The Artist's First Steps

DRAWING REFERENCE: A group of dishes of various heights.

YOU'LL NEED: drawing paper 9x12 inches or copy paper, pencil, eraser

Hi and Welcome!

Have you ever started a drawing and run out of room on your paper? Artists have a simple solution for this problem. Before drawing all the small details, they look for the biggest shape that holds everything together. Its an imaginary line surrounding the objects. This large shape is called an aggregate shape.

Today You Will

Learn how to find the large shape that a group of smaller shapes create. You'll use an aggregate shape to help plan your drawing before adding details.

What You'll Discover

1. Big Shapes Come Before Small Shapes

Artists often begin by looking for the largest shape they can see. This helps them organize the drawing and place it correctly on the paper.

2. Many Shapes Can Become One Shape

A bowl full of fruit, or a group of flowers can often be simplified into one large shape before drawing the smaller parts.

3. Aggre...

DRAWING REFERENCE: A photograph of an animal from the front, or use our tiger!

YOU'LL NEED: drawing paper 9x12 inches or copy paper, pencil, eraser

Hi and Welcome

Have you ever noticed that an object can look completely different when viewed from a new angle?

Today you'll watch me draw a tiger from the front and discover how careful observation and measuring can help us draw what we actually see, not what we think we know.

Today You Will

• Observe a tiger from an unusual front view.

• Use your pencil to compare height and width.

• Build the tiger with simple shapes.

• Make corrections as you draw.

What You'll Discover

When we see a tiger from the side, we know its body is much longer than its height. But a front view shows us something very different!

This is why observation is so important. Instead of drawing what you remember about a your subject, draw what you see in front of you.

Keep checking your measurements as you draw. If something looks too wide, t...

DRAWING REFERENCE: A photograph of a 4-legged animal from the side, or use our elephant picture.

YOU'LL NEED: drawing paper 9x12 inches or copy paper, pencil, eraser.

Hi and Welcome!

Have you ever started drawing something and discovered it was much taller, wider, or longer than you expected?

Today you'll learn a simple way to measure objects before you draw so you can better understand their size and shape.

Today You Will

• Learn how to compare the height and length of an object.

• Use your pencil as a measuring tool.

• Discover how measurements can help you plan your drawing.

What You'll Discover

Some objects are easy to place on the page, while others can be a little tricky!

Before you begin drawing, use your pencil to compare the object's height and length. These quick measurements help you get a better understanding of the object's dimensions.

You may be surprised by what you discover. An object that looks wide might actually be taller than it is long, or ...

DRAWING REFERENCE: A photograph of a tall animal or object.

YOU'LL NEED: drawing paper 9x12 inches or copy paper, pencil, eraser

Hi and Welcome

Have you ever been drawing something really exciting and suddenly realized there wasn't enough room on the paper to finish it? The next four lessons will offer practical solutions to make sure this type of problem doesn't happen to you. Before you begin drawing, it is important take a few moments to think about how the object will fit into the space of the paper. 

Today You Will

• Learn why planning your drawing is important.
• Discover how the direction of your paper can help your drawing fit.
• Practice using simple marks to create drawing boundaries.

What You'll Discover

How turning the paper and making two quick measurements with your fingers can solve the problem of drawing off the paper's edges. 

Why This Matters

Planning a drawing gives the subject enough room and helps prevent important parts from being cut off. By taking a fe...

DRAWING REFERENCE: A photograph of a face or look at your own face in a mirror!

YOU'LL NEED: drawing paper 9x12 inches or copy paper, pencil, eraser, mirror

Hi and Welcome!

Faces are one of the most interesting things artists draw. Every face is unique, but most faces are built using the same basic shapes and guidelines. In this lesson, you'll learn a simple method for drawing a face. In art, this is called a portrait. 

Today You Will

Learn how to draw a face using an oval shape and a few simple guide lines. You'll discover how artists place the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and hair in the correct locations.

What You'll Discover

1. Faces Begin with Simple Shapes

Artists can draw a quick sketch of a face starting with an oval, perhaps to put on their figure drawing or they can draw just the face along with the neck and shoulders.

2. Features Have a Place

The eyes, nose, mouth, and ears are not placed randomly. Learning where these features belong helps create a realistic and balan...

