30 Minute Sketching - Keep it Simiple

30 Minute Art - Sketching
By Alwyn Crawshaw

We've finally made it my final blog of this book, in this meeting I will look into Crawshaw's final major tip on sketching keeping it simple and quick. How he puts it into words is that "a non-painter sees everything, but an artist sees only what is important to his or her sketch" (Crawshaw 41). Using a few methods can bring up the habit of simplifying things more. For the most effective way would be too use only a long hold, as making it difficult to draw would drive you to putting in too much detail or putting any irrelevant details (Crawshaw 42). 

For this final drawing I will finally time myself to the 30 minute limit, it will be a simple small forest with a dirt road. I used a 2B pencil too put in detail and make out the drawing, while buffering it with a 6B pencil to make quick and quality shading. Coming out was this final product.

Alwyn Crawshaw's 30 Minute Art book, has probably been the most helpful tool I've gotten to improve my capabilities in drawing. To finally end off I want to know what has been the most helpful system of knowledge whether it is a book, website, or video?

Layering

Guide to Coloring~ Layering Colors 

Why color a picture with just one color when you can use three or more colors and tools to create a great layer effect! Layering is a way to artistically combine different media on top of one another to create a mixed-media piece. Layering incorporates different tools like markers, pencils and pens into one single picture. One thing to keep in mind when layering is that it is all about experimenting, all brands of markers, pencils and pens are slightly different in their colors and quality, so this is where you would experiment what color best layers with the other (Couch 77). Only by experimenting can you determine what different layering combinations work and which you like.

Before starting to layer on your picture you should do some test experiments. Some things that work best when layering include gel pen on colored pencils, gel pen on markers or colored pencils on markers. Here are some examples from the book...

Here are some that I did. Both 1 and 2 are gel pens layered on markers and 3 and 4 are gel pens layered on colored pencils. For my colors, the gel pens worked best on the colored pencils but still have a nice and dark impact on the markers. It brings a tint and shade sort of layering on the markers.

One last thing to consider, "...is whether the entire piece will include layering or whether just a specific area will and are you going to use a combination of markers and colored pencils over the entire piece..." (Couch 79). You should always know exactly what colors you are going to use to layer and where because if you decide to layer some colors on the spot, some just simply will not look layered due to the colors not quite fitting together.

Step 1

Step 2

For my picture here I decided to use colored pencils on a marker. First you would use your lighter color (my marker) and color in the picture lightly. Next you shade with the darker color (for me this was my colored pencil). As you see the picture in step 2 got a bit more darker and you can see the layers.


Lastly you can add a third layer with a nice alternative or corresponding color. I did this with the use of a dark blue metallic gel pen. This gave the drawing a nice shiny layer.

Step 3 is the last and optional step.

Here is another example I did. I used the same tings as before. First a light marker and then a darker colored pencil. Lastly the optional step by adding some dots with a gel pen. The gel pen accents create highlights and more dimension to the picture (Couch 80). Gel pens or even a third layer are not required at all, but to give your drawing a more lively image you can add them in small parts where necessary to create the little layered illusion.

Do you think layering adds another dimension to a picture? Do you prefer any ways  to layer your colors or coloring tools?


Couch, Peg. New Guide to Coloring for Crafts, Adult Coloring Books, and Other Coloristas!: Tips, Tricks, and      Techniques for All Skill Levels! Fox Chapel Pub Co Inc, 2016.

30 Minute Sketching - Still life

30 Minute Art - Sketching
By Alwyn Crawshaw

Further through the book, Crawshaw recommends making quick still-life drawings in order to practice/improving your ability to make fast sketches (Crawshaw 32). He also says to be "bold and positive" avoiding outlines as it will lower the quality of your sketch making it look "weak and lifeless," (Crawshaw 32).

This is my first still life sketch I've made and it came out well, took me a little over half an hour so it wasn't truly 30 minute art but it's probably the fastest I've ever made a drawing in.

The still life was actually pretty fun and relaxing to make, I'll definitely be making more from now on mostly of flowers they are very beautiful to sketch. Now being further in I'd like to know what you've been sketching, specifically into still life's and how have you been enjoying it?

