How to draw

This week we are going to focus on drawing lessons.

On Tuesday, each student will be asked to draw an object for me without having any instruction first. This sketch will be placed in the portfolio.

On Wednesday we will have drawing lessons that focus on the skill of blocking in basic shapes first before adding detail.

On Thursday we will learn about getting the right sizes in the right places during blocking in and focusing in order to notice all of the details. (The first two classes will miss today because of an assembly)

On Friday each student will again draw an object. We will pull out the first drawing and compare it to the second drawing and discuss the difference. (Several classes will miss today because of Halloween celebrations)

What you can do at home:

Please encourage your student to draw commonly found objects around the house. A pot or pan, a fork, the light switch, the TV... anything that would make a simple composition (a chandelier or a tree would not be a good choice for simple!)

Remind him/her to look for the simple shape(s) made by the object. Squint your eyes to try to see it. Put the simple shape(s) on the paper first. After the simple shapes are there, slowly build up layers of details. When you think you are done, compare your drawing to the original object. Did you leave anything out? Often children miss details. We want to train them to look for and draw the details.

The biggest challenge is drawing WHAT YOU SEE instead of what you think it should look like. A good example of this is a pair of glasses. Most kids draw something like this...

When really, what they see is this...

That sort of focus only comes with time and practice.