For today’s prompt, draw your keys.
Actually, draw any sort of keys! They can be loose, like in the image above, or attached to a key ring.
Keys attached to a key ring will allow for unique angles and interesting details. Again, this supports your practice of learning to see. Capture the tiny lines, the grooves, the shine.
As a bonus, include any interesting key chain items!
Can you believe we are at Day 20? Pause for a moment and celebrate the fact that you have been sketching and taking on these challenges since the beginning of the month. Keep going!
OK. For today’s prompt, we are going to draw a towel. Now, this is going to be a bit of a challenge because you have to use a very rigid tool in order to create something soft.
Place your towel in different positions until you like a composition you want to draw. You can fold it neatly or lay it out so that it has folds and crevices. It’s up to you!
Here’s a tip: Start light and work in layers. Light pressure. Light layers. Build up from those light layers gradually until you are satisfied. The tonal ranges in a towel will be soft and gradual. Don’t be in a hurry to darken it.
Remember, this is more about the practice and the learning to see than the end result. Don’t get stuck on the latter if it doesn’t match exactly what you envision.
Keep learning to see!
For today’s prompt: Draw an open book!
Previously you drew a stack of books. Now today, choose one book. Maybe it is your favorite one to date, or the most influential in your life.
If you can, try to find a book that fans out with a good amount of pages. The picture above is a good example.
Play with looking at it from different angles, then decide on one to sketch from. This prompt will help you strengthen your ability to see your subjects better. Look at the angle of how the pages lie. Try to see where there are darker and broader lines versus thin, softer lines. When it comes to drawing, learning to see is key. And, you get better at seeing when you start to look. I mean, really look. Sketching ordinary objects are great for this. Actually, taking the time to sketch anything, in my opinion, helps you to starting seeing more.
So, find a book. Open it up. Look at it from different angles and try to capture the depth, the variance in lines and values.
For today’s prompt, let’s honor a hero – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
He stood for peace, for love, for togetherness. So, for today, in your sketchbook, draw something that inspires just that – love, peace, togetherness.
Today’s prompt is very broad in scope. So if it helps, here are some ideas:
After sketching it, send it into the world, and let’s fill social media with messages and images of hope, love, and peace.
What do you say?
Happy birthday, Dr. King. Thank you for sharing your dream so that we can do better.
Today’s prompt: Draw a stack of books!
Go to your bookshelves or wherever you keep your books. You decide how tall your book stack will be.
Maybe you will make it uniform with all the same type of books lined up perfectly. Or, maybe you will choose a variety of sizes and shapes and create a varied stack.
If you want, could even play with the lighting and create a strong cast shadow.
Who knows, maybe you will rediscover an old book that must be read again!
Yesterday, we played with contrast by sketching something light in a dark environment. For today, we are going to reverse that.
Today’s prompt: Sketch a dark object in a light environment.
Again, feel free to go the literal or metaphorical route.
If you chose the literal route for both, reflect on the two sketches for a moment.
Was one more challenging than the other? Why? Did you have to change how you saw your object?
As a challenge, try not to just block in the dark object in a flat black. Try to find a way to create the darker tones within that object.
Happy sketching!
Today’s prompt: Sketch a light object in a dark environment.
You can take this one of two ways: One is literal, while the other way being metaphorical. Choose whichever you would like to explore.
For the literal route, see if you can capture the tonal range and the stark contrast of the light vs. the dark. Maybe even challenge yourself to see the richness of the darks. Trying capturing them rather than blocking out the background in a flat black.
For the metaphorical route, perhaps you will explore what brings you light during dark times.
Here is a quote I love from Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings: “It is the everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.
For today’s prompt, let’s search for an obscure word to sketch, shall we?
So, here’s what you do:
I can’t wait to see what you find! In fact, I really can’t wait to peruse the words myself.
Today’s prompt! Draw something from your pantry!
Will it be a can of soup? Or, how about a classic– A box of macaroni and cheese?
Whatever you choose, again, set it on a flat surface to give it perspective! If you do choose something round, try curving the lines slightly as you shade around the edges.
Let’s fill a pantry of our own with sketches!
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Today’s prompt: Draw your shoes or one shoe!
Find one that is your favorite, or one that rarely gets picked to step out into the world.
It can be simple or elaborate with long laces and fine stitching.
A helpful tip?
Look at the overall shape. Start with the contour lines.
See the shoe as an object built shape by shape. Are there circles, ovals, rounded rectangles?
In other words, try not to draw the shoe by ‘seeing’ the shoe as a whole. Try drawing the shoe by noticing the shapes of the spaces within– the shapes of the sole, the toe, and the shapes shadows make. Break the whole into those smaller shapes and place them where they fit in relation to the overall outline of the shoe.
Remember, a sketchbook is a place for practice and mistakes. It is not a place for finished pieces that you put up for sale. Well, maybe you get lucky every now and again, but do remember that is not the first purpose of a sketchbook.
Give yourself permission to draw a very wonky shoe today.
Let’s draw!
Autumn