Print this page An Introduction to Drawing for Beginners

This three day workshop aims to systematically set out the basic principles of drawing for either the very beginner or lay intermediate student. Each exercise will progressively build upon the last. Starting with the most elementary forms and geometric shapes, the course aims to gradually introduce the student to more complex forms and challenges within the process of learning to draw. The class will be well suited to any beginner or individual who has wanted a solid grounding in the basic elements of drawing.

DELIVERY MODE

Face to face

ART MATERIALS

• Pencils 2H and HB
• Kneadable Eraser
• Stanley knife for sharpening
• A3 sketch book

IMPORTANT: Please arrive to the first class with all the relevant materials. A lack of materials is not just a handicap to you but to the ability to teach. Materials cost is not included in a course fee. In the event of a course being cancelled WEA cannot be held responsible for the purchase of any course materials. We therefore suggest you purchase your materials closer to the time of the course commencing.

COURSE OUTLINE

Day 1

• Leaf Drawing: Trace a leaf, mark perimeter points, then complete the contour from observation. Develop observation, contour, and erasure/correction skills.
• Shading: Shade between parallel lines from darkest to lightest, creating seamless tonal gradation.
• Silhouette: Shade a tree’s branches and foliage without an outline to develop an intuitive understanding of volume. Refine with the eraser.
• Rock Study: Using a peep hole, accurately record the tonality of rocks.
• Aerial Perspective & Landscape: Study a landscape print to replicate shading in close/distant foliage and understand how artists convey distance. Apply to landscape photographs

Day 2

• Geometric Shapes & Perspective: Draw circles, spheres, cubes, and cylinders in perspective and directional light. Examine complex forms through basic shapes.
• Bargue Drawing & Figure: Explore how the nineteenth-century course undertaken by Van Gogh, Seurat, and Picasso simplifies the human figure into directional lines.

Day 3

• Life Model:  The figure's masses as centerlines and directional lines.
• Sustained Life Pose: Introduction to the skeleton and bony landmarks.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Gain a sound structural approach to drawing objects. 
• Accurately conceive of objects in relation to linear and aerial perspective.
• Learn to observe form, tone and volume in any object.
• Make use of and/or inventing a light source to model form.