PREINSTRUCTION DRAWINGS:
A VALUABLE RECORD OF YOUR ART SKILLS
At this point, and before you read further, I would like you to do four preinstruction drawings to provide a before record of your drawing ability -- that is, before you are "contaminated" by the theory that follows. This request usually comes as bad news to beginning students; the anxiety level goes up and tension mounts. But if you do them now, by the time you get to the first instructed drawing... you will feel confident that you can learn to draw and you will be ready to try.
The drawings have proved to be invaluable in aiding students to see and recognize their own progress. A kind of amnesia seems to set in as drawing skills improve. Students forget what their drawing was like before instruction. Moreover the degree of criticism keeps pace with progress. Even after considerable improvement, students are sometimes critical of their latest drawing because it's "not as good as da Vinci's." The before drawings provide a realistic gauge of progress. After you do the drawings, put them away and we will look at them again later in th elight of your newly acquired skills.
There are four drawings in this assignment:
Before you begin: Use pencil and inexpensive paper. Each drawing may take ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes, or longer if you wish. Be sure to date the drawings, as they will provide a record of your present level of drawing skill.
1) Draw a picture of a person without looking at anyone. There are no specific directions for this drawing, only the general direction to "draw a person."
2) Draw a picture of someone -- head only. Draw someone watching TV or sleeping, or draw yourself by looking in a mirror. Do not use a photograph.
3) Draw a picture of your own hand. If you are right-handed, ddraw your left hand in whatever position you choose. If you are left-handed, draw your right hand.
4) Draw a picture of a chair by looking at a real chair, not a photograph.
After you finish: On the back of each drawing, write your assessment of the drawing -- what is pleasing to you and displeasing to you about each drawing. These comments will be interesting to you at the end of the set of exercises.
(If you are comfortable, you can share your critiques of your work in the thread as you post your work. That's your call.)
Since these are "before" drawings, comments on other's works are allowed, but not critiques. This is just to establish the skills we currently have.
IMPORTANT: The next assignment does not come until the fourth chapter of the book. If you have a copy, I suggest you also take time this week to read the first three chapters in preparation of next weeks assignment. You can do the work without the book, but it helps to understand the theory behind this type of instruction!
Now get your pencils and your papers out and get to work!