Weeks Seven & Eight: Sketching, Composition, Value, Rhythm

Great sketch sessions everyone! We explored proportion and contour lines with the drawing of a dog and the elements of composition by drawing an agave plant. All of you accomplished the goal of sketching loosely, quickly, and accurately.

Be sure to check out the music video of sketchers at Highlands and Star community schools in Santa Cruz. Click here

I REALLY enjoyed drawing with all of you!!! Hope to see you in February as we continue to explore drawing from observation and imagination.

Happy Holidays!!!! --Rob

Jiovany

Wonderful composition, Jiovany!!! This was a huge step in drawing realistically! The proportions of the plant are very well drawn. You did several accurate study sketches until you got contour lines (edges of the leaves) you liked; then you added different gray tones showing the values of green in the reference picture. Your pencil strokes show a lot of confidence and an eye for accuracy in your drawings of the plant and the dog. You got GREAT start in drawing contour lines for accurate proportions of the dog. Be great if you could finish it.

Juan

Hey, Juan!! It's so cool to see you shift to a quicker sketching style with looser line work! You kept your sharp eye for accurate proportions as you drew natural looking contour lines for the edges of the leaves and gray tones for different values of green. The way you used the kneaded eraser for highlighting the edges of leaves and blending tones is a great touch. Excellent start on the drawing of the dog! Your contour lines captured accurate proportions and the realistic folds of the ears. I really hope to continue drawing with you in February and to help you explore the many possibilities drawing has to offer you as a visual artist.

Angelique

Wonderful! Drawing! Angelique! You've taken a BIG step into realism with these awesome sketches. Excellent how you made several study sketches to find accurate proportions of the plant (this is how artists learn to draw realistically). Your contour lines show very natural looking leaves. Great start in adding gray tones to show the different values of green of the leaves. Keep practicing sketching loose contour lines then adding layers of gray tones to show different tones or values of color. Really nice start in drawing contour lines for the form of the dog. The proportions are very well drawn.

And it's so cool to see your drawings from lessons from some of my books. I can see a lot more confidence in your line work. :-)

Anthony

Your loosely sketched composition, looks awesome, Anthony!!! Your confident contour lines show the edges of the plant's leaves. Lighter and darker gray tones show different values of green. Nice job of overlapping the leaves to show depth in your composition. Excellent job in drawing the contour lines of the dog! Overall, the proportions are well drawn. Your skills are developing into a really cool drawing style.

Adriana

REALLY nice composition, Adriana!!! You nailed down accurate proportions with your usual accurate contour lines--very realistic looking plant! Great start in drawing gray tones to show the different values of green in the reference photo. You've got such a good eye for accuracy, it would be great if you started a sketchbook and drew from real life. Excellent contour lines showing the form of the dog! This might be a drawing you'd like to finish.

Justin

BIG-time step forward in drawing realistically, Justin!! Really like how you loosened up and sketched your contour lines quickly while keeping accurate proportions! Great start in adding gray tones to show different values of green on the leaves. And an excellent start in drawing accurate contour lines forming the dot. Nice positioning of the eye and ear. Be cool to finish that drawing. Keep drawing, man!

Kevin

Welcome to Rancho Cielo Sketchers, Kevin!! You are off to a fantastic start in drawing the agave plant! The overall proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) are very well drawn. Really nice job of drawing realistic contour lines to show the edges of the leaves. Great start in adding gray tones to show the different values of green in the reference picture you were looking at. You've got a great eye for accuracy... hope you keep drawing!

Enrique

Whoa!! Enrique was a drawing machine on Tuesday!! Once you loosened up and got into sketching quicker contour lines there was no stopping you. EXCELLENT work in creating a lot of different study sketches. Lots of study sketches helps artists and animators to improve drawing realistically. The proportions became more accurate and your line work became more confident with each new sketch. Great contour edges in the drawing of the egret, too. Keep it loose and accurate with your sketching, man.

Eric

Absolutely AWESOME drawing, Eric!!! Your contour lines are VERY accurately drawn and show very realistic facial features. Excellent contours showing the folds of the ears. Your eye for accuracy just keeps getting better and better, man! It would be very cool to see this one finished. And I hope you start a sketchbook... you've got lots of potential with your skills!

Wells

Right on, Wells!!!! Your confidence in your line work really shines in this drawing! Overall, your contour lines nailed down accurate proportions of the dog's head, neck, and shoulders. Great job of showing the folds of the ears and positioning of facial features. Realistic details such as the nostrils and whiskers help to make the boxer look realistic. Keep practicing, man! I know how much you enjoy accomplishing each drawing challenge. Try starting a sketchbook and drawing from pictures and real life.

