Foundations: Course Outline

 

Introduction 

  • Why keep a sketchbook
  • Sketching objects from your day
  • Introduction to the three ways of visual thinking.   Feeling Edges, Abstracting Shapes and Constructing Volumes
  • Introduction to sketching on location: Story, composition, edges and shapes

 


Lesson 1: Knowing your materials

  • Introduction
  • Theory
    – Three essential sketching skills
    – Sketching your life
    – Three principles for putting together a sketching kit
  • Demo: Testing your kit
    – Good lines
    – Pens and pencils
    – Brushes
    – Watercolour pencils
    – Watercolour
    – Extra pens
  • Gallery: Examples from Liz’s sketchbooks
  • Exercises: Indoor and Outdoor
  • Plus Questions, Feedback, Takeaways
  • Bonus Material
    – More about Watercolour Pencils including colour chart video and blog articles
    – Additional videos about paint, brushes and sketchbooks
    – More about Fountain Pens
    – Further reading
  • Group Run-through 2022: Livestream Replay Q&A session

 


Lesson 2: Feeling Edges

  • Introduction
  • Theory
    – Seeing in order to draw
    – Seeing and Feeling Edges
    – Sketching your life
  • Demos: Contour Drawings (vegetables)
    – Blind Contour
    – Point to point contour drawing
  • Gallery: Examples from Liz’s sketchbooks
  • Exercises: Indoor and Outdoor
  • Plus Questions, Feedback, Takeaways
  • Bonus Material
    – More about feeling edges
    – Open-ended continuous line demo
    – Further reading
  • Group Run-through 2022: Livestream Replay Q&A session

 


Lesson 3: Abstracting Shapes

  • Introduction
  • Theory
    – combining similar colour shapes
    – using negative shapes
    – mapping light vs dark
  • Demos: Shape Exercises (still life objects)
    -Colour Shapes- Negative Shapes
    – Shadow Shapes
  • Gallery: Examples from Liz’s sketchbooks
  • Exercises: Indoor and Outdoor
  • Plus Questions, Feedback, Takeaways
  • Bonus Material
    – More about abstracting shapes
    – More abstracting shapes examples
    – Additional Demo and Exercise: Tree shapes
    – Additional Demo and Exercise: Abstracting shapes in differing light
    – Further reading
  • Group Run-through 2022: Livestream Replay Q&A session

 


Lesson 4: Constructing Volumes

  • Introduction
  • Theory
    – Seeing Volumes
    – Three aspects of constructing volumes
    – Examples
  • Demo: Seeing through volumes – books
  • Gallery: Examples from Liz’s sketchbooks
  • Exercises: Indoor and Outdoor
  • Plus Questions, Feedback, Takeaways
  • Bonus Material
    – Additional Demo: Edges vs Volumes – Tasmanian Cottage
    – Additional demo and exercise: Cameras
    – More constructing volumes examples
    – Further reading
  • Group Run-through 2022: Livestream Replay Q&A session

 


Lesson 5: Measured Setup

  • Introduction
  • Theory
    – Ink Only
    – Fussing with pencil
    – Lively lines
  • Demo: Site measuring – objects from the bathroom
  • Gallery: Examples from Liz’s sketchbooks
  • Exercises: Indoor and Outdoor
  • Plus Questions, Feedback, Takeaways
  • Bonus Material
    – Sighting and Measuring Angles
    – Re-visiting Lesson 4 chair exercise with some measuring
    – Additional Measured Setup Demo: Blue Cottage
    – More on Ellipses
    – Foreshortening Exercise
    – Checking the accuracy of a recent cafe sketch
    – Further reading
  • Group Run-through 2022: Livestream Replay Q&A session

 


Lesson 6: Minimal Setup

  • Introduction
  • Theory
    – Gestural setup
    – Shape-based gestural setup
    – No setup (working with ink only)
    – Some further considerations (tools, subject matter, size)
  • Demos: Using minimal or no setup
    – Gestural line setup
    – No setup – ink only
    – Watercolour pencil lines
  • Gallery: Examples from Liz’s sketchbooks
  • Exercises: Indoor and Outdoor
  • Plus Questions, Feedback, Takeaways
  • Bonus Material
    – More minimal setup examples
    – Gestural Setup – Blackhouse Village
    – Gestural Setup with paint – Bassano
    – Minimal Setup with paint – Blue cottage
    – Minimal Setup with watercolour pencil – Spanish Mission church
    – Further reading
  • Group Run-through 2022: Livestream Replay Q&A session

