Weeks Seven & Eight: Sketching, Composition, Form, Value, Rhythm

We had a productive free-draw session where everyone explored sketching contours and textures. Then we got into elements of composition by drawing an agave plant. You accomplished the goal of sketching loosely, quickly, and accurately.


Be sure to check out new pics of our outdoors free-draw session. Click here

I really enjoyed drawing with the Salinas crew and hope to be returning in February to help each of you explore new techniques and drawing styles.

Happy holidays!!!! --Rob

Carlos

Bien hecho, Carlos!! Excellent work in drawing realistic contour edges of the agave plant! You did a really nice job of adding gray tones to show different values of green for the leaves. How you used the kneaded eraser to blend tones and erase highlights is a very nice touch. Your quick contour line sketches from our free-draw session turned out awesome. Keep practicing your sketching, man!

Heriberto

Great to have you join Salinas Sketchers, Heriberto!!! Wow! Fantastic work in drawing the realistic contour edges of the plant. Very nice job of adding gray tones to show the different values of green. I really like the powerful contrast of the darker and lighter areas of your composition. Keep drawing, man!

Ruby

The agave plant is yet another WONDERFUL composition, Ruby!!! Great work in sketching loosely, quickly, and accurately! Very nice work in adding lighter and darker grays to show different values of green for the leaves. How you erased the highlights with the kneaded eraser is a nice touch. And... Wow!... your contour line sketch of the shell and antique iron is awesome! Your drawing has improved in leaps and bounds since starting this class.

Pedro

Pedro, you're drawing skills are simply extraordinary, man! Great start in drawing accurate contours, proportions, and tonal values of the plant. I hope to be drawing with you in February and exploring ways to apply your drawing skills toward your future.

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!

Week Six: Form, Contour Lines, Proportions, Texture

Great work Salinas Sketchers! We stepped into drawing from real life and everyone used contour lines to show realistic roundness of pumpkins and other objects from the 'crate of realism'.


The crate of realism: bones, shells, rocks, and rusty old stuff

Since there are festivities for the holidays we won't be drawing next week. 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 work in eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn.



Have a wonderful holiday all! And be ready for some fun drawing when you come back. :-) --Rob

Pedro

You were blazing on Tuesday, Pedro!! Your ability to sketch things from real life matches your awesome work from pictures or your imagination. The contours and textures of your pumpkin sketches are very well drawn. I really like how you experimented with different pencil line and shading techniques. The skull is fantastic, man!! Your contour lines show its accurate proportions and details.

Leydi

Truly wonderful progress in your drawing skills, Leydi!!! Excellent how you lightly sketched guidelines until you found the form of the pumpkin. Way cool how you sketched on top of your mistakes; then finished with darker, accurate contour lines. Great how you drew the foreshortened stem, making it look like it's coming toward us (drawing, top left). The stem looks natural and realistic where it attaches to the pumpkin. Really nice how curved contour lines show the roundness of the pumpkin. I like how you made lots of sketches; each time you made a new one it became more accurate.

Moises

Very cool how you got into making several quick study sketches of different positions of the pumpkin. This is a big shift in technique for you, Moises! Sketching quickly and accurately will help you when drawing from real life. You did an excellent job of using curved contour lines to show the round form of the pumpkin. How you drew the stem attached to the pumpkin looks very natural and realistic. You have a great eye for accuracy and a cool drawing style.

Oliver

Alright, Oliver!!! Excellent job of sketching the overall form of the pumpkin. I really like how you loosened up your lines and sketched faster. Great job of drawing curved contour lines to show the roundness of the pumpkin's form. And you did an excellent job of showing the texture of the stem and how it twists. The cast shadow is a really nice touch.

