Mini Drawing Spark

2 comments

After years of teaching illustration I found that the one thing most people struggle with is to find time, ideas of what to draw and how to draw. Well, your searching days are over ;-) as I will provide you with little drawing tips and tricks!

I'll post a drawing tip, idea or suggestion regularly on the blog, facebook and instagram. It comes with the hashtag: #minidrawingspark , which you can add whenever you share your mini drawing spark results (please do, I'd love to see what your making!).

Let's start with the first!

To loosen things up a bit (read: to tackle that inner critic), there's a fun technique you can practice. It's called: blind contour drawing (or hand-eye coordination drawing).

What you do is: take a object (start with a simple thing like a mug or teapot) and place it on front of you. Then choose a point to start and draw the contour of the object by following the outline with your eyes and at the same time follow with your pencil. Key is not to look at your paper, only at the object and keep your pencil on the paper (making one steady line).
Try a few times, and if you got the hand of it, start adding inner shapes as well (still without lifting your pencil from the paper, you follow lines back and forth).

This is a great way to practice to look closely to objects and learn how to draw them. Because you are not allowed to look at the paper, you can not critique the process. The drawing can be wobbely, strange and funny but that is what it's supposed to be. When you practice this often, you'll notice you get better at it. At that stage you can start looking at the object now and then and modify your line along the way.

Good luck, have fun and share!


Paradise Birds Kids Art

Leave a Comment

Today I teached an art workshop to 4 to 8 year old at two daycare centers in Purmerend, The Netherlands (via Cultuurhuis Wherelant). I'm always amazed (and inspired!) about the creativity of those little ones. Kids Art is the best!

We made 'paradise birds' with leftover material like cardboard, paper, plastic materials and wire. They choose bodies and head shapes for their birds and put it together with paper tape. After that it was time to paint. Wonderful rainbow colors and exotic combinations where the result (you can leave that to kids!). Some of them also added paper feathers to their creation for extra spectacular tails and headdress.

I brought a big branch and attached the birds to it so it made a nice exhibition piece in the daycare centre. Looks quite good don't you think?

(The toddler saw the pictures and is now very eager to make his own bird too, could be a nice project for the weekend... ;-) )

illustrations on culture and art education

Leave a Comment

Last week I've been working my ass off ;-) on a presentation of my vision on cultural and art education (with a focus on primary and secondary education).
I've made illustrations using paper and cardboard, adding a slight 3D/pop up effect.
The illustrations were used in a powerpoint presentation as background for focus points.


all content on this blog © Kim Welling unless stated otherwise. Powered by Blogger.