DRAWING REFERENCE: A photograph of two or more people.

YOU'LL NEED: drawing paper 9x12 inches or copy paper, pencil, eraser.

Hi and Welcome!

Drawing a group of people can seem challenging at first, but it becomes much easier when you start with simple shapes. In this lesson, you'll learn how artists organize several figures within one scene and use their understanding of shapes to create a drawing that feels balanced and believable.

Today You Will

Practice drawing a group of people from real life or a photograph. You'll use just a few lines to establish the placement of each figure and then refine the drawing by adjusting the lines, proportions, and details.

What You'll Discover

1. Shapes Help You Plan a Scene

Before drawing details, artists look for the large shapes that make up each figure and decide where those figures will fit on the page. This helps create a strong composition.

2. Artists Refine Their Drawings

Drawing is a process of observation and adjustment. You may d...

DRAWING REFERENCE: A photograph of a person or use your imagination!

YOU'LL NEED: drawing paper 9x12 inches or copy paper, pencil, eraser

Hi and Welcome!

Did you know that artists can draw many different kinds of people using the same simple shapes? By changing the size, shape, and position of a few basic forms, you can create all kinds of characters and poses.

Today You Will

Learn how to use ovals, trapezoids, rectangles, and triangles to create different types of people. You'll discover how small changes to these shapes can completely change the way a figure looks.

What You'll Discover

1. One Set of Shapes, Many Possibilities

The same basic shapes can be used to draw children, adults, tall people, short people, and many other kinds of figures.

2. Shapes Can Show Movement

By tilting and changing the position of your shapes, you can create figures that look like they are walking, reaching, sitting, or standing.

3. Proportions Change a Figure

Making shapes longer, shorter...

DRAWING REFERENCE: A photograph of a person standing.

YOU'LL NEED: drawing paper 9x12 inches or copy paper, pencil, eraser

Hi and Welcome!

People are one of the most popular subjects to draw because they help us tell stories with our art. In this lesson, you'll learn a simple way to draw people by building them with basic shapes.

Today You Will

Learn how to use ovals, rectangles, trapezoids, and triangles to create a shape person. 

What You'll Discover

 1. How you can make a shape figure and add clothing details to make anyone you want.

2. How you can change the shapes positions to make your character move and bend to show action.

Why This Matters

People are often the main characters in our drawings. A simple stick figure can show that a person is present, but it cannot tell us much about who that person is. When you build figures with shapes, you create a body that can wear clothing, carry objects, and show details that help tell your story. 

Enjoy this lesson and have...

DRAWING REFERENCE: APPLES AND ROUND FRUIT

YOU'LL NEED:  drawing paper or copy paper torn to a few inches larger than the size of your object, pencil, eraser, apple or other fruit

Hi and Welcome!

You've already learned how to find the shapes of objects and use them to create more accurate drawings. Today, you'll discover a new way of seeing that artists use all the time.

When we look at an object, such as a piece of fruit, we usually focus on the object itself. Artists call these the positive shapes. But there is another important shape to notice—the empty spaces around and between the objects. These are called negative shapes.

By studying both the positive and negative shapes, artists can check their drawing and make it more accurate. Looking at the empty spaces may feel unusual at first, but it can help you see your drawing in a completely new way!

Today You Will:

• Draw the shapes of the fruit or objects you see.
• Look for the empty spaces between and around the objects.
• Comp...

DRAWING REFERENCE: small oranges

YOU'LL NEED: 2 sheets of paper torn to about 6x6 inches, pencil, eraser, two Mandarin oranges or similar fruit object.

Hi and Welcome!

Today you'll learn an important skill that artists use to make their drawings look more realistic.

When we think about an orange, we might imagine a perfect circle. But when we carefully observe a real orange, we notice that it has unique shapes, bumps, curves, and details. Artists learn to draw what they actually see, not just what they know about an object.

In this lesson, you'll practice comparing sizes and distances to help place your drawing in the correct position on the page. I've included a cut orange to make the arrangement more interesting and to give you different shapes to observe.

Remember, you can also use fruit pieces, slices, or different arrangements to create your own unique drawing.

Today You Will:

• Carefully observe the fruit arrangement.
• Compare sizes and distances between objects and the e...