Eric H.

Eric, You got an EXCELLENT start in drawing the dog!!! You're gaining lots of confidence each time you do a drawing. And it shows in the natural looking contour lines for the dog's ears and head. The proportions are very well drawn. Great work in drawing the fold of the ear. Be really nice if you could finish this one. Lots of potential showing in your line work! Keep practicing sketching accurate proportions and finish with natural looking contour lines.

David

Welcome to Rancho Cielo Sketchers, David!! You're off to a flyin' start with your drawing of the egret!! Great job of drawing contour lines showing the form of the bird's body, especially the 's' curve of its neck. Its proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) became more accurate the second time you drew it. Keep practicing drawing light guidelines, comparing your drawing to the reference picture for accuracy, then finishing with darker contour lines. Great start in drawing the dog. Hopefully you'll get to finish it. :-)

Week Six: Form, Contour Lines, Positive and Negative Space

Everyone made a great progress toward making accurate realistic drawings. We used positive and negative space to draw contour edges. I saw lots of confidence in your skills as we moved toward drawing realistically. All of you dropped into the Zone right at the start of class and concentrated on drawing accurately.

Next week we won't have class since there will be festivities for the holidays. But if you find yourself in the mood to draw, go ahead and use your skills to create a composition from observation (from photos or real life) or your imagination. I'll post your drawings in eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn. Check out Juan's latest AMAZING drawings: Click here



Have a wonderful holiday! Be ready to draw when we come back to class. :-) --Rob

Juan

Outstanding! Drawing! Juan! Excellent line work, shading, and details. I really like the gradations of tones you've used to show overall roundness, depth, and texture. The proportions are very well drawn, compared to the reference photo you were looking at. You're observational skills are the foundation of your own unique drawing style that is showing in your work. You got a great start on the sketch of the egret. I hope that you continue developing your quick sketching skills; this will help you as we begin drawing from real life.

Eric

Excellent work, Eric!!! You did a fantastic job of drawing the contour edges that form the egret. The 's' curve of the neck is VERY well drawn! Fantastic job of sketching faster lines while keeping accurate proportions. You got a great start in drawing accurate, natural looking details of its facial features. As we get into drawing from real life your ability to sketch accurately will help you a lot.

Wells

This is a HUGE step in improving your observational drawing skills, Wells!! Being able to perceive positive and negative space really helped you to draw contour edges forming the egret. Great job of drawing accurate proportions of the head and body, and the 's' curve of the neck. I like how you're exploring shading techniques to show the details of the feathers. Erasing gray tones to show the highlights on the head and neck is a nice touch.

Chris

Chris, your drawing of the egret is a major breakthrough in drawing realistically!!! You used positive and negative space to see and draw the contour edges forming the bird. Fantastic job of drawing accurate proportions of its head, body, and 's' curve of its neck. Control of your line work really shows in the natural looking contour lines and details. I really like how you used gray tones and shading to show where the neck connects to the body and the overlapping of the wings. This gives depth to your picture and makes the egret look 3D!

Anthony

Anthony, your cool drawing style is really showing in the drawing of the egret! Great job of drawing overall accurate proportions! The contour lines showing the form of the bird's head, body, and 's' curve of the neck are very well drawn. Excellent how you drew the overlapping of the wings and shoulders over the chest area. The details of the feathers, especially where the legs connect to the body are a nice touch.

Jiovany

Excellent progress on the dragonfly, Jiovany. You got a great start last week drawing accurate proportions for its body. The contours edges of the wings and tail are very well drawn. Excellent how the contour lines show the roundness and curves of the tail. Great job of drawing details such as the the head and contours of the legs. Keep practicing drawing light guidelines then finishing with darker contour lines.

Angelique

Nice to have you back in class Angelique!! You took on the challenge of the dragonfly and pulled off an excellent drawing! Overall, the proportions of its body and wings are very well drawn. You got an excellent start in drawing the contour lines showing the edges of its wings and legs. Your sketch of the egret is an fantastic start!! Great job of loosening up your lines and finding accurate proportions of its head, neck, and body. It's a wonderful example of how to do a study sketch.

Eric H.

Nice to have you back in class, Eric!! EXCELLENT start in drawing the dragonfly! The proportions of its body are very accurately drawn. You got off to a great start drawing the contour lines that form its body and legs. The contour edges of its body look natural and realistic. The control of your line work keeps improving with each drawing you make. Keep practicing sketching light guidelines for the overall shapes of things; then finish with darker contour lines.

