Level 1: Week 1: Lines, Shapes, Proportions

A big Drawing League welcome to our new SCMAC students! In the first 2-hour session we started seeing tremendous potential in the drawings produced! The first half of class we drew from observation. Then we created a large composition from the imagination by using ideas from the observational sketches. Our focus was on ways to hold the pencil, moving the whole arm while drawing, sketching light guidelines, and looking for accurate proportions. Scroll down to view your work. And be sure to click on your drawing to view it larger.


Pencil warm-ups by Helen (left) and Kirsten

Kirsten


Kirsten, this fantastic set of sketches shows quick progress in gaining control while holding your pencil on its side, especially the longer, sweeping curves of the toucan. Your sketches show fine examples of drawing on top of mistakes while sketching light guidelines for basic shapes; then you found accurate proportions (comparing the size of shapes to other shapes) by drawing darker outlines. The lizard's tail and toucan's head show your thinking process while searching for accurate proportions. A number of things make your large-format composition interesting, such as repeating lines, shapes and patterns as well as varying the sizes of animals. Varying the sizes of things also give depth to your composition. And the long angled lines in the background do a great job of breaking up the page.



Nice job of overlapping the frog's front legs and showing the lizard on top of the wood texture. Cool facial expressions!




Val


Excellent start in drawing with lines and shapes, Val!!! Nice sketching technique that you're developing in this set of drawings--confidently sketched guidelines and bolder strokes for final outlines. Overall, the proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) are very well drawn. Your accuracy and control of holding the pencil on its side improved with each new drawing. You pulled all the skills together in your drawing of the lizard! Excellent use of lighter and darker tones on the toucan. Really cool how you repeated the form of the frog in your large composition, showing rhythm and movement. Also, by lightening the tonal value of the frogs you're showing depth in the picture. The angle of the frogs divides the composition nicely.



Nice job on overlapping the frog's front legs. :-)




Helen


Crisp line work and a keen eye for accurate proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) are a great start in developing your sketching style, Helen!!! Great job of adding all the details of the toucan and lizard such as the overlapping of the lizard's body on top of the wood and texture of its skin. The light guidelines and darker outlines of the toucan's head show accurate corrections in proportion. And the overlapping legs and position of the frog's feet give 3D depth to your sketch. Awesome mash-up going on in your large composition. Really like how you interlocked shapes t0 break up the page! Lighter and darker tones tie it all together nicely.



Nice job in improving the proportions of the puffer fish, especially its curved belly.