30 Minute Sketching - Using different grades effectively

30 Minute Art - Sketching
By Alwyn Crawshaw

Straight after positioning Crawshaw goes into the different gradients of pencils specifically the B grade pencils. Beginning with a 2B pencil "For this sketch I used a 2B pencil, which allowed me to draw some detail in the trees" (Crawshaw 18). In his second sketch he used a 3B pencil describing it to be much faster at making the sketch but at the cost of the quality of the sketch due to the use of a softer lead (Crawshaw 19). Replicating a drawing for the last time using a 6B pencil, "Because the 6B has a very soft lead it is not easy to draw detail, but it is easy to shade in areas quickly to create a simplified image" (Crawshaw 18). Instead of replicating a drawing three times, I opted to utilize all three of the pencil grades to effectively make a single sketch.

With the 3B pencil I was able to very effectively make a base structure with branches in slight detail.

Leading up with a 2B pencil I drew in some twigs, also fixing up the base structure to be much more detailed.

Finalizing the drawing I put some light shading on with a 6B pencil drawing in the light from the left.

I was extremely satisfied with this drawing up to now I believe this is the most improvement I have seen. Finding the difference in gradience has been probably the biggest eye opener to towards all types of drawing, as everything seems so much better using each separate pencil to improve my sketches. Coming this far I'd like to know how much you have learned not only from my posts but also in your own time from different books?

30 Minute Sketching - Styles/Techniques

30 Minute Art - Sketching
By Alwyn Crawshaw

Next I would like to talk about the different positions/styles that are available to sketch, and how to use them effectively. In order to use your pencil most effectively you're going to need to learn at least the three basic positions (Crawshaw 16). Crawshaw goes on to short detail of the three positions Short hold, Long hold, and Flat. In addition an eraser can help in the drawing process of sketching, as when shading an eraser can help lighten areas when needed (Crawshaw 16).

Testing out the techniques I started with a long hold using a 3B pencil to set out a base structure, base of the tree and the branches

After using a short hold I put a more definitive structure to the sketch, and making the twigs of the tree done with a 2B pencil.

To finish the drawing using a 6B flat hold pencil I added some shading.

I remember the times I used to sketch before this since then I would use a mechanical pencil and really only use a close short hold even for the shading. But in the last week I can say my skills in drawing have very much improved. Ending another I'd like to ask how much you've improved in skills and what has changed since then?

Flute Techniques: Part 5 Wrapping it all up

Flute Concertino (Cécile Chaminade)

Among flautists, legend has it that Chaminade wrote the Concertino to punish a flute-playing lover after he left her to marry someone else, wanting to make a piece so fiendishly difficult that he could not play it (though he supposedly did manage). 

To wrap up all of my blogs with this piece, this was one of the most difficult songs that I have ever played. Even to this day. I tend to struggle with some sections. But in the video below, it shows how far I have managed to go with only three months of practice. I decided to only perform bits of the piece because it wouldn't be as engaging to listen to the whole seven minute song. (This a five page song)

Corresponding to the second video, "the trill (or shake) consists of the rapid alternation of two tones. They are represented by the printed noted (called the principal note) and the next tone above in the diatonic scale. The interval between the two tones may be either a half-step or a whole-step," (Gower and Voxman, 60). Throughout this song, there are a variety of different musical elements represented, such as the trill.

What was the hardest piece you have ever played? (And to non-musicians) What genre do you think is the hardest to perform?

