Weeks 5 & 6: Proportions, Form, Contour Lines

Everyone continued practicing drawing with contour lines while looking for accurate proportions. We also had a great time getting into abstract drawing which I'll be posting soon.

I'd like to welcome Joselyn to the Success Sketchers!

Attention all sketchers, show your best drawings! Enter your work in our Online Student Show, opening May 7, 2010. Your drawings will be featured with students from other schools in the Drawing League Gallery. Choose 2 of your favorites, either from your lesson drawings or work you've created during your own time at school. One drawing is to be from observation (drawing things you're looking at) and the second drawing is to be from your imagination. For Details: Click here

See you Tuesday! --Rob

Johnny

Fantastic! Drawing! Johnny! Superb job in drawing accurate proportions of the dragonfly's body and wings. Excellent how you included all the details such as jagged edges of its legs and the contour lines of its tail. You also did a really nice job of drawing the contour edges of its body and transparent wings. You've made a BIG step in drawing realistically.

Edward

Hey, Edward! With these drawings you made excellent progress in controlling your line work! The proportions of the tiger are very well drawn. You did a great job of showing the patterns on its fur and adding details such as its whiskers. You made great progress in drawing the egret, too! By seeing the negative space around the bird you were able to draw accurate contour edges of its body and head. Each time you made a new sketch of the egret, the 's' curve of its neck became more accurate.

Jesus

Alright, Jesus!! This drawing was a REALLY big step in learning how to draw realistically!! I know that drawing the dragonfly was a challenge for you but you pulled together an excellent rendering. The proportions are accurate and the contour edges of its body and wings are very well drawn. I'd like to work with you in finishing your drawing of the Aztec god--you got a great start on it in class!

Antonio

Antonio, it's way cool that you took the time to finish the Van Gogh sketch!!! The details of the garden and the pencil strokes you made to indicate the large tree are VERY well drawn. There's a lot of depth in this drawing... like we can step into it and walk on the road. Nice job, man!

Dezmen

Your skills in drawing with lines and shapes really came together for a GREAT monster truck! Overall, the proportions of the truck are very accurately drawn. I really like how you overlapped the front tire on top of the engine, giving depth to your picture. You did a great job of including details such as the roll bar and flames. The gray tones for shading is a nice touch. Keep practicing sketching light guidelines for the shapes of things; then finishing with darker outlines.

Darrian

You used your style of bold line work to get a REALLY great start on the wolf. Your lightly sketched guidelines for basic proportions are very well drawn. Be nice if you can spend time to finish by drawing contour lines for its body and fur. Really like the cartoon character, too! Nice how you used different gray tones to show his features. How about developing a character for a comic strip?

Joselyn

Welcome to the Success Sketchers, Joselyn!!! With your drawing of the puffer fish you got off to a fantastic start in using lines and shapes. The proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) of the fish are very well drawn. I can see that you have excellent control in your line work and look forward to seeing you develop your skills. Cool facial expression on the fish. :-)

Our Teachers!

Sarah


Wonderful Van Gogh composition, Sarah!!! I really like how you loosened up your line work to show a faster, sketchy drawing style. Great job of using a variety of pencil strokes to show textures and form. The perspective angles of the walls are well drawn. I really like how the large tree, garden area, and background buildings are drawn to depict realistic depth.

Nate


Another fantastic composition, man!!! Your bold line work and various tones capture the look of Leger's artwork very well!!

Weeks 3 & 4: Lines, Shapes, Form, Perspective

We're back to having a large group, as we mix returning students with new sketchers. Some of you are diving into drawing on large format paper, experimenting with different pencil leads. And some of you are working at accuracy in proportions and moving into drawing realistically.

As you explore new drawing styles and materials, be thinking about submitting drawings to the student show in May. For details: Click here

Want to compare the work of Success Sketchers to other schools? Check out the Drawing League to see what other students are doing: Click here

Hasta luego. --Rob

Nikki

Really nice to have you sketching with us again, Nikki!!! You picked it right up where you left off by drawing very accurate proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) of the dragonfly, lizard, and jaguar. EXCELLENT job of drawing patterns for the textures of the lizard's skin and the wood. Cool facial expression, too. :-) Great job of including the details of the jaguar such as the patterns on its fur and facial features. Compare your drawing to the reference picture of the jaguar. Is the back foot positioned correctly? You stepped it up nicely with the realistic drawing of the dragonfly! You've got an excellent eye for seeing accurate proportions, which is important as you get more into realism in the coming weeks. Keep it going!

