Tag: sketch

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 22

For today’s prompt, Draw your hand.

First, you can decide if you want to draw the hand you are drawing with or your non-dominant one.

If you are new to drawing hands, you may want to choose to draw your non-dominant one. Position it in front of you as a still life.

Drawing hands is quite a challenge, as with any human aspect. It is perfectly normal to start off with wonky attempts. Here is what I would suggest:

Start off by drawing the contour lines of the overall hand shape. Then draw the outlines for each finger. Work from outside to inside when it comes to the details. Start with light layers and build upon those. See the hand not as a hand but more of an object composed of shapes within shapes. This tends to help!

You are welcome to have your hand holding something if you wish. 

Remember, wonkiness is supposed to happen with this!

 

 

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 17

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!

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 11

 

Today’s Prompt: Draw a mysterious doorway or staircase.

One thing of many that I found striking when traveling abroad is how differently doors, doorways, entryways appear. 

When my husband and I traveled to Malta, we were immediately enamored by the narrow, brightly covered front doors of the dwellings that only had about a foot clearance to the main road. 

Each door was incredibly inviting and stood out among the stone walls. They were beautiful and were works of art in and of themselves. 

This care taken with front entries suggested that behind this door there lies more than meets the eye. That you must enter because if you don’t, you will miss out on an adventure, on new insights, on a sprinkle of magic. And, you have a choice! Will it be the red door with the narrow slots at the top? Or, maybe the weathered blue door with raised wooden panels and touches of black filigrees? 

I loved this about Malta, and many other places I visited. It’s welcoming and enchanting. 

So today, draw a mysterious or ornate doorway. You can always use a door in your own dwelling and add to it! Or maybe you will search online for ‘mysterious doorways’ and work from an image. If you want, you can work from the image in this post! 

And, if you feel so inclined, add a little caption or story that hints at what is behind the door or up the staircase.

-Autumn

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 10

Congratulations! You’ve made it to Day 10. I hope you are getting into a sketching groove and enjoying scribbling away on the pages. 

So, for today’s prompt, the word is essential.

Who or what do you find essential in your life? Is it a fresh cup of coffee right when you get up in the morning? Or an evening cup of tea in your favorite mug?

Is it a good book and time to read before bed? Or maybe there is someone in your life whom you find essential to your safety, growth, and happiness.

However, objects or habits can also serve to support your growth, happiness, and safety. There are no wrong answers here. In fact, what you find essential may change from day to day based on what is happening in the world around you. 

I know for me, having time to create is essential to managing my anxiety. I need that quiet reflection to recharge and ground myself. When I don’t have that quiet, contemplative time to create, I find myself on edge and not my best self. 

So, what is something that is essential for you? Is it a thing, a person, a ritual?

Don’t feel embarrassed about how little or frivolous it might seem to someone else. This isn’t about them. It’s about celebrating you and acknowledging what you need to feel grounded and better.

-Autumn

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 7

Scroll through your photographs from your phone or device of your choice. Keep scrolling until you find one that sparks you. Use that photo as inspiration for today’s page. 

Try not to feel overwhelmed by the entire photograph. If it helps, pick one object or aspect from the photo to focus on in your sketch. 

It might help to pick something with high contrast – something with clearly defined highlights, mid-tones and shadows. But it’s not a deal breaker. 

If you don’t see anything you like, scroll Instagram or Facebook and borrow an inspiration image from someone else!

Happy Sketching!

-Autumn

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 6

Let’s practice more of our observational drawing skills!

Grab a fork and/or a spoon and place them on a flat surface. (You can add the knife if you want.)

They can be metal or plastic –  any material will do. Feel free to draw one of the utensils or more. You can choose the perspective you want to draw from. For me, I like to draw from a side angle.

Draw the utensil(s) once or repeat the object to form a pattern and fill the frame. It’s really up to you.  

Again, you will want to sketch by having them grounded somewhere, thus the flat surface. This will help with the proportions and the shading. 

Add lines for volume and tonal ranges for shading. Choose a more realistic approach, or go with your imagination and turn them into something more! 

Remember to start with the contour lines of the overall shape and then add the details. You know, those little lines and hatching for shading.

If you are adding shading, try to achieve the highlights, the mid-tones, and the shadows. The darker tones are key to making the piece pop. Don’t be afraid to push those!

Experiment. Make mistakes. Fail. And, most importantly, have fun and keep your practice going!

Autumn














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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 4

The Mug of your Wildest Dreams!

Draw your favorite mug again, but this time add a little something more! What I mean by this is for you to add brilliant and fantastical features to your mug that would make it that much more special. 

  • Would you add wings so that it could fly to wherever you are? 
  • Maybe it would have arms and could take notes or write your novel as you sip in luxury.
  • Maybe you would change the size or design.
  • Or, just maybe it’s actually the mug you wanted for a present but didn’t get! Draw it!
  • Better yet, maybe the mug wouldn’t change but where you sip from it would!