Drawing: Body

            For my last and final blog of drawing, I decided to go with the idea of my first drawing and draw another person. This time I decided to draw the body and not the face. I draw faces all the time, so i took it up a notch and drew a young girl who with our perspective has her back turned to us. The book The Usborne Complete Book of Drawing by Alastair Smith and Judy Tatchell, accompanied and navigated me throughout my process and journey of the piece I drew.
          The first thing I obviously need to draw is the outline of the body. In the book it states, "Begin your drawings of whole figures by marking a sketch of the body, using pencil. Start your sketch by drawing the rough shapes of the main body parts" (smith, Tatchell 10). In the drawing I first started with the basic shape of a head which is not circle but kind of like an oval. As I went along I drew the neck which will eventually be covered up and the the shoulders. The arms that I drew were not straight but they were slightly tilted inward as if she were holding her hands together. At first I drew her main body as a rectangle, lightly with a pencil before I added curves. The book gives very critical advice. Before i drew this piece I tried drawing a body before but it didn't turn out the way I expected because I tried drawing the clothes and everything, I didn't start out with the basics.
         The second and most important thing in my opinion is the stance or pose the body has. The stance of the girl I drew is with her back towards us as i mentioned before. The great tip that the book gave was that when they said, illustrating poses and proportions is exaggerating the drawing of the body. To emphasize the drawing, there can be different styles of clothes such as ones that are elegant  or comfortable (Smith, Tatchell 18). I took the advice from the book and gave a girl a pretty and flowing dress with an intricate design. I drew a dress that was strapless and her hair was down so you couldn't see her whole back. I drew a band around her upper waist and then the design below that.
       All in all I think the drawing turned out superb. This was the first time I drew a person without the face showing and I am glad i took the risk and learned how to draw more. I would like to say that drawing is not always my forte. I only draw good when i'm in the mood to draw and I can't be forced to draw. Over this 3 moth period, I found time when I was in the mood to draw, and drew these pictures with all my effort and focus. Hopefully to your eyes they turned out good.

How would you say this drawing turned out?
Do you like the drawing without the face or would you have preferred it with the face?
If there is anything i can change, fix, and add what would it be?

Smith, Alastair, and Judy Tatchel. The Usborne Complete Book of Drawing. Usborne Pub., 2009.

Drawing: Grass-Like Flowers

Well, we made it! The very last post of this blog! I have learned so much about myself as an artist and the methods that work for when I am doodling. For the final pictures, I decided to draw some flowers. But unlike other flowers that are in the shape of bushes or grow on trees, these flowers live among the grass and have similar characteristics. To start, I drew a flower called a rape blossom. The leaves of this plant are actually edible, and the seeds can be used to make oil. How handy! To draw this flower, I first drew buds of the flower in the foreground, followed by the background. I then drew the stem of the plant, and finally, I added leaves and seeds to the stem, alternating from the top down (Umoto 26). In drawing this picture, I included most of the techniques that I focused on in my other posts: step by step process, detail, complex images, and shapes. This really helped me to incorporate everything in to one piece and produce something that fits into many artistic categories. For the second drawing, I sketched pampas grass. In this doodle, I mainly focused on detail and the step by step process to create the end result. To create this image, "1. Decide the direction of the wind before drawing the stalks. 2. Draw the outline of the plumes fluttering in the wind. 3. Draw the defining lines in each plume one by one and the leaves" (Umoto 70). Following the given instructions and attempting multiple times to sketch the perfect flower, I finally completed this doodle and was satisfied with the result. I am proud of the accomplishments I have made during these past couple months, and I think that I will go forward using what I have learned and applying it to my daily life.

Would you rather draw flowers like the ones in this post or ones in the shape of bushes and trees? Why?

Umoto, Sachiko. Illustration School: Let's Draw Plants and Small Creatures. Quarry Books, 2010.

Blending Techniques

Guide to Coloring ~ Dry & Wet Blending

Awhile back I did a post on how to blend colors in the most basic way. Today I'll be sharing some bit more stepped up ways to blend. As I got further into the chapter on blending, it talked about 4-5 more ways to blend your colors on a drawing or piece.

There are many techniques that help utilize your blending and allow it to appear smooth and neat! One type is called dry blending. Dry blending basically means what it says, it is where you do not use any wet or liquid forms to blend your colors instead you would use a tool or item that is different that what you used to color with (Couch 72). There can be many tools that can be used for dry blending, like paper towels or tissues and colorless blending pencils.

For my dry blending I decided to use a paper towel. "This technique is best used with colored pencils...it can produce smooth, even, clean-looking surface in your coloring and can often remove the visible pencil strokes that pencil blending sometimes leaves on..." (Couch 72).  Blunt blending is one of the most simplest techniques in the dry blending category. It turns your drawings into nice finished picture that turn out really clean and beautiful.           

