Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

How are you doing today? I hope you're well.

My name is Ms. Afzal.

I'm feeling pretty good today because we're going to be exploring building our confidence through drawing techniques in our art lesson today.

Let's begin.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can use a variety of drawing techniques to create different artworks.

I'm looking forward to this lesson.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

They are experimental, replica and technique.

Let's find out what these words mean.

So experimental means exploring unusual ideas, materials or techniques without worrying about rules or the outcome.

A replica is an exact or very close copy of something.

It's made to look just like the original object or artwork.

And technique, a method an artist uses to explore drawing in different ways.

These are our keywords.

Let's be on the lookout for them in our lesson.

So our lesson today is, "I can't draw!" Building confidence through drawing techniques.

It has two parts to it.

Experimental drawing techniques and removing control through drawing machines.

Let's begin with experimental drawing techniques.

So what does a successful drawing look like? I think it needs to look like what I'm drawing and be really accurate like a replica.

Maybe you might think I try to make my drawings realistic, but often I'm not happy with them as they never look quite right.

Have you ever felt that way? How do you think a drawing should look? Pause the video, share with someone nearby.

Okay, I wonder what you thought a drawing should look like.

And which of the drawings below would you say is the most successful and why? Pause the video, take a good look at these drawings and then share with someone nearby.

You might have said, "I chose the first drawing as it's a good replica of the face and you can see how much more time has been taken." "I agree, there's more detail in the first drawing and this makes it much better." Here's another perspective.

"I see that but I really like the fluid lines in the other expressive drawing.

I think it's actually more interesting to look at." So as we can see, there's no right or wrong answer with art and our appreciation of art.

We all have our own perspectives.

Drawing is a tool for exploring and recording ideas and observations.

Often young artists think drawing has to be a replica and if a drawing doesn't look totally perfect, it can lead to disappointment and thinking I can't draw.

Drawing can be detailed and replicate an object, but it can also have many other purposes.

Artists often play with techniques and processes to try out different ways of exploring drawing and this can lead to experimental and exciting discoveries.

I'm looking forward to finding out more about that.

Check for understanding true or false.

Drawing has to replicate perfectly what is being observed.

Decide if this is true or false.

Pause the video here.

Well done if you selected false.

And why? Why did you choose this answer? Pause the video.

Share a little more about this.

Maybe you said something like this.

Drawing can be a perfect replica, but it can also be used to experiment and try out new techniques or processes.

Love that.

Here's Alex looking thoughtful.

Artists develop different techniques to make art for all kinds of reasons.

To be experimental and to find inspiration.

To learn and develop their skills.

To share a particular idea or viewpoint.

To develop personal style.

To enjoy art making.

And now check for understanding.

I'd like you to fill in the missing words.

Artists develop different techniques for all kinds of reasons.

To be experimental and find inspiration.

To learn and develop their skills.

To share a particular or viewpoint.

To develop personal style.

To art making.

Pause the video while you fill in the missing words.

Did you come up with this, to share a particular idea or viewpoint? And most important of all, to enjoy art making.

Surely that's what it's all about.

One way of being creative and finding inspiration is to change the rules when we draw and be more experimental.

An experimental approach can generate new ideas and help artists to find inspiration as they move forwards.

It can also remove the pressure of having to make a drawing look like a replica of the object.

An experimental approach builds confidence in risk taking and it's fun.

Here are some examples of artists that play with drawing techniques.

Henri Matisse was well known for using continuous line drawings, not taking the pencil off the paper to play with ideas of drawing.

Tracey Emin's drawings are often created quickly using loose lines to capture deep emotions like love and pain.

And Julie Mehretu layers her drawings rather than using different sheets of paper for each one.

Fantastic ideas there.

Tarashikomi is a Japanese experimental drawing technique where artists use wet ink on wet paper, allowing the inks to blend and flow together in smooth natural ways, creating a soft and cloud-like effect.

