Finding resources for drawing!
Recap of our last Drawing Jam workshop
Drawing Jam continues to be the place to come for summer fun and creativity. This past weekend, prompted by the theme of "Dinos, Monsters and Aliens," we let our creativity run wild. we created creatures from our imaginations, including several Hydras (serpents with multiple heads), Glam-Zilla, Dinosaurs and Monsters in Space, and a hatching dragon. The exciting aspect of the genres of Fantasy and Science Fiction is that you create your own rules for the fictional worlds you envision. It was exciting to watch artists bask in the joy of their own creativity.
Tips
One tip I have for improving your drawing is to find books that show step by step the process of drawing figures or characters. I have found quite a few useful tips that I have used in my own drawing. There are lots of books like this available through the public library system. Before each Drawing Jam session, I go to my library network's online network and browse for titles. I have found lots of books to bring to each session that our artists could look at for ideas. Last week I had fun going library gathering books for the coming DJ session. I went to Concord's , Acton's, Lexington's and Newton's public libraries. These are all unique, beautiful buildings to visit with lots of resources available to all of us. It was very empowering for me, armed with my list of titles and their Dewey Decimal code, to walk into the different libraries, some of which I had never been to before, and go right to the shelves where I could find my books of interest. Within a few hours, I visited all four libraries and collected the book I needed for DJ.
I found the books which I had collected were both instructive and inspiring. Some of the books showed step-by-step how to draw different characters. Understanding and using an underlying framework helps the artist establish a figure's posture and perspective as well as the flow of motion. All this can make the character more realistic and interesting. Two examples of books which illustrate the step by step process are
1. "Dragonart Fantasy Characters: How to Draw Fantastic Beings and Incredible Creatures" by J. "NeonDragon" Peffer
2. "The Art of Drawing Fantasy Characters." by Jacob Glaser.
I also like the "Sketching From The Imagination" series in which professional artists share their insights, techniques and experience as well as showcasing samples of their art.
Looking ahead
The next DJ session is Saturday 8/3/24 from 4p - 6p. The theme of the session will be "Zentagles", an easy to learn and relaxing style of drawing which uses different patterns to create beautiful images. Please register online and join us. In the meantime, keep drawing and enjoy the beautiful summer weather.
