proportions, costume, and facial expressions of your school mascot character. Use your imagination, your mascot can be any kind of fun creature that would represent the name of your school.

Week Two: Lines, Shapes, Overlapping, Proportion

Last Friday everyone learned to overlap shapes (placing things in front of other things) to create depth of space in your drawing. You also made excellent progress in drawing accurate proportions. Keep practicing comparing the shapes you draw to the picture or object you're looking at. Scroll down to view your work. Remember to click on your drawings to view them larger. :-)

eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn
Many of you brought in drawings you made during school time with Hilda and Patty. This is wonderful!! And now we have a special place for your cool creations (Keep 'em coming!): Expression Session.


Expression Session Drawings by Arianna (above left) and Elvis (right)
View the Expression Session

Okay! Ready for a challenge?...


Drawing Challenge: Get Abstract!
For those of you who have time, here's a little challenge for you to do this week: Use the map to your house we sketched last week to create an abstract drawing. Abstract artwork doesn't show people, places, or things. Use the whole sheet of paper--draw big! Use your imagination! The simple lines and shapes of your map are a starting point to design your composition. Add any abstract lines, shapes, patterns, and tones (black and gray) to fill your composition.

Examples of artwork by big-time abstract artists to give you ideas: Click here

C ya Friday! --Rob

Arianna

Awesome! Frog! I watched you draw this guy while using your pencil on its side and moving your whole arm. This gave you lots of control when drawing long, curved lines. Excellent work on overlapping the front legs and drawing accurate proportions of the frog. Each time you sketched the proportions (size of shapes compared to other shapes) became more accurate. Great job of drawing the monster truck larger on the paper and keeping accurate proportions. View your reference picture. Check the size of the truck cab compared to the size of the truck body. Are the proportions drawn accurately?



Ready for this week's drawing challenge? Using the map to your house that you sketched last week as an idea, add lines, shapes, patterns, and tones to create an abstract drawing. Here are examples of abstract artwork: Click here

FYI: Here's some info about outlines from a book I wrote: Click here
Want to try this drawing with lines and shapes?: Click here
More drawing ideas: Click here

Jamee

Right on, Jamee!! You drew the monster truck larger on your paper and kept very accurate proportions. I really like how you started practicing sketching lighter guidelines for the overall shapes then finishing with darker outlines. Great job of overlapping the tires over the engine, giving depth to your picture. Nice job of including the details from the reference picture of the truck. Check to make sure the proportions of the truck body, compared to the tires, are drawn accurately.

Ready for this week's drawing challenge? Using the map to your house that you sketched last week as an idea, add lines, shapes, patterns, and tones to create an abstract drawing. Here are examples of abstract artwork: Click here

FYI: Here's some info about outlines from a book I wrote: Click here
Up for another drawing with lines and shapes?: Click here
More drawing ideas: Click here

Miranda

Your accuracy in looking at things and then drawing them is improving, big-time!! You're also sketching the overall shapes of things faster and more confidently. Holding your pencil on its side and moving your arm while you sketch is helping you to draw smoother, longer curved lines. Nice work on drawing accurate proportions. View your reference picture of the truck. Check the size of the tires compared to the truck's body. Are the proportions correct? Great job of overlapping the frog's front legs and the tire over the engine, giving depth of space to your picture. Who's that driving the monster truck? :--)

Ready for this week's drawing challenge? Using the map to your house that you sketched last week as an idea, add lines, shapes, patterns, and tones to create an abstract drawing. Here are examples of abstract artwork: Click here

FYI: Here's some info about outlines from a book I wrote: Click here
Up for another drawing with lines and shapes?: Click here
More drawing ideas: Click here

Matt

Hey, Matt! Excellent job of drawing accurate proportions of the monster truck at a larger size on your paper. You're improving quickly at looking for the shapes of things and then drawing them. This will help you a lot when we start exploring drawing realistically. View your reference picture of the truck. Check to see if the tires correctly overlap the pipes of the. Also compare the distance between the top of the tires and the bottom edge of the body. Nice job of sketching your guidelines and outlines!

Ready for this week's drawing challenge? Using the map to your house that you sketched last week as an idea, add lines, shapes, patterns, and tones to create an abstract drawing. Here are examples of abstract artwork: Click here

FYI: Here's some info about outlines from a book I wrote: Click here
Up for another drawing with lines and shapes?: Click here
More drawing ideas: Click here

Elvis

Great line work on the monster truck, Elvis! Looks like you're getting back to your drawing style from last year. You're gaining more and more control of your lines and accuracy of proportions. View the reference picture of the truck. Great job of including details and accurate proportions of the truck. You got an excellent start at sketching the proportions of the monster truck larger on your paper. Check to see if the proportions you've drawn in the larger sketch are accurate.

Ready for this week's drawing challenge? Using the map to your house that you sketched last week as an idea, add lines, shapes, patterns, and tones to create an abstract drawing. Here are examples of abstract artwork: Click here

FYI: Here's a review about outlines from last year: Click here
Up for another drawing with lines and shapes?: Click here
More drawing ideas: Click here

Zach

Great job of overlapping the truck body and tires over the engine!! You're getting more control over your line work! Holding the pencil on its side and moving your arm while drawing is getting easier for you. Last Friday I had you practice looking for, and lightly sketching, the shapes of the truck. The proportions became more accurate with each attempt. Let's keep working on it this Friday, too. View the reference picture of the truck. Check the size of the tires compared to the truck body. Are the proportions drawn accurately? Excellent how you added gray tones to show the different values of color on the truck!

Ready for this week's drawing challenge? Using the map to your house that you sketched last week as an idea, add lines, shapes, patterns, and tones to create an abstract drawing. Here are examples of abstract artwork: Click here

FYI: Here's some info about outlines from a book I wrote: Click here
Up for another drawing with lines and shapes?: Click here
More drawing ideas: Click here

eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn

The names in this student gallery are listed alphabetically (click on drawings to view larger):

Arianna


Elvis


Emily

Jamee



Joe

Matt

Matt


Miranda


Nick


Sage

Sara

Zach T