Lesson At A Glance

A brief overview of each step. Buttons jump to each section for detailed information.

15 Min – Quick sketch of feet in charcoal.

10 Min – Tree drawing

7 Min – Discuss The Amazing Shrinking Finger!

10 Min – Use color-border square

15 Min – Use tricks to draw cube

25 Min – Draw using viewpoint

2 Min – Everyone helps

Preface

Today we’re teaching how to draw one of the most basic shapes, the cube. However, this is really about perspective, and seeing past the preconceptions our brains put in our way and that prevent accuracy.

While the system of artist’s perspective is a great tool, it is very complex, and uses the analytical, non-creative part of the brain. It is extremely difficult for artists to truly understand perspective drawing.

Why is that? I believe it’s because it is nearly impossible for anyone to work out of both the creative and the analytical parts of the brain at the same time. So, to use the system takes training and discipline to jump back and forth between these two modes of thinking, at just the right times. Learning it takes time and dedication on a level that is simply not possible for most young people. Even the most ambitious and brilliant kids will not be able to try this until the age of 15 or more.

So we just don’t go there. What we want to do though, is to help young artists draw more accurately, as easily as possible, and to prepare them for perspective when they are ready to learn such a complex system. Our approach is concrete and simple, using ideas that are familiar, and with visual demonstrations that are fun and sometimes surprising.

There are 3 core concepts

1. VIEWPOINT

First, we have re-named perspective as viewpoint drawing, and placed an emphasis on the specific position of the eye in relation to the subject, as the source of every viewpoint. This is a much more concrete way to think about the idea of perspective.

Most people believe that you draw things from your knowledge of them, and the idea that drawing “without even looking” is more impressive than careful observation, persists against all evidence to the contrary. Every subject has millions of different viewpoints in the 3-dimensional space around it. Your eye can move near and far, up and down, and also right and left. Even a small change in viewpoint can significantly change how an object is drawn. The problem is that most artists draw from memories of multiple viewpoints, and also incorporate misconceptions about objects – such as the fact that a cube has a perfectly square side instead of seeing the diamond shape in front of you.

It can be a real battle to overcome these drawing obstacles. Kids will do this in their own time, not yours. Just be patient today and lay some groundwork.

2. THINGS GET SMALLER (when they are farther from your eye)

Everyone intuitively knows this, so it’s a great starting point. Our brains compensate for perspective though, and we cannot quite see the amount of difference without training. We show how things actually get much smaller than you think. Then we apply this easy to remember concept to drawing shapes accurately.

3. THINGS GET FLATTER (when they are closer to the height of your eye)

Another thing that our brains compensate for when we look at things, is how much things get flatter the higher they are (until they are the same height as our eyes and become a flat line). Add to this, the fact that the ground, and tables, are all flat. This causes us to flatten things backwards, making things flatter the closer they are to the flat ground, and less flat when they are close to our eye height. Even the old masters struggled with this one!

Together, these 3 concepts will be much more likely to improve the accuracy of your student’s drawings than trying to teach 1-point, 2-point, vanishing points, horizon lines, and divisions. We’ve tried to make it as fun as possible.

Because the world needs happy artists.
Dennas Davis

SCROLL & TEACH

LESSONPLAN

Each section is a different color. Read over once and then you can SCROLL & TEACH using any device you like. It’s designed to work best with your phone.

Everyone uses the picture (or a real cube), to make a large sketch in ONLY 5 MINUTES.

On a blank horizontal (bathtub position) page in their sketch pads, have students divide the page in two with a line down the center. Then they will draw a quick large sketch of a clear cube on the left side (either from life or from the reference above). Tell students to make the cube about 5 or 6 inches high and don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfectly accurate, just to do the best they can right now.

When finished, make sure these stay intact because the other side of the page is used in STEP 7. Late arrivals will need to do this first instead of the feet sketch in STEP 2.

Students will draw a quick sketch of their feet in charcoal, one smaller than the other.