Getting into the "Zone"

Imagine playing your favorite video game (or a sport or activity you enjoy), and getting your best-ever score. Every move you make scores mega-points! You're in a state of mind where everything flows naturally without having to think about it. You're in the Zone.

In drawing, being in the Zone is when you don't have to think about what you're drawing. Everything seems to flow out of the tip of your pencil. Each time you draw, it takes a little time to find the Zone (just like when you're playing video games). But with practice it gets easier and easier to naturally drop into it. And when you're in the Zone, your drawings will amaze you!

Week Five: Form, Contour Lines

We picked up where we left off last week in drawing contour lines that form the dragonfly, giving a chance for students who were testing last week to catch up.

I misplaced Anthony's drawing so it got added late. Here's his dragonfly. Juan got started on a drawing of a skull on Tuesday; hope to see it next week.

And speaking of cool drawings. You've got to check out Juan's new drawings posted in eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn. Awesome work! To view click here.

No drawing challenge this week. But if you have any drawings you've done in your free time bring them in and I'll post them in eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn.

See you Tuesday! --Rob

Eric

Brilliant drawing, Eric! This is a BIG step in developing a looser sketching style. I really like how you're starting to sketch faster, yet keeping an accurate eye for proportions and details. Then you slowed down and did and excellent job of carefully drawing contour lines forming the dragonfly's body and wings. This sketching style will be very useful as we get more into realism.

Justin

Justin, since joining the Sketchers last week you've made excellent progress in drawing accurate proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes). You did a great job of including the details of the dragonfly's body and legs. The contour lines that show the edges of the dragonfly's form are VERY well drawn. Keep it going, man!

Wells

Hey, Wells! I know the dragonfly was frustrating at first, but you stayed focused and pulled together a fantastic drawing!! You kept sketching light guidelines until you got accurate proportions; then you drew darker, accurate contour lines showing the form of its body and wings. I especially like the contours of the detailed edges of the legs. Way to punch through to the next level of drawing: realism.

Enrique

Your ability to draw realistically is shining through on this drawing, Enrique!!! You nailed accurate proportions of its body and the guidelines for the wings are very well drawn. The control of your line work has improved tremendously! You're ready to tackle realism, our next level of drawing.

Jiovany

Welcome to Rancho Cielo Sketchers, Jiovany!!! You're off to a fantastic start in drawing with lines and shapes! The proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) of the dragonfly are well drawn. You did a great job of sketching guidelines for basic shapes that form its body and wings. The angle of the wings and positioning of the legs are VERY well drawn. Keep drawing, man!

Anthony

You really got into the zone on this one, Anthony!! Great job of drawing contour lines to accurately capture the proportions of the dragonfly's body and wings. Excellent how you used lines and shapes to show texture, especially for the transparent wings. Your own style of drawing is really showing in this drawing. Keep it going, man!

Week Four: Proportion, Contour Lines

Since there was testing on Tuesday we didn't have everyone in class. But we had new students join in the drawing madness--welcome! We made great progress in drawing realistic, accurate proportions.

For those of you who didn't draw the dragonfly on Tuesday, here's the lesson to view on the computer or print out (if you have time to draw it): Click here

Drawing the dragonfly will be very helpful in our future lessons on realism. Give it a try!

I'll have lessons for the new students on Tuesday and a new drawing challenge for everyone next week. C ya! --Rob

Juan

Straight up! Amazing work, Juan! Your eye for accuracy shows in the proportions of the dragonfly. Excellent work in using thinner contour lines to show the transparency of its wings, compared to the heavier contour lines for its body. Compared to the reference picture, you've done a fantastic job of including accurate details, especially the legs. Great job of showing the correct angle of its body and overlapping the legs, giving 3D depth of space to your drawing. Your own drawing style is developing quickly. I look forward to seeing the finished sketches you were working on Tuesday.

Brian

Great to have you drawing with us again, Brian!! You jumped right in, quickly got into the zone, and blazed on this dragonfly. You drew large, and quickly sketched the basic shapes of its body and wings to get accurate proportions. The proportions and angle of the wings to the body are spot-on! Excellent job of drawing contour lines forming the edges of a realistic dragonfly.

Chris

You've made yet another HUGE step in improving your skills, Chris!! I know this lesson was intense, but you pulled off a accurately drawn dragonfly! The overall proportions of its body and wings are VERY well drawn. And you did an excellent job of including details of its head and legs. Great work in overlapping the wings on the legs. Keep it going, man! You're ready to explore realism in drawing.