Drawing Kit

Activity 1 - Continuous Line Contour Drawing

Try to draw a self portrait or an object in your home without lifting the pen from the paper. The drawing doesn't need to look realistic, and often, the more abstract it is, the cooler it looks!

What you need:

  • Paper

  • A Pencil or Pen

Begin by choosing a subject for your drawing. A self portrait is often a good place to start, or choose an object in your home. Set your pencil on your paper and begin to draw your subject without ever lifting the pencil from the paper. You will likely have overlapping lines and lines that double back in order to capture all the parts of the subject. Try drawing each subject a few different times on fresh sheets of paper. Each one will come out quite differently as you choose different paths for your pencil.



Activity 2 - Blind Contour Drawing

This activity is similar to our continuous line drawing exercise, but you won’t be looking at your paper!

What you need:

  • Paper

  • A Pencil or pen

For this drawing, you will begin by setting your pen on your paper; maintain a continuous line (don't lift up that pen!), and try to draw an object without looking at your drawing until it is finished. Keep your vision on the object you are trying to draw and just let your pencil or pen flow. These can end up pretty wacky and abstract, but with practice, they can look really cool!



Activity 3 - Charcoal Rub

This activity is a great way to explore materials and ways to use the environment to make art. It will get you up and out looking for places to do different charcoal rubs.

What you need:

  • Your Vine Charcoal

  • Paper

This activity is about getting up and finding surfaces that you can use to create patterns on your paper. Begin looking around your house or outside for surfaces with lots of texture. Then lay your paper on the textured surface and gently rub your charcoal across paper. You should start to see the texture of the object come through onto your paper! Play around with as many different textured objects you can find.

If you want to take it to the next level, see how you can incorporate these textures into a larger, more complete drawing.



Activity 4 - Reductive Drawings

This process has you draw by taking charcoal away from the page. You will use your eraser to draw the image. It can be quite messy so be prepared to get charcoal dust on your hands and around your working space. (it will wash off).

What you need:

  • Your Charcoal

  • Paper

  • Eraser

  • Newspaper, cardboard or plastic bag to put your drawing on and keep from making a mess.

You will begin by coloring your entire paper black with charcoal. The best way to do this is by taking your piece of charcoal and turning it on its side, applying pressure, shade evenly across the entire page. Usually the darker you can get the page the better result, but this is something you can explore; sometimes a lighter shade of grey is preferable. Once your page is completely shaded, take your eraser and begin to draw an image by removing charcoal. Practice mastering the versatility of your eraser, using the corner, the largest side, and the edge to create different lines and achieve your drawing.



Activity 5 - Drawing Shadows

What you need:

  • A light source

  • Random Objects

  • Pencils

  • Charcoal

  • Paper

Set up a light source so that it shines on a vertical surface (Like a wall). Move different objects around in front of the light and observe the shadows that emerge. Play around with different types of objects, looking at transparency and opacity. Using plastic, glass, or mesh objects for example will create different types of shadows. What do your shadows look like? Creatures, people, landscapes, or just abstract forms?

Use your drawing tools to create drawings inspired by the shadows you see.



Activity 6 - Drawing Sound

What you need:

  • Your Charcoal

  • Pencils

  • Paper

Try sitting outside and focusing on the sounds around you. What kind of marks, shapes, lines can you draw to represent the sounds you hear? What do soft vs. loud sounds look like? Calm vs. Chaotic?

Try this exercise listening to your favorite song, and see how you can represent it on paper.



Activity 7 - Drawing Texture

What you need:

  • Your Charcoal

  • Pencils

  • Paper

Search for a texture that is interesting to you. This could be inside your house or outside, perhaps peeling paint, tree bark, anything you can find. Spend some time observing lines, repetition, feeling, shapes, colors. Choose a section of the texture and try to represent it with a drawing. Try choosing a few different textures and combine them in one drawing. See how they appear next to one another.



CHECK OUT DANA'S CHARCOAL RUB ON INSTAGRAM!