Weeks Five & Six: Sketching, Composition, Form, Value, Rhythm

We've had very productive sketch sessions the past couple of weeks! Everyone got into learning new sketching techniques. You explored the elements of composition by drawing an agave plant and how to draw accurate proportions by drawing a dog. Everyone accomplished the goal of sketching loosely, quickly, and accurately.

Be sure to check out Gustavo's and Marcial's cool drawings in eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn! Click here


Above: Design by Gustavo

I look forward to drawing with all of you after the holiday break.

Happy Holidays!!! --Rob

Jose

Excellent! Drawing! Jose! Great job of loosening up and sketching quickly and accurately (you had time to make two study sketches)! This is very much how artists sketch from real life so they can capture as much visual information as possible. The contour edges of the plant's leaves look very natural. Really nice job of adding lighter and darker gray tones to show different values of green. Fantastic work on the drawing of the dog! The proportions of its head are drawn accurately and the contour lines are drawn well, especially the folds of the ears. Keep sketching, man!

Antonio

Whoa!!! These sketches are awesome, Antonio! This is a BIG step toward drawing realistically. It's really cool how you made several study sketches of the plant until you got one you like--very much how an artist would do it. With each drawing the proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) became more accurate. The contour edges of the leaves look very natural. And the lighter and darker gray tones do a nice job of showing the different values of green leaves. Nice composition, Antonio.

Stephanie

Stephanie, your contour lines are a pure delight!! You're gaining more control of your line work with each new drawing you make. The proportions of the agave plant and the dog are very well drawn. I really like how you drew delicate contours of the leaves and blended lighter and darker tones, giving it a very natural look. Great job of drawing the facial features of the dog and the folds of the ears. :-)

Ernie

Your drawing of the plant makes for a great composition, Ernie!! The contour lines showing the edges of the leaves look very natural. How you overlapped the leaves and added gray tones gives realistic depth to your drawing. Nice job on drawing accurate proportions of the agave plant. The proportions of the dog are also well drawn! The contour lines realistically show the folds of the ears and positioning of the facial features.

Tasha

Your style of sketching realistically is progressing beautifully, Tasha!! You got right into loosely sketching contour lines for the form of the leaves. By keeping your guidelines light you were able to easily draw on top of your mistakes; then you drew darker contour lines for shapes that looked accurate to you. The overall proportions of the plant are very well drawn. All of your lines work together to make a wonderful composition!

Raul

The artist inside of you is really showing in these drawings, Raul!!! The way you loosened up and let your pencil fly all over the page created an artistic composition of the agave plant. Your expressive lines capture accurate proportions of the leaves. Nice job of adding gray tones to show the different values of green in the leaves. And you did an excellent job of drawing the contour lines forming the dog. Nice work in positioning the facial features and folds of the ears. Really cool contour lines forming the bird, too! Keep it going, man!

Marlene

Welcome to Success Sketchers, Marlene!! Wonderful start in drawing the contour edges that form the egret and the toucan! Overall you did a nice job of drawing accurate proportions of the birds' bodies, especially the 's' curve in the egret's neck and the beak of the toucan. Your line work shows a lot of control in all your drawings. Great job of getting all the details into your drawing of the dog! Overall, the proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) are drawn accurately. The facial features are drawn well, especially the positioning of the eyes.

Jesus

Very cool drawing, Jesus!!! Excellent job of drawing the contour edges forming the egret's head and body. The 's' curve in its neck is accurately drawn. I REALLY like how you drew the details for the beak and eye--very natural looking features. The pattern for the feathers are a nice touch that adds interest to your composition. You're gaining more control of your line work... keep practicing sketching light guidelines before drawing darker contour lines to finish.

Gustavo

Excellent start in drawing the dog, Gustavo!!! The overall proportions are drawn very well, especially the realistic folds of the ears! The contour edges are drawn accurately and you did a great job of positioning the eye. It would be really cool if you could finish this one. Hope you get back into drawing again, soon!

Damian

Welcome to Success Academy, Damian!! You got it all going with a fantastic sketch of the agave plant! I really like how you sketched loosely and quickly while keeping accurate proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) of the leaves. The contrast between lighter and darker tones make your composition very interesting to look at. Keep working on sketching light guidelines for accurate proportions then drawing darker contour edges to finish. Keep drawing!

Our Teachers

Nathaniel


EXCELLENT! Composition! Nathaniel! You took a big step in drawing realistically! The contours of the agave are very well drawn. The gray tones showing different values of green really make the leaves come alive. I know drawing accurate, natural looking proportions of the dog were real challenging, but your work paid off as you broke loose with great sketches of both the dog and plant!

Oops! Need a name for the new school counselor who drew this awesome pic:


Welcome to Success Sketchers!! GREAT start with the drawing of the dog! Overall, the proportions are VERY accurately drawn. The contour lines forming the head and facial features look realistic and natural. I really like how the contour lines show the folds of the ears and texture of the skin and fur around the eye. Excellent job of adding details such as the nostrils and contours of the eye. The contours for the neck and jaw add a lot of depth to your drawing.

