It is important to draw lightly first. If erasing is necessary, there will be less left behind to distract from your finished drawing. If you draw too heavy in the beginning, the pencil will create an indention in your paper that is not easily removed.

Practice these mark making techniques so you can add them to your arsenal of ninja art skills. These will help you to create texture and motion to develop your artwork.

Contour with Movement Exercise Using lines, create a sense of movement, of pushing and pulling, as you vary the closeness of your line one to another. This creates the illusion of motion and foreground and background. The areas with the widest spaces and lines that are farthest apart will appear closer to the viewer. Experiment with color and shading to enhance this piece.

This week, we revisited the Upside-Down Horse Project for new attendees. We also did a blind contour drawing of the lines in the palm of our non-drawing hand. We poked a hole into a styrofoam plate to use as a shield to keep us from peeking! This exercise helps our brain to connect our eyes and hands for future use. I recommend doing blind contour drawings to warm up with. You can choose anything around you. We also went outside and did some Shadow Play Drawings. Find some shadows on the ground. Place your sketchbook over them and trace them onto your paper. You can overlap shadows, add others into the content and use textured lines to make it a sound piece of artwork. Use your imagination! If the sun is not bright enough, create your own shadows indoors with a direct light and props. Let your drawing tell a story. Next month, we will continue to work on contour drawings to create space, movement and definition.

Pencil Shading Exercise. Practice shading each box exactly as you see the example. This will help you to learn how contrast (light and dark values) can make a 2-dimensional shape look 3-dimensional.