  

First I drew a basic picture, if you
can't tell its the top of an umbrella.
Then you color in the picture staring
with the darker color on the outer side
and work your way down with lighter
colors. It can be messy!

Here is the final result as you can
see by comparing this to the first
picture the colors are much more
blended out and smoothed together.
You can not see many of the
marks from the coloring before!

The blunt blending was done within a minute, all you need to do is get a paper towel and rub all over the colors you want to blend one at a time on your picture. Make sure to apply some pressure for better results. In the end you get a very nice subtle effect.











In addition to dry blending, there is another way to blend called wet blending. Just as the name suggests, wet blending is done with some sort of liquid. Before beginning a good tip is to make sure you have a thick enough paper for wet blending because sometimes the liquid may bleed through (Couch 73). Wet blending tools include water, rubbing alcohol and colorless blending markers. If you are new and do not have many tools i always suggest going with the easiest tool available, like water, which I will be using.

When using water it is called Water blending. "Depending on the color medium you are using, something as simple as water and a stiff paintbrush may work best for wet blending...coloring tools such as crayons or wax-based colored pencils wont work with water" (Couch 73). When doing water blending, waxed colors are not the best ones to use, you should go with watercolor pencils and water-based markers or even pastels at times for best results.

First start by coloring your picture,
again use darker on the outer and
lighter on the inner. Does not have
to be nice coloring. Just start by
placing colors at a certain part.

Next you can use a Q-tip and dip
it into water or rubbing alcohol.
Then gently start blending your
colors by area. Increase pressure
and add more water if needed to
get the effect that you want. Repeat
this process to other areas of colors
you want to blend.

Here is the finished picture! I went
back and blended the center as well.
The colors all blended nicely and
mixed well. You can still see how
 it goes from darker to light but
 in a more toned and mixed way.

As you can see there are many more ways to blend your colors on your drawings. These two methods required some extra tools that can be easily found around your house. Simple blending where you just use two colors is really nice and easy, but these pick it up and show other unique blending styles. Even though they may take a bit more time, the outcome is worth it!

Do you think the two color transition blend is much nicer or do you think the wet and dry blending give a picture more depth?

Do you know any other ways to blend your colors?

Couch, Peg. New Guide to Coloring for Crafts, Adult Coloring Books, and Other Coloristas!: Tips, Tricks, and      Techniques for All Skill Levels! Fox Chapel Pub Co Inc, 2016.

30 Minute Sketching - The Starter Kit

30 Minute Art - Sketching
By Alwyn Crawshaw

To start Crawshaw introduces how sketching is done which is not to really be a perfect or presentable piece. How he puts it "There is no pressure on you, because you are not painting for an exhibition or to please your friends or family; you are sketching for your own enjoyment" (Crawshaw 7). They can be done just wandering about outside finding a place to sit down for awhile and just get to drawing, or in my case a fabricated scenery or even a single object. This style of drawing is actually one of the best ways of making art, as many artist have produced beautiful pieces topping even their exhibition art. For now I would like to just be able to improve my capabilities of drawing going more into depth/perspective and scenic drawings, maybe I'll try to make a masterpiece of my own another time.

Now comes equipment, before this book I would generally make random sketches with a 0.7 mm. lead pencil. The recommended sketching kit would be a 2B, 3B, and 6B pencil and optionally a Kneaded Eraser, and a small sketchpad and really works but I had used Strathmore while Crawshaw had used Daler-Rowney sketchpads.

I tested out the pencils by making a few lines, small patches of shading and small sketches of trees to test between the three. 

Starting with the 2B pencil (middle drawing), it felt like it was very precise I could get the smaller details down but it was much harder to shade it very quickly or well due to it being lighter. Then the 3B pencil (bottom right drawing) felt like an in-between of the 2B and 6B it could get details down but not as well as the 2B and it could shade decently but worse than the 6B could. Finally the 6B pencil (bottom left drawing) had me make a more general sketch I did try to put some detail into the sketch, but the shading is probably the best way to use the 6B.

That concludes my first blog, before you leave I want to hear your opinion on supplies do you think that it is necessary to have good supplies to improve your capabilities of drawing?