Have everyone draw a quick sketch of their left foot in charcoal on the left side of the paper (barefoot or with shoes on, you can choose which you are comfortable with, but young students like to take their shoes off). The sketch needs to be as large as possible. To shade, students can use hatch shading.  Now draw the right foot to the right on the same page, but make it smaller than the first. Doesn’t it look farther away?

Clean up all charcoal before moving on to the next step. Students should wash their hands, put their charcoal away, and wipe down tables with the wet paper towel.

Use the handout to discuss Fact-based drawings vs Viewpoint drawings.

Start without the handout, having students follow your instructions, not looking at the pictures. If you give the page out ahead of time, have everyone turn it over for the first drawing.

Show students that “Things Get Smaller” by having them draw 2 trees.

Have everyone find a clean sheet of sketch paper in their pad. Then have them draw a tall and skinny simple cartoon tree, and imagine that it is 50 feet high. Now draw another 50 foot tree just like it, that is way, way, way off in the distance.

Use a color-sided square to demonstrate how “things get flatter” the closer they are to eye level.

Have students follow your instructions using the prints and closing one eye.

Students will get some tips and tricks to draw a new cube on the page from STEP 1. 

Walk the class through the handout and the tips & tricks.

3 cube tricks.

Have students take out their first sketch of the cube and get ready to draw a new one on the right side, using these tricks. If the drawing gets really hard to see from erasing and old lines, they can use an oil pastel to redraw the final lines bolder.

You can talk them through the 3 tricks, or let students study themselves for a moment before beginning. Don’t skip it though!

Encourage plenty of erasing and adjusting for accuracy.

1. Lower the bottom point
   We almost always draw the front bottom middle point too high. lower it a bit. You are fighting the fact that your brain says to you, “the table is flat”.
2. Lower the top point
   We almost always draw the back middle point too high as well. Make it lower, so your top is flatter. It is closer to your eye height, so it gets flatter.
3. Raise the right and left bottom corners.
   We almost always draw the vertical sides too big. They are farther away, so make them smaller by raising the bottom points.”

Let everyone spend a few minutes drawing a cube or two on their own, using the two handouts and the tricks they have learned. Remind them to start lightly and erase and redraw until it looks more accurate. They can also use measuring with their pencil to make sure they draw smaller lines when they are farther away, and flatter shapes when they are closer to their eye height.

Walk around and help students as they work. When finished, tell students to compare the first drawing to see how much they’ve improved.

Students will make guidelines using a pencil with no shading. Then switch to charcoal and make a nice sketch using hatch shading technique. The underlying structure of the guidelines using the concepts learned today, will allow a loose sketch to look awesome. Make sure they don’t smudge away all of the shading technique, and create good light and dark areas.

If a student has significant discomfort handling charcoal, they can use the side of an Ebony pencil tip instead. Early finishers may have artists choice or try a pencil drawing of another viewpoint reference.

Students clean up their work area.

• Wash hands
• Put art supplies away
• Wipe tables & toss trash
• Remove any smocks (last)
• Check for items on floors and tables

Print all of your PDFs from the lesson plan and cut any references apart as needed.

STUDENT’S

MATERIALS

• 14″ x 17″ Sketch Paper
• 2B Pencil
• 4B Pencil
• White Eraser
• Charcoal
• Kneaded Eraser
• Ebony Pencil

Week 13: Birdhouse Drawings

Students will create a detailed drawing of an old weathered birdhouse. If possible, the birdhouses used should be real-life objects, but photos are provided. Steps for preparing, using the 3 steps to accuracy, making guide-lines, and pencil techniques are all practiced to create a finished work. A few fun short projects for early finishers are also included.

Week 14: Little Patches Watercolor

Students will create a square-shaped watercolor, that is divided into a grid design. Each smaller area (rectangles and squares), becomes a tiny little painting, drawn and painted in watercolors. This will employ the small glaze technique, and makes it easy since there are no large areas to worry about. The whole work is made up of painting patches, and each painting is made up of patches of color.