BASIC DRAWING MANUAL one day workshop
for CEPP interns and volunteers Centre of Educational Policies and Practices (CEPP) Kathmandu, Nepal 2016-17 -1-
-2-
Programme In this short guide, we document and illustrate the exercises that we undertook in a one day drawing workshop that took place in a Nepali public school, with teachers from all around the area of Pipalmadi taking participation. The workshop aimed to help the teachers improve their basic drawing skills and encourage them to integrate drawing in their teachings, as a method of communication.
WORKSHOP PROGRAMME 9:30 10:00 10:25 10:35 11:20 11:30 12:30 13:00 13:50 14:00 15:00 15:30
Introduction Drawing as a Language ---break-Form, Texture, Technique --break-Reality: This is what we See --break-Simplify: Draw Fast (Movement, Action, Diagram) --break-Pictionary Feedback Session Finish
Eleni Tsiamparta, Desislava Iroslav Petkova, Stien Poncelet -3-
Introduction INTRODUCTION GAMES Introductory games help people become more acquainted with each other and the results are often humorous, encouraging sharing, openness, listening, cooperation and discussion. Starting with short ice-breaker games can provide a useful ‘getting to know you’ or ‘group building’ introduction and create a light atmosphere for the rest of the group study. You can find several games online or even invent them yourselves!
group exercise 1 On a piece of paper write down your name & draw one object Introduce yourself & explain your object choice
-4-
Drawing
as a
Language
The Big Triangle map of the visual Art and Communication, Scott Mc Cloud, 1993
There is no one way of drawing. Teachers are encouraged to be comfortable and find their own style, knowing that different kind of drawings serve different purposes. We tried to illustrate that by using the Big Triangle Map. The three points of the triangle; reality, meaning, and form & texture, all show important aspects of artist intent and reader interpretations. Reality is a photo-realistic representation. From realistic to Meaning, this point represents increasing levels of simplification, reduced to the basic meaning. From realistic to Form & Texture, there is an increase level of abstraction, which leads to pure shape, colour and line. Items do not have an absolute location on the big triangle, just a relational position: ‘more realistic than’, ‘more abstract than’, etc. -5-
Form, Texture & Technique DIFFERENT POINTS OF MOVEMENT FOR DIFFERENT PENCIL CONTROL Most of us focus on the topic of drawing without even considering the movement of our hand. However, changing the way you move your hand has an influence on the quality and type of the artwork you want to achieve. Drawing with the WRIST range of movement is limited
good for details
not efficient for initial shapes
not efficient for long straight lines
broader range of motion
for long straight lines
Drawing with the ELBOW range of movement is improved
-6-
Form, Texture & Technique Drawing with the SHOULDER range of movement is greatly improved
used not on bigger focused on scale details drawings
group exercise 2 Fill a piece of paper with straight lines as fast as possible. Try using smaller and bigger paper. Practice: - pencil position - use of elbow/shoulder - fast drawing
-7-
-8-
Form, Texture & Technique DIFFERENT WAYS OF HOLDING A PENCIL TO ACHIEVE DIFFERENT RESULTS How you hold your pencil, also influences your drawing. There are many ways that you can hold a pencil, but demonstrating the two most basic can be the start of the experimentation.
good for details
short & bold strokes
longer & fluid strokes
light shading
bigger range of motion
group exercise 3 Draw a small circle and keep drawing bigger circles around it until page is full. Note how pencil position and use of wrist/elbow changes as the circles go bigger. Practice: - pencil position - use of elbow/shoulder -9-
Form, Texture & Technique BREAKING THE LINE TO ACHIEVE BETTER FORM Our hands are more adapted to drawing smaller dashed lines rather than long straight lines. Drawing smaller dashed lines, instead of one big one, helps to find a better form when drawing bigger and complex shapes.