Flute Techniques: Part 4 Melodic Interpretation

Rhythm generally means a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time can apply to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or frequency of anything from microseconds to millions of years. 

"In rhythmic music in the more rapid tempi (marches, dances, etc.) tones that are equal divisions of the beat are played somewhat detached (staccato). Tones that equal a beat or are multiples of a beat are held full value. Tones followed by rests are usually held full value. This point should be especially observed in slow music," (Gower and Voxman 19). 

Music has always been unique for its' intricate rhythms. Whether it is heavily accented, smooth, or rapid paced, they all create a variety of different feels. 

What do you guys think is the most significant part to music? What makes it unique?

Drawing - Color

               The entire world is painted in color, from the blue sky to the green grass. Imagine a world without color.  It would be gloomy and depressing. Color is one of the most important aspects of a place. Every day we look at hundreds of different shades. I decided the topic of my last post should be color.

             

             A surprising fact is that color doesn’t really exist. It’s just a reflection of light. During the seventeenth century Isaac Newton did an experiment using a prism and a white light. He discovered that objects actually have no real color, they merely absorbed light rays, and the color that wasn’t absorbed is reflected to our eyes. (Lauer 226).

               

              There are hundreds of different color properties, but I decided to focus on using cool and warm colors. David Lauer, author of the book Design Basics, explains the concept of warm colors saying, “Touching an area of red will assuredly not burn your hand, but looking at red will induce a feeling of warmth” (Lauer 239). Warm colors are reds, yellows, and anything similar to these. You think of warm things when you see them like the sun, or a fire. Cool colors are blues, greens, and purples. In contrast to being reminded of heat, cool colors remind you of ice or snow.

              

           I wasn't sure what I wanted to draw, so I turned to Google for inspiration. Eventually, I decided to draw scenery with hills and a beautiful sunset in the background. First, I lightly drew an outline of where I wanted everything to be with a pencil. Then I drew out three trees with a black sharpie. Next, I colored in the hills with colors like green blue and purple. Finally, I drew a sun and colored the sky with yellow, orange, pink, and red. The warm sky, contrasts the cool hills. I really enjoyed not only learning more about using color in art, but also a scientific background on what color was.

Do you prefer to use color, or leave your drawings black and white?

Where do you see color in the world?

Lauer, David A. Design Basics. third ed., Thomson Learning, 1990.

Drawing: lettering

         I have created many drawings of many different things such as flowers, animals, and human beings, but the side of art I haven't got a chance to explore yet is with words. In all of my drawings I have never added a single word and I know the infamous phrase "pictures speak a thousand words", but adding just 1 word can make the picture speak a thousand and one words. Adding words to a picture or drawing not only enhances the drawing itself, but also gives more depth and meaning to that specific piece of art. Through the tips and techniques from the book The Usborne Complete Book of Drawing by Alastair Smith and Judy Tatchell I have been able to create 2 pieces filled with words that speak to ones heart and a drawings that touches ones soul.
        Sometimes its hard to think about what to write in a drawing but the way I started my drawing was with a heart in the center of the page and then a band going around it with petals and flowers on the outside. The key to this piece was going to be the phrase i was gonna write. In the book, the authors state, "Small letters are just over half as tall as capitals, Small letters sticks and tails extend above and below the guidelines by about the same amount" (Alastair, Tatchell 112). Knowing that smaller letters are smaller than the capital letters is an obvious, but it is still important to show which letters are smaller so they don't all seam big. The Phrase I chose was "Fill Life with Love", it fits into the theme with the heart and the roses but I can also use the tips from the book that fell me about the sticks extending above the guideline and the tails going below the guideline. I wrote in cursive so the only letter that went below the guideline was the smaller letter f.