 


Lesson 7: Putting it all Together

  • Introduction
  • Demo: Indoor – Teacup
  • Demo: On Location – Christmas Tree at Martin Place (Dec 2014)
  • Exercises: Indoor or Outdoor
  • Plus Questions, Feedback, Takeaways
  • Bonus Material
    – Direct watercolour (paint only) teacup – 2019
    – Watercolour pencil and watercolour teacup – 2020
    – Further reading
  • Group Run-through 2022: Livestream Replay Q&A session

 


Lesson 8: Balancing Line and Colour

  • Introduction
  • Theory
    – Looseness
    – Line and colour: tight vs loose
    – Outlines
    – Texture (or pattern)
    – Tone
    – Further Considerations (scale, time)
  • Demos: Exploring Line and Colour Options – clothing
    – Texture and Tone
    – Pattern (3 versions)
  • Gallery: Examples from Liz’s sketchbooks
  • Exercises: Indoor and Outdoor
  • Plus Questions, Feedback, Takeaways
  • Bonus Material
    – Four quick and loose versions of my teacosy
    – More examples of balancing line and wash
    – Additional exercise: Landscapes
    – Further reading
  • Group Run-through 2022: Livestream Replay Q&A session

 


Lesson 9: Composing the View

  • Introduction
  • Theory
    – Getting it on the page
    – The rule of thirds
    – The rule of thirds variations
    – Framing the view on location
    – Composing the view on location
    – Setting out the view on location
  • Demos: Using a viewfinder
    – Indoors: Desk Still Life
    – On Location: Street Scene (Balmain)
  • Gallery: Examples from Liz’s sketchbooks
  • Exercises: Indoor and Outdoor
  • Plus Questions, Feedback, Takeaways
  • Bonus Material
    – More examples of composing the view
    – Additional exercise: Rule of thirds
    – Using a phone (camera app) as a viewfinder
    – Further reading
  • Group Run-through 2022: Livestream Replay Q&A session

 


Lesson 10: Creating a Focus

  • Introduction
  • Theory
    – Telling a story
    – Framing your story
    – Composing your story
    – Strengthening your focus
    – Personal Response
  • Demos: Designing a sketch with thumbnails
    – On Location: Thumbnails (Paddington)
    – On Location: Thumbnail Review
    – On Location: Sketching with a focus
  • Gallery: Examples from Liz’s sketchbooks
  • Exercises: Indoor and Outdoor
  • Plus Questions, Feedback, Takeaways
  • Bonus Material
    – Sketching thumbnails from photos of Asolo
    – More examples of creating a focus
    – Additional Exercise: Local Icon
    – Further reading
  • Group Run-through 2022: Livestream Replay Q&A session

 


Lesson 11: Working from a Focus

  • Introduction
  • Theory- Planning for spontaneity
    – Thinking of object and context
    – Simplifying complexity
    – Working within time constraints
    – Using the power of white (leaving the sky till last)
    – Threading images together
  • Demos: Spontaneous sketching
    – On Location: Cafe Sketching (Manly)
  • Gallery: Examples from Liz’s sketchbooks
  • Exercises: Indoor and Outdoor
  • Plus Questions, Feedback, Takeaways
  • Bonus Material
    – More examples working from a focus
    – Additional demo and exercise: Norfolk Island
    – Bonus Demo: Asolo
    – Further reading
  • Group Run-through 2022: Livestream Replay Q&A session

 


Lesson 12: Reviewing your Work”>Lesson 12: Reviewing your Work

  • Introduction
  • Foundations Wrapup
  • Review of students work sketches (2014)
  • Review of students work sketches (2019)
  • Review of students work sketches (2020)
  • Final exercise
  • Plus Questions, Takeaways
  • Bonus Material
    – More examples of cafe sketching
    – Further reading
  • Group Run-through 2022: Livestream Replay Q&A session

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