Jose

We're seeing a REALLY cool direction in your drawing style, Jose!! You're loosening up your lines and letting your work become more expressive. Excellent how you took your drawing of the agave plant to a larger paper format and kept accurate proportions of its leaves. You did a great job of laying down lighter and darker gray tones to show different values of lighter and darker greens. And your Van Gogh sketch is fantastic, man! I really like how you used bold angled and curved strokes to show textures of the grass and trees. Excellent job of drawing the perspective angles of the wall and road in the foreground leading to the buildings in the background.

Darrian

Hey, Darrian!! When you get into the zone, you can really crank out excellent work. This drawing of the dragonfly on large format paper is VERY well drawn. The proportions (sizes of shapes copared to other shapes) of its body and wings are accurately drawn. I really like how you controlled the soft-leaded graphite pencil for the cool details of its wings and legs. Keep practicing sketching light guidelines for the shapes of things; then finishing with darker contour lines around the edges.

Edward

Welcome to Success Sketchers, Edward!! Fantastic start in drawing with lines and shapes!! The proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) of the crab, puffer fish, and lizard are well drawn. Compare your drawing of the lizard to the reference picture. Is the length of its body drawn correctly? As you got the hang of drawing with your pencil on its side, you gained more control of you line work, especially in the drawing of the toucan. The proportions of its head and body are very well drawn. Keep practicing sketching light guidelines for the shapes of things; then finishing with darker outlines.

Billy

You stepped up to the challenge of drawing with looser, sketchier lines! Great work, Billy!! Excellent job of using expressive angled and curved lines for the grass and trees of your Vincent Van Gogh sketch. You did a great job of showing the wall and buildings in the foreground in correct perspective to the hills in the background. And you got off to a great start in drawing the agave plant in a large scale. I can see you really enjoy drawing with the soft graphite lead. Hope to see the finished drawing next week.

Johnny

Great to have you sketching with us, Johnny!!! FANTASTIC start in drawing with lines and shapes to create the crab, lizard, puffer fish, and jaguar. Overall, the proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) are very well drawn. Compare the reference picture of the crab to your drawing. Check to see if the proportions of the eyes compared to the size of its body are correct. I really like how you sketched lightly for the guidelines showing the shapes of the animals. The jaguar shows a great combination of light guidelines and darker outlines and gray tones. Keep practicing comparing the proportions of what you're looking at and what you're drawing.

Antonio

Your continued improvement is remarkable, Antonio!!! You're gaining more and more control of your line work. And your ability to draw accurate proportions is really starting to shine! Your sketch of the old man's profile by Leonardo Da Vinci is an excellent start at using bold line strokes to show textures and proportions of the human head. GREAT start with the Vincent Van Gogh sketch!! The perspective angles of the buildings, road, and wall in the foreground show realistic depth that leads to the background in the distance. (I hope you can finish this one). And the dragonfly... Wow!!! You pulled it all together for this one, man! Very accurate proportions of its body and wings, and a lot of control of your pencil work.

Marcial

Glad to have you back with the Success Sketchers!! Your bold drawing style shows very accurate proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) of the lizard and jaguar (hope you can finish the it next week). I really like how you started the jaguar with lightly sketched guidelines--keep practicing this as it will help when you start drawing realistically in the coming weeks. Really nice patterns for the texture of the lizard's skin and the wood. You made great use of lighter and darker gray tones to shade its body. And you've got a cool lettering style, too. Keep it going, Marcial!

Dezmen

Excellent line work, Dezmen!!! With each new drawing that you make, you gain more and more control of the pencil. The proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) of the lizard and jaguar are well drawn. Check the length of the lizard's body compared to the reference picture. Is it long enough? Really nice job of using patterns to show the texture of the lizard's skin and the wood. Excellent job of drawing the details such as the facial features and bony spikes on its back. Great start in drawing the head and body of the jaguar.

Our Teachers!

Sarah


Wonderful, large-scale drawing of the agave plant!!! You kept very accurate proportions while having fun with the super-soft graphite lead. Great how you loosened up and got expressive with tones and pencil strokes. EXCELLENT start with the white pencil on gray paper. Gonna finish? And your Van Gogh sketch is off to an awesome start with exploring 'sketchiness'!!!



Rebecca


Straight up, you've got a keen eye for proportions and hand for exquisite line work!!! Excellent use of positive/negative space to draw the contour edges of the egret and contrasts in the details of the feathers. The proportions of the dragonfly (in both your smaller and large-scale version) are very well drawn. Your accuracy improved dramatically from the drawings of the lizard, toucan, and jaguar to the realism of the egret. Keep drawing, Rebecca!


Nathaniel


You just keep on blazing new trails, man!! As you got into the Van Gogh sketch, I saw you loosen your pencil strokes as your lines became freer and much more expressive. I really like how you used all kinds of different line patterns to indicate form and textures. You nailed the perspective of the buildings, wall, and road. You may want to consider carrying a sketchbook with you. I know the white pencil was a challenge for you, but you got an excellent start!