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.

Justin

Welcome to Rancho Cielo Sketchers, Justin!! You're off to a great start in drawing with lines and shapes. Holding your pencil on its side was a bit of challenge for you, but you got the hang of it while drawing large on the paper. Excellent job in drawing accurate proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) of the crab and puffer fish. I really like how you drew light guidelines for the basic shapes; then finished with darker outlines.

Jorge

Glad to have you drawing with us, Jorge!! Excellent start in drawing with lines and shapes. You've got a good eye for drawing proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes). The proportions of the crab and puffer fish are accurately drawn. Holding your pencil on its side was a challenge for you, but it got easier for you as you kept drawing. Your line work shows lots of control.

Eric H.

Welcome to Rancho Cielo Sketchers, Eric!! Great start, man! I know that holding your pencil on its side was difficult for you, but you stayed with it and drew VERY accurate proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) of the crab. You started by lightly drawing guidelines for the overall shapes of its body and claws; then you finished with clean, darker outlines. Keep practicing sketching guidelines while looking for accurate proportions.

Reference Picture: Dragonfly

Go for accuracy while sketching basic shapes for the proportions of its body and wings. Finish with heavier contour lines of its body and thinner lines to show the transparency of the wings.

Click on picture to view larger or printout

Getting into the Zone

Imagine playing your favorite video game (or a sport or activity you do well), 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!