| Energise Yourself |
Be Curious - Draw an Object
- Notice What You Like - Part 1 and 2
- Draw a Scene
- Draw a Leaf or Flower
- Take A Minute
- Taking Rubbings
- Stitch Memory Journal
- Draw an Object
- All you need to know about this activity
- About drawing from observation
- Step 1: Which object to choose?
- Step 2: What background shall I place it on?
- Step 1-2
- Step 3: Size of the drawing, and where to place it
- Make a viewfinder
- Step 4: Make a basic sketch
- Step 5: Light and dark (tone), and shadows
- Step 5 continued: Highlights
- Step 6: Texture
- What next?
- Draw an Object Video Guide
- Wellbeing Art Tour - Discover Manchester Art Gallery
- Visiting an Art Gallery
"I didn't know what to think about the painting (from the 'Art Appreciation' activity) when I first saw it. But hearing the expert, listening to others and trying to come up with my own thoughts about it has given me the confidence to have my own opinions."
Getting started on the drawing:
Step 1: Spending time looking
- It actually helps to spend more time looking at the object from which you’re drawing, than at the drawing itself. The key is to look really carefully at the object, and plan in advance the next mark you’ll make. In this way you avoid drawing what you think the object looks like in your mind (a very common pitfall), but succeed in drawing the real details you observe for yourself
Step 2: Shape
- Spend some time looking at the object, noticing its shape, and its proportions. Is it differently shaped and proportioned from different viewpoints? If so, choose the viewpoint you like the best
Tips:
- To help draw in the basic shape of the subject it sometimes helps to compare the height and width (proportion) of the object .. which is longer? ..how much longer?
- You can often simplify the shape of an object into a few easier shapes, for example something that is like a cylinder, such as a vase, can be simplified into two ovals and two straight lines
