Saturday morning sketch, feeling a little anxious this morning. Looks like I may need to have some surgery on my leg injury. Not feeling great about this. So this sketch was just a reaction to stress. Putting a face to what I feel is coming up from behind. Maybe it's not so scary after all, just feels uncomfortable now. Time to get to work, have an Alias(CAD) model to finish today along with concept sketches. Also need to work on a drawing class for kids. If you have a favorite podcast or blog for kids let me know in the comments. Thanks
Natalie's new dress
After shopping with Mom and Grandma, she shows off her new dress. Natalie you are so very beautiful! Dad moment....
Cross breeding animals
Sketching Birds with simple shapes
Just a short tutorial of the type of work I bring into the classroom. Visiting the K-5 level classes I try to encourage a quick sketch technique based on using simple shapes and line. I always start with a warm up session before we begin. In these examples I am using Manga Studio and a calligraphy pen tool for thick and think lines. In class I will use a broad tip marker, or a brush pen, on newsprint . For the under drawing I use a prismacolor blue pencil or any soft lead.
The hardest concept to convey seems to be the rough experimentation. I want the kids to fill the page with gestures, eyes or feather studies. Often this is the hardest part, as they like to darken lines, erase and get detailed a little to soon. I try to encourage small studies on a single page. Often I will draw lightly and messy, just to show how I am playing with options before picking what I like and going back to darken the lines. They really seem surprised to see me scribble over a drawing or draw an "x" over parts. Then they see how the under drawing really disappears as the marker comes out and the dark lines become dominant.
Have fun and keep sketching....
Simple studies on details.
Break down the key elements of the character and practice a variety of options.
Often your first idea can be improved upon and even simplified for a better effect.
Just play with shapes and see where is leads. Have fun.
Drawing faces with simple shapes
When visiting classrooms I like to focus on simple shapes. Drawing faces and expressions using variations of circles or ellipses. Students in K-5 classes like to see how quickly and effectively they can capture emotion and expression. Start off with some quick warm up exercises like drawing circles or parallel lines. The shape of the head can vary from circles to boxes to boxes with a pointy edge. Eyes are easy as circles with a simple addition of eyebrows. The mouth can be a minimal curved line, or a big open mouth smile. Lastly, the hair can give a great deal of character and diversity. I like to encourage experimentation with the class, showing a number of different ways to experiment. Most importantly they need to relax and draw with their shoulder for loose flowing lines...(the mouse sketches below are from a previous handout used in class)
Camping Full Page
All the pieces together...I have been showing the progression of this page over the past few weeks. Here is the finished page. Can't wait to go camping again this summer.
Hot Dogs and Stars
My favorite part of camping. Eating outside under the stars. Warm fire and yes, franks and beans. Two items I usually don't eat at home. But for some reason, they seem to be perfect for camping out. Afterward, we usually go for some marshmallows and chocolate. A lot of nights spent watching the fire. The kids are young enough to not object yet. I am sure this will be "boring" soon enough. But until then....
Dinner time camping
This is the first panel of a single page.
Camping is fun but with pre-teen kids sometimes the obvious is not so obvious. Often our lunch or dinner had a few lines like this. As the kids sat surrounded by the unloaded supplies from the car. The lazy question was bound to pop up. I don't imagine we are alone with this. I just think it funny, sometimes it feels like a reflex question more than anything.
The answer, "turn around and look" or we say " No, we weren't planning on feed you both until we got home....is that a problem?..hehehehe
Clay Sculpting in Plymouth
Take your kids someplace and make stuff. They need to learn how to work with different materials. They need to understand that reality is what happens between the planning and the making. Flexibility means to work around the mistakes. Experimentation is what we call "work". Experience means you are better at working with your mistakes, and care less about them. Art is a perfect medium to explore all of the above. Creating something of emotional value is a skill we need to grow in our children.
Art
Spending Saturday making a sculpture. Using materials that really allow experimentation and exploration. Making something of emotional and personal value. Telling a story with each decision. Ethan and Natalie did a great job and had a lot of fun.....
He started with a sketch. He is detail focused and was able to put it into 3D. Next steps will be color and glazing!
Schlubber?
Our girl's end of year grade school project. To create and sell a "product" to her classmates. Natalie wanted to make "Schlubber" which, as she puts it, "Is a cross between flubber and slime."
What is the story? It can be stretched and formed a little. It can't be eaten. Its not playdough or silly putty.
We spent an evening talking and sketching ideas. One idea was give Shlubber "personity". Maybe it (he/she) had a face and a bit of a story?
Shlubber needed to be saved. Trapped somehow in this plastic bag hoping to be saved, to be loved....
Sketching out Ideas ....
Sketching ideas or the lack of... always leads to something...if nothing else, happy accidents
Tenting
We always work together to set up the tents. It takes a bit of practice to get it all set up before dark. We are still working out the bugs in the system....
We bought new sleeping bags this year. They couldn't wait to test them out. From outside the tent I heard the yell "Worm Wars!"...They were flopping about in the bags on the air mattress. They didn't sleep much....
After Dark - the trail
I never get lost in the woods. I always know where I am ...wink wink. Its the trail that moves. Like fish in a stream the "Trail Trout" swimming through the dirt and the well worn trails. Every so often they change direction and take the trail with them.
And the "Mudd Bears" that lie on ground sleeping all day. If you happen to walk on them while on the trail, they let out this crazy sound. Its the Mudd Bear, always the Mudd Bear....never Dad....
homework
Just a quick sketch while the boy was busy with math homework. Done in Magna studio on my tablet. l am considering a new Surface pro or Ipad Pro. Took the Ipad out for a test drive with its new pencil. It was nice but without Manga studio to test I was a little skeptical. Surface pro seemed better to me as the pencil had more of a textured drag or resistance on the screen. The apple felt like drawing on slick glass instead of paper.
Art Parent last 5th grade visit
Went to visit the third grade and fifth grade classrooms. We drew cars, pickle cars, rocket cars, ketchup cars and future cars! I did feel challenged presenting because the students just wanting to ask questions constantly. My kids mentioned that I talked a little to much, more drawing please. I was happy using the computer and a projector in third grade class. It worked out pretty good. This was the last visit of the year and probably the last one for my oldest son who's in fifth grade. I'm going to miss this.
I got to go!
The middle of the night bathroom visit, comes along with any camping trip.