   I decided to draw 2 drawings for this blog to show that there are many different styles of words that you can incorporate into a piece. The 2nd piece I drew was a little less serious and maybe a little more humorous. In this piece i drew a bee as a picture and then wrote the word happy with an exclamation mark under it. I wanted this piece bring life into someone's eyes so the type of lettering I used was comic lettering. According to the book, this type of lettering is supposed to look like one that has been handwritten, meaning that is could be a little shaky or even a little uneven. And they said we could even use our own handwriting as a starting base (Alastair, Tatchell 118). I used the tip of using my own handwriting as a base to start off my letters. I usually draw most of my letters with like a swoosh in the end such as with an h or a y. So for my lettering in the drawing i decided to go with that technique of mine and even though it didn't come out perfect, it related back to comic lettering since this type of lettering isn't supposed to be so precise and could be shaky or uneven here or there.
      All in all, I would say the letters of both of my pieces came out pretty good. Not at all perfect, but I drew them to the best of my ability and spent my time worthwhile.
     How do you think that my drawings and lettering came out?
     Do you think that adding words to drawings gives more meaning or emphasis?
     If you draw, have you ever added words or will you ever in the future?

Smith, Alastair, and Judy Tatchel. The Usborne Complete Book of Drawing. Usborne Pub., 2009.

Drawing: Strawberries & Lemons

I'm not going to lie, I was definitely thinking about summer when it came to the drawings for this post. Just think about all that delicious lemonade...But no. It's winter, and that means I can only dream about summer. With these doodles, I focused on drawing them step by step as usual, but I also considered the shapes that I was drawing. I really tried to make all the shapes of each step look the same, instead of getting within the ballpark and calling it good. Starting with the strawberry, "1. Draw the outline of the strawberry. 2. Draw the calyx. 3. Draw the little seeds on the surface" (Umoto 86). The general shape of a strawberry is almost like an oval, but with one end pointed a bit more. The top (calyx), leafy bit of the fruit includes a rectangular stem and semi-circle-ish leaves, and the seeds are shaped like mini ovals, filled in. Once finished, I was able to not only see a piece of fruit, but also all of the shapes that make up the doodle. The lemon, however, was a little bit harder. To start, I drew an oval shaped like the lemon. I then drew the protruding parts on each end, and added the spots on the surface, just as directed (Umoto 86). The oval was simple, and so was one end of the lemon, which was just a rectangle. But the other side was tricky. I had to draw a little wave, that almost looked like a really stretched out letter "m". It took me a few tries to get this bit to my satisfaction, but I managed. The last step, adding the spots, was similar to step 3 of drawing a strawberry, so it was not too challenging. Shapes are everywhere in the world; every object is a shape or a combination of them. Overall, I was pleased with the outcome and my ability to think about and identify the shapes in each of these pictures that have me longing for that summer sun.

Take an object or two that you see everyday; what shapes contribute to this object? If you were to draw it, would it be easier to draw the shapes that it's made of or try to draw the whole object at once?

Umoto, Sachiko. Illustration School: Let's Draw Plants and Small Creatures. Quarry Books, 2010.

Drawing - Scale/ Proportion

          After looking through what techniques were left in my book Design Basics by David A. Lauer, I decided to try drawing something with different scales/proportions for my next piece. These two words are very similar, as they both relate to size, however are slightly different “Scale essentially is another word for size; ‘large scale’ is a way of saying big, and ‘small scale’ means small… Proportion refers to relative size, size measured against other elements or against some mental norm or standard” (Lauer 80). I attempted this technique by drawing a simple flower with a lady bug sitting on one of its petals. The flower is considered large scale because it takes up most of the space on the paper, and takes up most of our visual attention. The lady bug is the small scale, since in comparison with the flower, it is much tinier, and can be looked over at first glance.

          First, I started by sketching the flower. This seems very simple, but I had to draw it twice because I was unhappy with the way the petals looked the first time; some petals were too long, or too wide. Once I was happy with the way the petals looked, I drew the little lady bug. Next, I outlined the pencil lines in black, and colored everything in. This is the first drawing I used color in and I’m really happy with how it turned out.  I feel it made the piece stand out much more.

          Tying this piece pack to my first piece, scale and proportion often go with emphasis and focal point. Large scale is a visual emphasis, and the eye naturally is drawn to the largest figure in a piece, creating a focal point. (Lauer 80). This just shows how everything is connected. Most pieces have multiple art elements or techniques used. Trying out so many new techniques has helped me increase my knowledge and skills on drawing.

