Saturday, March 26, 2011

Drawing Techniques- timed drawings

A great way to change the way you see things and draw is to do timed drawings.  Warm up with 30 second drawings to get the flow, idea of the object/ person down.  After a few of those do 1 minute, working your way up to 5 and 10 minute drawings. You can even mix it up- do a 1 minute drawing then a 15 second, 30 second drawing.  These are also great for group and class settings.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Drawing Techniques- both hands at same time

Drawing with both hands at the same time is a very challenging technique.  You are to have each hand at opposite points in the drawing; the tendency is to be close together in the drawing so try not to. 
I drew in pencil with one hand and pen in the other.  I started at the head with the pen ending at the hand and the feet with the pencil ending in the torso area. It really makes you slow down and focus. 

Monday, March 14, 2011

Drawing Techniques-Class or group setting

A fun activity in a group setting is to have  large banner paper, split up in several groups of 2-3 people who will draw on each sheet.  After a few minutes have 1 person from each group move to another group and continue drawing for the same amount of time and keep rotating until everyone has drawn at each group.  This teaches people to tie things together and is very fascinating to see different styles on a sheet. 

Friday, March 11, 2011

Drawing Techniques- Blind contour

One technique that I use most often in drawing is blind contour or even gesture drawing "blind".  What I mean by "blind" is not looking at the paper 90% of the time when drawing.  The idea is to keep your eyes on the object to study it and observe it.  The hand will go with what you are seeing. Examples of drawing this way can be seen on the opposite hand posting.   

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Drawing Techniques- gesture

Gesture drawing is basically very quick drawing to capture the movement, placement of something or even the composition. 

Friday, March 4, 2011

Drawing Techniques- opposite hand

A great way to warm up is to spend 20 minutes drawing with your opposite hand.  It gets you to not think so much and just allow the drawing to come.  A lot of times the composition or capturing the moment comes easier drawing this way. 
Both drawings were done with my opposite hand.