Ruby

Drawing from real life is a big step for you, Ruby! And you pulled off some awesome sketches!!! You did a lot of quick sketches of the pumpkin and this really helped you to draw accurate proportions of its form. You loosened up and started sketching guidelines before drawing darker contour lines. You did an excellent job of drawing curved contour lines to show its round form. I really like how you drew the cast shadow underneath the pumpkin, making it look 3D! You're really starting to improve your skills... keep it going! :-)

Carlos

Excellent line work, Carlos!! Your curved contour lines do a great job of showing the roundness of the pumpkin. Where the stem attaches at the top looks natural and realistic. I really like how your contour lines show the foreshortened form of the shell, making it look like it's coming straight at us. You also did a nice job of showing its rough, bumpy texture. Nice contour drawing of the bottle, man!

Week Five: Form, Contour Lines,

We made some BIG progress on Tuesday! Everyone tackled the challenge of drawing a realistic dog and improved their skills of drawing accurate proportions and contour lines. A highlight was Ruby's breakthrough drawing of the dog! We're ready to move to the next level: drawing from real life.

Pedro started drawing accurate proportions from a reference picture of a skull. Then he added his own style of shading and texture to it. He let his imagination go and created a very powerful drawing. It's posted in eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn: Click here

On Tuesday we'll be drawing things from real life. See you then! --Rob

Moises

Excellent line work, Moises!! Great job of capturing accurate proportions of the dog's head and shoulders. The contour lines showing the form of the dog are very well drawn, especially the overlapping and folds of the ears. The positioning of the eyes and the contours of the nose are also very well drawn

To compare the proportions of the dog you drew to the reference picture click here.

Oliver

It took awhile for you to get into the zone but you pulled of an excellent sketch, Oliver!! The overall proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) are very well drawn. Very nice job of drawing the contour lines that form the dog's head, shoulders and the folds of the ears. Great contour lines that show the details of the nose. Nice start on the positioning and contours of the eye!

To compare the proportions of the dog you drew to the reference picture click here.

Ruby

Hey, Ruby! The drawing of the dog was a BIG-time improvement in your drawing skills!! Drawing a realistic-looking dog was a challenge but you met it straight on and sketched accurate proportions of the its head and ears. Excellent job of drawing contour lines for the overlapping and folds of the ears, the jaw, nose, and eye. And you did a great job of adding details such as the eyelashes, whiskers. The gray tones showing the values of color are a nice touch. Keep it going! :-)

To compare the proportions of the dog you drew to the reference picture click here.

Carlos

Once you found the right music on the computer, you got into a FANTASTIC drawing of the dog!! You started by sketching light guidelines; then drew darker contour lines forming its head and facial features. Excellent work of drawing accurate proportions and the overlapping, folded ears. As you got into the details, such as the eyelashes and contours of the nose, your drawing style really starts to shine, Carlos! I really like the shading technique you used for gray tones and textures of fur and skin.

Hope to see your drawings from the Aztec calendar.

To compare the proportions of the dog you drew to the reference picture click here.

Week Three: Positive and Negative Space, Form

On Tuesday we got into seeing and drawing positive and negative space. The 'chair' warm-up lesson made everyone a little crazy. But I was really impressed to see everyone work through the challenges of learning about positive and negative space while drawing the egret. It will be valuable knowledge for the remaining weeks ahead.

Left: Drawing by Pedro

Check it out: We've got some VERY cool new drawings by Pedro and Carlos posted in eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn!

Keep drawing in your free time, everyone. You've got the skills!! Get ideas for drawing your favorite animals or flowers from the Internet or magazines. Or try drawing a design from your imagination.

See you on Tuesday! --Rob

Leydi

After learning about positive and negative space and contour lines you've taken your drawing to a new level, Leydi!! You accurately drew contour lines showing the realistic form of the egret. You did a fantastic job of drawing the 's' curve of its neck and the details of its face and beak. The gray tones for shading and details of feathers makes it look very natural. Great work on the contour line drawing of the flower! The edges that form the petals look very realistic. Nice work on the positive/negative chair warm-up sketch.