Have you ever drawn something using scale and proportion?

What’s your favorite drawing technique?

Lauer, David A. Design Basics. third ed., Thomson Learning, 1990.

drawing and inking animal anatomy: horse face, front leg, and ear

    Over this part of the break I continued to read into chapter 3, which is about horses. "The horse is considered by many to be a living work of art. It combines grace and power in one beautiful package"(Amberlyn72).

Simple geometric outline:

    The title of this one gives away what this section of the chapter is about, but it is just a rough geometric out line of what the head is going to look like by using simple shapes, such as, triangles, squares, circles, and ovals. "Note how the tear duct roughly aligns with the bottom line of the mouth/jaw"(Amberlyn74). 

Rough geometric outline 

Front leg:

    For this section I only drew the front leg just to get the essential understandings. "The horse essentially has one very long "finger" and is walking on its fingernails"(Amberlyn81)" This step by step picture helped me a lot when drawing the front leg and hove. 

Front leg 

Ear:

    The ear of a horse is in a teardrop like shape. "Horses can move their ears to listen to sounds or express emotions" (Amberlyn77). The ear can move in different directions based on its emotions or the situation that it is in.

Basic shape of ear 

Mine

What do you think about my drawing?

Was this information helpful?

What can I improve on?

Any questions?

Drawing - Value

               Over the break I decided to spend my extra time working on improving my drawing skills. For this piece, I created something using value. “Value is simply the artistic form for light and dark” (Lauer 214). To use this technique I drew a feather, making the bottom very dark, and lighter towards the top.

              

             I started by drawing the outline of the feather and created multiple sections inside. Then I filled in the bottom and worked my way up each section, making each one lighter. I used my finger to blend out the pencil and shade the top, so it would flow smoothly. Shading and blending has always scared me, and I never thought my art skills were advanced enough to use, but trying it out really helped me develop my abilities. I found that adding shading and using different blending techniques can make a drawing more realistic and three - dimensional.

              

              Value - contrast is the relationship between areas of dark and light. Since my drawing goes from light to dark in a consecutive order, the contrast between two connecting areas is very small and considered a low-value contrast. (Lauer 214). A high value contrast example would be an area where black and white touch. The difference in these shades is extreme.

            I'm really happy I decided to try something outside of my comfort zone because I was able to learn something new to apply in the future. Now I know a technique that will allow me to create drawings that are more realistic.

Have you ever tried using value in your artwork, and if you have, do you like it?

Do you think adding light and dark elements makes a piece look more realistic?

Lauer, David A. Design Basics. third ed., Thomson Learning, 1990.

Patterning

Guide to Coloring ~ Patterning

A great thing for beginners to make their drawings more intricate and advanced is simply by adding unique and even basic designs to your drawing. This task can seem daunting but in fact it is really quite simple. Patterning involves the use of different shapes and lines to add some nice details to areas of coloring design, all patterns no matter how complicated are made up of basic lines, dots and shapes (Couch 52). If you can draw a square, circle and curvy/wavy lines, you can pattern! Basically whatever shape you can think of can be turned into a pattern.

A pattern in the most basic form would just be a shape or design repeated over and over. It is how you put the pieces together and all the different variations you incorporate that allow unique simple patterns to become diverse advanced ones, all by using simple shapes and ideas. Some examples of basic patterns are...

Mandala templates are very good when working with patterning. "Mandalas in particular are great for patterning because you can repeat patterns in symmetrical areas easily and create a very cohesive, polished final piece without a ton of planning" (Couch 57).  Basically Mandalas are simple drawings like a bird or plant that have already started out with simple basic outlines of the thing being drawn but with plenty of blank space and this is where you would draw all your patterns to make the basic picture much more intricate. I had many examples of Mandala templates in my book, but of course you can always search some up and copy and sketch those down. For example here is mine...

As you can see the picture on the left, I started off with a flower and worked my way outwards by just adding more flower layers. This is the main base aka the Mandala template because it has so much blank spots left for me to add in more design and patterns.

On the picture on the right is where I added some basic curves, lines dots and some squiggles. As you can see the basic flower has become much more detailed and makes the drawing seem much more advanced.

