Drawing from Observation

Drawing from Observation

1.  Geometric forms: spherical, cylindrical, cubic, conical objects (bottles, lamps, tissue boxes, etc.)

2.  Produce: Fruits & vegetables

3.  Food

4.  A look inside: opened locker, closet, drawer, purse, backpack, medicine cabinet

5.  Something that symbolizes you

6.  Part of a room: bedroom, bathroom, kitchen

7.  Themed still life: kitchen utensils, office supplies, technology gadgets

8.  An object with its shadow

9.  Your pet sleeping

10.  Everyday moments: breakfast, cafeteria lunch, homework

11.  Reflections: in the mirror self-portrait, eyes, mouths, noses, or a shiny object with a reflective surface

12.  Draw what you see where you are sitting

13.  Stuff found in a garage

14.  Holidays: Halloween candy, stack of presents, Christmas ornaments and lights, pumpkins and gourds, menorah

15.  Found faces: objects that look like faces- plumbing parts, etc.

16.  Fabrics: fabrics & folds, crinkled paper bag, favorite plaid shirt, backpack or purse

17.  Furniture

18.  Writing utensils

19.  Outdoors: flowers in the garden, pinecones, leaves, insects, trees

20.  Things that hang

21.  Architecture: your house, a shed, gazebo, part of the school, a deck or patio

22.  Patterns and textures: tree bark, pine cones, hair or fur, something carved

23.  Gadgets: iPods, cell phones, laptops, electrical cords

24.  Garbage: yuck.

25.  Office supplies

Drawing from Imagination

1.  Draw from an artist’s work: Try to recreate the composition, medium, techniques, etc. Include credit line information.

2.  Try a new technique: use the artists’ sketchbooks links. Find an interesting style and recreate it. Label with artist’s name, medium and web address.

3.  Draw and color an unusual object melting (can’t be an object that usually melts like ice cream, snow)

4.  Design a costume or disguise

5.  New comic book characters

6.  A page from a comic: illustrate a moment in your life through your own comic or graphic novel page.

7.  Figure drawing: look at references or create your own people walking, dancing, sitting, eating, etc.

8.  Draw your favorite animal mixed with your favorite food.

9.  Dreamscape: candy land, an indoor zoo, a castle with dragons, the new and improved Main Street, Saugerties, etc.

10.  Mix & match: a giraffe with plaid golf pants, a jail cell baby nursery, a snake that turns into an electric cord, etc.

11.  Find typography you like and copy it freehand.

12.  Magazine drawing: find an image from a magazine to draw from. Change it or try a new medium to color it.

13.  Illustrate a song

14.  Inventions: neck tie iPod, etc. make it into an advertisement

15.  Literal translations: ‘Lend me your ear” take a quote or a popular saying and illustrate it literally.

16.  Typography: take the lettering of your favorite logos and write your name or other phrases with them

17.  Advertisements: Take the layout for a movie poster or ad and use it to make a new or crazy poster.

18.  Change of style: take one object and draw it in 8 different styles, angles, etc.

19.  Your alter ego: draw yourself as the opposite of who you usually are: a book worm, party punk, sports jock, glamour model

20.  An ant’s point of view

21.  Draw a scene from a store you would like to own

22.  Super doodle page

Artist Research

These are awesome resources to discover artists, and get ideas for your imagination drawings as well.

http://www.googleartproject.com

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/

http://www.theartstory.org