Tawaraya Sōtatsu used a Tarashikomi technique in his piece "Dragons and Clouds" to make a pair of mythical dragons come alive as they weave in and out of clouds above crashing waves.

Artists also influence their drawing techniques through what they draw from.

Christina Kimeze's "Between Wood and Wheel" series was inspired while watching a film about roller skaters.

Love that.

Zeinab Saleh has used VHS tapes of home video footage to inspire her drawings.

This method creates fluid and fragmented lines full of energy and movement.

What other things could you draw from to influence how your drawing looks? Pause the video and share with someone nearby.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to choose two or three objects to draw from using different experimental drawing techniques.

You could use your usual drawing style, continuous line drawings where you don't take your pencil off the paper.

Your non-dominant hand, drawing using the opposite hand to which the one you usually write with.

Blind contour drawing, only looking at the objects and not at your drawing.

Your own set of rules and limitations.

So enjoy your task.

I'll see you when you're finished.

Okay, I wonder how you got on.

So let's take a look at what you may have done.

So here's Jun's efforts.

"This is my usual drawing style.

I tried to get my drawing looking accurate and create a replica.

I started with an outline and then filled in with a bit of tone." Nice job Jun.

Here's Aisha.

"I really enjoyed the continuous line drawing.

It was fun and I like the looseness of the lines." Yeah, I appreciate that.

There's Lucas.

"This is my non-dominant hand drawing.

I laughed when I saw this.

It was really fun to not have control and not worry about it needing to be perfect." Oh my goodness, I really like that.

Just let go.

Let go of expectations.

Here's Laura.

"This blind contour drawing was very strange to do as I had no idea where my pencil was on the paper.

But I actually really liked this technique as it was a surprise when I looked at it." Great stuff Laura.

And here's Jacob.

"I wanted to do my own technique so I tried the Tarashikomi technique and I combined it with a continuous line drawing to see what would happen." Oh my goodness, mixing it up Jacob.

I love that.

Well done everyone for joining in with this task and I hope you enjoyed it.

When you use experimental drawing techniques you can begin to think about what the drawing is communicating.

Artists often use experimental techniques to communicate different ideas to their audience and prompt them to consider the world in different ways.

How are these drawings of the figure different? Pause the video while you reflect on this and share with someone nearby.

Cubism was an art movement where artists would draw from different angles, layering their lines until they had captured every aspect of their subject.

Although Cubism was experimental, Cubist artists thought this was a more realistic way of drawing as we don't only see the world from one perspective.

Such a good point.

Now for the next part of your task I would like you to look at the drawings that you made in task one and note down or discuss what each drawing communicates.

You could consider the feel of the drawing.

Is it calm or energetic? The style of line.

Are the lines smooth or jagged? What could this represent? Can you think of a simile to compare the marks to something else? So pause the video while you take a look at your drawings from the previous task and discuss what each drawing communicates.

I'll see you when you're finished.

All right.

I wonder what you commented.

Let's hear from Aisha, Laura and Jun.

Laura says, "My blind contour drawing looks like the objects are dancing about on the page.

I can almost hear music." Wow.

Love that.

Love that mixture of visual and aural.

Here is Jun.

"My realistic replica drawing has soft marks and solid lines.

This makes it feel calm to look at." Really nice.

And Aisha, "I really enjoyed the continuous line drawing.

It was challenging to capture the shape, but made me think about the connection between the objects." Great comments, great reflections.

I hope you enjoyed reflecting too.

And now let's move on to the next part of our lesson, removing control through drawing machines.

Artists can experiment even further with drawing techniques by removing the control over what the drawing will look like.

Some artists use objects or make machines to create drawings for them.

The marks that the object or machine makes becomes the drawing.

These drawings are varied depending mostly on how the object or the machine moves.

Check for understanding the variation in the drawings made is mostly due to the types of materials used, the speed of the machine, how the object or machine moves, or the colour of the ink or paint.

Pause the video while you decide which of these answers is correct.

Well done if you selected statement C indeed.