Here is the final result. I am very satisfied with the outcome! I always lacked patience but patterning did not really take up as much time as I thought it would and the best part is that it is quite simple and anyone can do it! As always you can add color to bring the piece to life, but I wanted to focus more on the patterning part for today.

Have you ever tried any forms of patterning? Do you think basic patterns give a piece more attention or does it make it more sloppy? 

Couch, Peg. New Guide to Coloring for Crafts, Adult Coloring Books, and Other Coloristas!: Tips, Tricks, and      Techniques for All Skill Levels! Fox Chapel Pub Co Inc, 2016.

Blending

Guide to Coloring ~ Blending 

By getting further into my New Guide to Coloring book I have learned of another simple technique to make drawings a bit more creative and fancy looking. It is a simple technique called blending. Blending refers to two different things that have a lot of overlap: mixing colors together to create a new color and also seamlessly shifting from one color to another to create a gradient effect (Couch 68). Blending is an essential for more advanced coloring and creates more beautiful, smooth rainbows in your designs. 

Mixing colors is pretty straightforward you just mix two or more colors together to create a new colors. So I will explain more on the transitions and gradients and overall blending finishes. "To use blending to create gradients and transitions...begin working with a light and dark tool of the same color family...the light color will be your base color "(Couch 70). Blending works best with two similar colors from the same color group because then it really gives the effect of two colors colliding and mixing together. Colored pencils are best to use when starting out this technique, the colors have have chosen are a light and dark green. I will be trying something fairly simple by blending a leaf.

Base Step: First you start by coloring your 

drawing (start simple like my leaf) with 

your light color over the entire area you 

want to blend. 

Next Step: Once your satisfied with the base layer use your dark shade to color lightly from the middle of your base color toward one edge of the shape. As you move further away from the area of the base shade apply more pressure to your pencil.

Last Step: Once you have added your darker color go
back with your light base color and color over the entire
area you've previously colored with the darker shade.
Redo process if needed ti create a nice and even coat of your color,
blending from light to dark. 

Here is the final result, as you can see
the leaf is darker at the bottom and
slowly starts to lighten up causing the
gradient and transitioning effect. 

Do you think its simpler to just mix two colors or blend the colors with the transition method? 

Do you have any favorite techniques you use in your coloring's/drawings? 

Couch, Peg. New Guide to Coloring for Crafts, Adult Coloring Books, and Other Coloristas!: Tips, Tricks, and      Techniques for All Skill Levels! Fox Chapel Pub Co Inc, 2016.

Flute Techniques: Part 3 Turns

In music, a turn is an ornament/embellishment. These are musical flourishes (added notes) that are not essential to carry the overall line of the melody (or harmony), but serve instead to decorate or "ornament" that line, provide added interest and variety, and give the performer the opportunity to add expressiveness to a song or piece.

The music that I play today rarely consists of turns. So I lack the ability to do turns due to the lack of practicing them, even though it's a simple topic. Even though they rarely appear, it is a good technique to learn about in order to become a better musician.


What to play based on where a turn is located:

• To the right of the note - the principal tone is held (almost to full value), then the turn is played just before the next melody tone.
• Between a dotted note and another note having the same value as the dot - the turn is played with the last note of the turn taking the place of the dot, making two notes of the same value. The turn sign after a dotted note will indicate that one melody note lies hidden in the dot.
• Over a note - the tones are usually played quickly, and the fourth tone is then held until the time value of the note has expired.

(Gower and Voxman 64)

(Left to right) Turn, Inverted Turn (2)

Whenever you play your instrument, it

is good to have a comfortable posture

which will help produce quality sound.

The Turn

"The turn consists of four tones: the next scale tone above the principal tone, the principal tone itself, the tone below the principal tone, and the principal tone again." (Gower and Voxman 64)

Inverted Turn

"In the inverted turn, the order of tones is reversed, the lowest one coming first, the principal next, the highest third and the principal tone again, last." (Gower and Voxman 64)

What do you guys think about the idea of the turn (inverted or not)? Do you think that it is beneficial towards the whole piece? Why or why not?