Add any features from your imagination that would improve upon your favorite mug! Have fun. Be creative. And make it fantastic! Maybe think: What would a kid want to be added to a mug? (They don’t limit themselves as we adults do!)

Please share if you feel brave. I can’t wait to see what features or powers your mug has gained overnight.

In creative adventures,

Autumn

 

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Day 3 – Sketchbook Challenge

Draw your favorite mug!

Place your mug on a flat surface. You will want to see it from a static angle, so that you can get a sense of how it sits in space. 

Notice in this picture that there are shadows and highlights. See if you can incorporate those into your sketch by using the following ideas:

  • Use a different color to shade in the shadows.
  • Try using lines or hatching.
  • If you are using a pencil, smudge those areas with your finger. 
  • Or, use more pressure with your drawing tool, unless it is a pen or marker. (Pressure can damage the nib.)
  • Below you will see how I use lines to create shadows and volume in this simple line drawing. 

Just remember to experiment and play. Don’t be too hard on yourself and don’t compare your work with another person’s work. The best thing to do is to compare your work with your own over time to see your growth! It’s your personal journey.

Have fun! 

Oh! I almost forgot the best part– After you complete your sketch, fill your mug with your favorite beverage. Savor every sip and swallow. 

Feel free to share your work and ask questions along the way. 

In creative adventures,

Autumn














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Storidoodles

Sunday Storidoodle #2

Mustard and His Grand Plan!

“But I’m just a little mouse,” Mustard said to his reflection in the shiny toaster. “What significant act could I do?”

Mustard had a lot of doubt from years of others transferring their doubts onto him. But despite carrying the weight of the doubting thoughts, he was equally optimistic and, thankfully, a little stubborn. “There has to be something!”

Mustard always wanted to be someone who did a big act despite his size and his species. He tried picking up the drums (acorn shells and other bits & bobs for a kit) so that he could be a big-time rockstar, but it just allowed the house cat to know exactly where he was at all times. And for a mouse, that really isn’t a great idea. 

He let that idea go.

As he nibbled on the page of a tasty poetry book, he thought that maybe his big act could be writing. So, he found some spilled ketchup missed by the human of the house and dipped his tail into it. At worst, he could always lick away the ketchup and delight in its tangy flavor. But his optimism inspired him to use the red sauce to write his first word.

“Wait a minute!” said Mustard, with his tail a centimeter from the blank page. “I don’t know how to write!”

While licking his tail clean, he decided to add ‘learning to write’ to the mental list of future studies.

You see, Mustard wasn’t a very patient creature and, although he loved to learn, he didn’t want to take the time to learn something in order to do some big act or some grand gesture to make his name known. His list of things to learn was actually a rather long list, indeed.

But, dear reader, if you just make a list of things you want to learn or do and never start one, well, you end up with nothing but a condiment on your tail or maybe not even that.

To continue…

While on another hike around the house, he found a cozy basket of laundry. And it was in that pile of cloth he came up with his greatest idea yet. 

He chewed and tore and tied until he made the perfect cape and mask for himself. 

“I will be a Super Mouse Hero!” Mustard declared. “The first one of its kind.” (Shhh! Don’t tell him about Mighty Mouse, yet! Let him have his moment.)

And as he tightened his mask and smoothed out his cape, he struck a confident superhero pose in the beam of sunlight that filtered through the window. 

A note to the reader:

At present, Mustard is so caught up in wearing the mask and the cape that he has momentarily forgotten about the importance of wanting to do some big act. As of right now, wearing a cool cape and mask seems to be quite satisfying for him. Therefore, the Storidoodle ends here for now.

I will be sure to let you know if the newness of a cape and mask wears off for Mustard and he gets back to chasing his big dream. However, maybe he has actually found his dream, after all. 

-Autumn the Storidoodler

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January Sketchbook Challenge

Sketchbook Challenge – Day 2

Hope you alleviated some possible jitters by doodling a word in your sketchbook and no longer is it a book with blank pages. After Day 1, you have declared you are serious and you are going to make some marks! Those trees will not go to waste. 

Here we go for Day 2: Draw your art supplies!

Draw what you are using in your sketchbook to mark the page. These supplies can be the “right-now” supplies or ones you intend to use later on. Or, Heck! You can draw ones that you are too afraid to use, the ones that you find intimidating. Add some horns and pointy teeth to those ones. 

Draw them once, twice, or multiple times until you you fill the page. Sometimes, by repeating one thing, you can make a pretty cool pattern on the page that you may want to improve upon for a finished art piece later on. 

You never know what ideas and finished art pieces can come from simply keeping a sketchbook. 

Remember, please feel free to comment on this post or in the Facebook group your work, questions, or A-HA! moments.

Happy drawing!

Autumn