original shape
dotted line technique
using “straight” lines
original shape
dotted line technique
using “straight” lines
-10-
Form, Texture & Technique GESTURE DRAWING FOR SPEED Gesture drawing is a method of creating loose lines or shapes to build the overall shape and form of the subject quickly. With several lines on the paper, there is a better chance of getting the right line in place. When you find the correct form, you can start drawing darker lines.
group exercise 4 Draw multiple circles/squares in a piece of paper. Use time limit to draw more complex shapes that you can find around. Practice: - dotted line technique - gesture drawing - fast sketching
-11-
Form, Texture & Technique DIFFERENT SHADING TONES
Different shading tones can be achieved even with using the same pencil thickness. Practicing and using different shading tones can add depth to the drawing objects. group exercise 5 Divide a piece of paper in squares and shade every box starting from light to dark. Use layering and pencil intensity to achieve darker tones. Practice: - pencil position
-12-
Form, Texture & Technique 2D/3D OBJECTS
Visualizing 3D Objects is easy, but it becomes more challenging when you are trying to draw them. Practicing how to draw simple 3D objects will increase your understanding about depth and perspective. group exercise 6 Draw the equivalent of a square, circle and triangle. Shade the 3D objects.
Square
Circle
Triangle
Practice: - pencil position - gesture drawing - shading
Cube
Sphere
? -13-
-14-
Reality
this is what we see PERSPECTIVE & HORIZON LINE Drawing in perspective is very useful when we want to produce more realistic drawings. Learning the basics can significantly increase the quality of your drawings. Everyone knows that the closer you are to an object the bigger it appears, and vise versa, but if you are beginner it’s easy to forget. A simple diagram can be used for explanations, along with real-life examples. The horizon line represents the viewer’s eye level. You can see the top of an object if it is below eye level, below the Horizon Line. If an object is above eye level, above the Horizon Line, you can not see its top.
bottom
VP
VP horizon line
horizon line
top
group exercise 7 Place cubes in different distances and draw them in relation to one another, taking into account perspective. -15-
Meaning
representation & simplification A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS Using drawing while teaching is a great tool for teaching, but in needs to be done fast. Learning how to draw quickly can be very useful when the teacher wants to explain concepts, processes and even words/sentences. Visual representations gain the attention of the students, are more fun and are easier to remember. But attempting to draw realistic drawings on the blackboard can take a lot of time. In order for this to be fast, detail is emitted, making simplified drawings, where meaning, is the focus. A tree is a good example.
The same principle can be applied to figures.
-16-
Meaning
representation & simplification Matchstick figures are very easy and quick way to represent the human body. Each matchstick represents one of the major bones of the human body. This helps to understand how to draw movement. Due to the simplification of the forms, nearly everyone can recognize the human and it can be used to explain different actions and processes, where language might be a barrier. Matchstick figures can also be useful during the layout or initial stages of a drawing.
group exercise 8 Practice drawing different objects in their simplified form. Put time limit for each object. -17-
-18-
Conclusion & Reflection The aim of the workshop is to encourage the teachers to start experimenting with drawing and integrate visual communication to their lessons. We hope that these workshops continue to happen and this document aims to help future CEPP volunteers plan their lessons. These are some of our observations and reflections: - In a small group, only one person should have the role of the teacher or the ‘demonstrator’. Having too many people standing up and explaining can be intimidating for the group. This also helps to have a better teaching flow. - In a big group, only one person should still be ‘the demonstrator’, but different people can sit around the group and provide additional help if needed. - Learning many new things and doing a lot of exercises can be draining. Having short and frequent breaks in between can help. Quick physical games can also be fun! - If you have time, after each exercise, try to pin all the drawings in a wall and make a small group discussion. - A lot of teachers/students can be very shy. Try to encourage them to continue drawing by commenting on their work. - The timetable we provided it’s just an indication. Plan your timetable according to what material you are going to use. - Get feedback at the end the session, which can help improve future workshops.
group exercise 9 End the session with a Pictionary Game!
-19-