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

As we explored positive and negative space we saw lots of BIG progress in everyone's work. Welcome to the new students who jumped in and joined the fun! Everyone loosened up their lines and started sketching larger on the paper as we move into drawing realistically.

Be sure to check out Gustavo's and Marcial's cool drawings in eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn! Click here


Above: Design by Gustavo

I'll see you all Friday as we continue to explore realism. --Rob

Jose

Welcome to Success Sketchers, Jose!! Your drawing of the egret is a fantastic start! Excellent job of drawing contour lines to show the form of the bird's head and body. The 's' curve of its neck is accurately drawn. The overall proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) are VERY well drawn. Nice work on details such as the beak, eye, and erasing to show the feathers.

Stephanie

Wow!! Stephanie!! Awesome work in drawing contour edges that form the egret! You took time to focus on the areas where the negative space (space around the bird's body) meets the positive space (the body of the bird) to draw contour lines forming its head and body. Great job in drawing the 's' curve of its neck accurately. The plants are a nice touch in your composition. I really like how you made lots of 'study' sketches to find accurate proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) of the egret.

Joe

Nice to have you back in class, Joe! And you got right to work with an accurately drawn egret! The proportions of its head, neck, and body are well drawn. You're developing a nice drawing style that's really starting to show in your work. Great job of adding details such as the beak and eye. The gray tones showing shadows and highlights for the feathers are a nice touch. I really like how you experimented with sketching loose shapes for the form of the bird. Keep it going!

Tasha

Tasha, you made BIG-time progress in improving your skills with the drawing of the egret!! You focused on sketching light guidelines for the shapes that form the bird's head and body. You did a great job of focusing on where the negative space (area around the bird's body) meets the positive space (the bird's body) to make the contour edges around the bird's body. The overall proportions of the egret are well drawn. Excellent job of showing the accurate negative space where the 's' curve of the neck meets the wing. I really like how you made lots of sketches to study the form of the bird. Keep sketching! :-)

Ernie

As you loosened your lines and did several sketches of the egret, the proportions of its head and body became more accurate. This is an awesome development in your work, Ernie!! It's really cool how your drawings have changed from a cartoon style to a more serious realistic style. This really shows in the form of the facial features and the 's' curve of the neck. Keep sketching, man!

Gustavo

This is a fantastic breakthrough in your drawing skills, Gustavo!! You used faster, looser lines to sketch the form of the egret. And you drew BIG on the paper while keeping accurate, natural-looking proportions of its head and body. Excellent how you did several study sketches of the bird. Keep working on sketching quickly and accurately as you look for the contour edges of things that you're drawing.

Billy

Excellent sketching style, Billy!! I really like how you sketched light, accurate lines showing the overall proportions of the the egret. And it's great how you drew large on the paper while keeping accurate shapes for the head, body, and neck. You did an awesome job of showing the negative space (area around the bird's body) and the positive space (the bird's body). Keep working on drawing where positive and negative space meet to form the edges of the thing that you're looking at.

Antonio

Alright!! Antonio!! You did a fantastic job of drawing where the negative space (the dark area around the egret's body) meets the positive space (the egret's body). Great job of showing details such as the beak, eye, and curve of the neck. I really like how you drew BIG on the paper and used loose, expressive lines to show the form of the bird.

Franky

Welcome back to class, Franky! You got back into it with a well drawn egret!! Excellent job of drawing the 's' curve in the bird's neck. It's great how you drew accurate overall proportions of the the head and body. You have a lot of control in drawing contour lines that show the edges of the egret's form. The facial features are very well drawn and it's really cool how you loosened up and drew large on the page.

Marcial

Welcome to Success Sketchers, Marcial!! You got off to a wonderful start with your drawing of the egret! I know that holding your pencil on its side and moving your whole arm while drawing is a challenge, but it will help you to sketch large, accurate shapes of the things you're looking at. You did an excellent job of drawing the form of the egret. The proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) are well drawn. Nice work on the contour lines that show the edges of the bird's form. Keep practicing sketching light guidelines for the shapes of things before drawing darker contour lines.

Our Teachers

Nathaniel


You really nailed this one man!!! Wonderful observation of positive and negative space, and great contour lines showing the form of the egret's head, neck and body. Your eye for realism has opened up in a BIG way with this drawing. Erasing the highlights is a beautiful touch!

And speaking of beautiful...

Sarah


One of the most important aspects of a drawing style is being able to show delicacy. And your style is brilliantly shining in this drawing, Sarah!!! Superb use of positive and negative space to show the contrast of the background and the form of the egret's body, especially those awesome, delicate white highlights. The balance between the blended grays forming the egret's body, darker gray background, black legs, and detailed facial features makes for a REALLY cool composition. Wonderful drawing!

eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn

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Gustavo


Marcial