Keep drawing in your free time, Leydi. Your eye for accuracy keeps improving every time you draw! I know that you enjoy drawing. Your own style is starting to show in your work. Keep developing it... get ideas for drawing your favorite animals or flowers from the Internet or magazines. Or try making designs from your imagination and combine the with realistic drawings.

Moises

Welcome back to class, Moises! You got right into it with an awesome drawing of the egret! The contour lines that form its body are very well drawn. And you did a great job of adding details such as its beak and feathers. The gray tones are a really nice touch. You stayed in the zone to crank out a wonderful drawing of the tulip! Excellent work on drawing very natural looking contour lines and details forming the petals. Great work on the positive/negative chair warm-up drawing.



Keep drawing in your free time, Moises. You're developing a really cool drawing style! Keep it going. Get ideas for drawing your favorite animals or flowers from the Internet or magazines. Or try drawing a design from your imagination.

Oliver

Welcome back to the Salinas Sketchers, Oliver!! You got back into it with and excellent drawing of the egret! Great job in sketching the overall form of its body. The contour lines forming its head, neck, and body are well drawn. Its beak and facial features are look very natural. And the proportions (sizes of shapes compared to other shapes) are accurately drawn. The gray tones show the 3D form of the bird. Nice work on the positive/negative chair warm-up drawing.

Keep drawing in your free time, Oliver. Get ideas for drawing your favorite animals or flowers from the Internet or magazines. Or try drawing a design from your imagination.

Pedro

Great sketching style, Pedro!! I really like how you quickly sketched light guidelines for the overall form of the egret; then you continued with darker contour lines forming its head and body. Excellent job in capturing the 's' curve of its neck. Your ability to sketch quickly and accurately will benefit you as you continue drawing from real life. Nice job on the positive/negative chair warm-up drawing.

Keep drawing in your free time, Pedro. You definitely have the desire to put your drawing skills to work for your future! I'm hoping to see some of your coolest work to post in eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn. Stay focused on developing your drawing style, man!

Carlos

Great job of drawing the positive and negative space showing the form of the egret. I know you sketched this quickly, Carlos, and you drew accurate proportions and contour edges forming its head, neck, and body. Excellent work in drawing the 's' curve of its neck. Nice job with the positive/negative chair warm-up drawing.

Keep drawing in your free time, Carlos. I can see that drawing is a very big part of your life. You should be looking for ways to develop and apply your drawing skills to your future. Your working on the Aztec god drawing this week. Would be cool to see your sketches of the Aztec calendar, too. Keep drawing, Carlos! "...just your imagination.."

Ruby

You got into the zone and produced a really nice drawing of the flower. You were very confident when drawing its contour edges and it shows in the graceful, clean lines. Keep working in this direction; it's a really cool drawing style. Great job with the positive/negative chair warm-up drawing.

Keep drawing in your free time, Ruby. Your skills keep improving! Get ideas for drawing your favorite animals or flowers from the Internet or magazines. Or try drawing a design from your imagination.

Week Two: Lines, Shapes, Overlapping, Proportion

Alright Salinas Sketchers! On Tuesday everyone learned about overlapping (placing things in front of other things) to create depth of space in your drawing. Everyone made great progress in drawing accurate proportions. Scroll down to view your work. Remember to click on your drawings to view them larger.


Above: Sketches by Leydi (left) and Pedro showing how overlapping can create depth of space in your picture. They also changed a circle into a sphere by adding shadows.

eXpReSsiOn sEsSiOn
Check out new drawings by Carlos, Pedro, and Leydi in the Expression Session.

Okay! Ready for a drawing challenge?...


Drawing Challenge: Aztec God Tonatiuh
For those of you who have time, here's a little challenge for you to do this week: Use lines, shapes, and tones (black and grays) to Draw the Face of the Aztec god Tonatiuh. Take time to look for the dark outlines of the shapes. Start by drawing light guidelines for the shapes, and then draw darker outlines to finish. If you have time, lightly draw the different gray tones. Draw from this reference picture: Click here

See you on Tuesday! --Rob