The variation in the drawings made is mostly due to how the object or the machine moves.

So why might artists want to remove control over their artwork? So a few ideas.

Maybe they want to have fun and try experimental ways of drawing that haven't been seen before.

Maybe to challenge us to think about drawing differently than just having to draw a replica of something.

What do you think? Do you agree with these ideas or maybe you have a different idea? Pause and share with someone nearby.

Thanks for sharing.

Examples of artists who experiment with removing control are Tim Knowles who uses nature to experiment with drawing.

In his tree drawings in 2005 he tied pens to the ends of branches and let the wind move the pens to make the marks on the paper.

How innovative.

In Karina Smigla-Bobinski's ADA, 2017, a giant transparent balloon with charcoal tips attached floats in a room.

The audience can push or pull or bounce the balloon to leave marks on the walls, ceiling and floor.

Love that idea.

Rasheed Araeen creates experimental artworks.

He often uses geometric forms like a box and invites the audience to rearrange them in any way they like, meaning the outcomes are always unpredictable.

Love these experimental ideas.

Which of these three ideas for experimental artworks do you find most interesting, I wonder.

Share with someone nearby.

I would love to have a go at experimenting with the giant charcoal tipped balloon.

I think that would be a lot of fun.

Which experimental technique might have been used to create this drawing? Pause the video, share with someone.

Here's Laura.

"I experimented by blowing ink through straws.

I couldn't control where the ink went but I love the marks.

They look a bit like branches on a tree." They really do.

This drawing was also made by removing control.

Can you guess how it was made? Pause here, share with someone.

What are your thoughts? Here's Jacob.

"I experimented by dangling a pen on a piece of string.

I also didn't look so the marks would be more random.

It looks like a bit of an explosion." Yeah, I love that.

It's time for your next task.

I would like you to capture your own movement.

You could use tape to attach a drawing material to string and then attach that string carefully to yourself.

You could use your body movements to move the drawing material across the page.

Repeat the body movements to create more marks or change the movements around to experiment with the marks.

So pause here while you have a go at this task, capturing your own movement, becoming your own drawing machine.

So how did you get on with capturing your own movement? You may have noticed.

Something like this.

Here's Andy.

"I preferred when I used a graphite stick attached to a twig as it left more marks on my paper.

I also found that slower movements created longer continuous lines." Oh, great observation.

Here's Izzy.

"I focused on repeated movements and found that pulling the chalk behind me with my foot allowed me to build up many marks.

I had to hold onto the table though." Good point there.

We mustn't forget health and safety.

Thanks Izzy.

And now onto the next part of our task, capturing an object's movement.

You could put your paper at the bottom of a tray, cover a marble toy wheel or lid in ink and place in a tray and then gently move the tray, repeat and alter the movements to gain different marks.

Test out crumpling and then smoothing the paper for an uneven surface.

Lots of variables here.

I'm excited to find out how you get on.

Pause the video and have a go at this task.

So how did you get on with that task? Perhaps you noticed something like this.

Let's hear from Lucas.

"I liked how the marks were quicker to make.

However, I did have to add more ink part way through.

Next time I would like to be more experimental with different colours." Here's Aisha.

"I enjoyed the results when I used an uneven surface.

If I did this again, it would be interesting to do it while on the bus so the marks were unexpected." Really interesting idea Aisha.

In our lesson "I can't draw!" building confidence through drawing techniques, we have covered the following.

Drawing is a tool for exploring ideas and recording knowledge and can have a wide range of purposes from creating replicas to exploring a variety of experimental techniques.

We can build confidence in drawing by experimenting.

with different techniques.

Drawing with machines or objects removes control from the artist and records marks which are unexpected and collaborative.

One of the most important aspects of art making and learning is that it is enjoyable.

And I hope you enjoyed this lesson.

I certainly enjoyed this experimentation with different techniques and using the body as a drawing machine.

I'll see you at another lesson soon.

Bye for now.