Why is there such a big focus on drawing here? Well, You learn to master the basics so that you are ready for the next step; you should be willing to experiment and not just stick to doing the things that you do well - you have the rest of your life to do the thing you love over and over again so take the time to experiment while you can!
Opposite: Ex Woodroffe Student Charlotte Down doing what she loves - brilliantly.
“Drawing is rather like playing chess: your mind races ahead of the moves that you eventually make.” David Hockney
This building started as the sketch you see above by Architect Frank Gehry. I am sure that the drawings that the builders used looked different but ideas need to start somewhere and This sketch became the basis of one of the most amazing buildings in Paris.
“I draw like other people bite their nails.” Pablo Picasso
Drawing can be an expressive creative activity without limitations. You can create something new from within; you can make some marks that are not restricted by a need to depict the physical world. Illustrators and artists will sketch things out that don't exist in the real world and create images that are based entirely on their own imaginations. They are often used as the basis for the development of further ideas but are great images in their own right.
"Drawing is the basis of art. A bad painter cannot draw. But one who draws well can always paint". Arshile Gorky
Drawing directly from life is often seen as a way for an artist to perfect their ability to see, as much as it is their ability to make representative marks. Careful observation of moving/living things has been a traditional way for artists to perfect their ability to draw for centuries.
"Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation...even so does inaction sap the vigour of the mind" Leonardo Da Vinci
Drawing is also a means to visualise experimental thought. If you want to invent or create something, you will often start with a sketch and this capacity to quickly render an idea visually and share it is becoming something of a lost art. It is why Art and design courses changed a few years ago...dependency on technology meant that lots of designers were unable to share an idea visually on paper in the moment - the skills were being lost and industry was saying that this skill was perhaps the most important one of all!
"drawing is just a line going for a walk" Paul Klee.
Drawings are made for different purposes and in different ways. Experimenting with drawing as a means to get going, visualise an idea, communicate a design or observe the world faithfully will form the basis of the following projects. The most important thing is to get going without worrying too much about the outcomes. you'll have to look back at they end when it's all done before making judgements about whether something is good or not and actually the key thing here is to learn through DOING.
This site has been set up to get you doing what all creative people want to do...Draw. There are series of mini projects included here that should test anyone, from the beginner to the expert and I hope they will get your creative juices flowing. You won't like everything you produce (that would most likely be deluded arrogance), but you will mix up the drawing skills and get productive! Some of the outcomes will be pleasantly surprising and others will leave you mystified in one way or another. Give each one a genuine go.
Additional task one (AT1): This cave painting from Pech Merle in France dates back nearly 30,000 years. The mark-making tools we have nowadays give us a distinct advantage over these artists in creating any kind of drawing we choose...and that includes the graphics tablet/ipad. We are surrounded by things we can draw with that we often take for granted, nine times out of ten I'll go to pick up the same pens and pencils - what if you made one of your own? a Feather? sticks? a cotton bud? Try to complete a drawing of an animal using tools that you have made yourself
AT2:Find the tool that you hate the most. I hate felt tipped pens. I can't stand them. Here is a drawing, done of a chicken I know well, in felt tips. I felt sick doing it.
AT3: If you were asked what your five favourite drawings were, would you have a clue? It could be early concept drawings for fortnite or detailed studies by Rembrandt. If you are serious about the visual Arts you'll want to be able to answer that question in the future. In your sketchbook find and reproduce your five favourite drawings but use a different tool to the one they did. Pencil becomes iPad, Charcoal becomes felt tip etc etc. Do a little bit of writing here - what is it about the original that you really like? Remember; it's your five favourites - not the first five you come across!!
AT4: Remember that the theme for this whole project is drawing - that's what unifies your work and pulls it together - but beyond that...the sky is the limit. Have a look through these sites to help you complete some of the tasks above. These are not hyperlinks by the way - I was irritated by the way it looked - you'll have to copy and paste them into the browser
https://thomaspaterson.com
https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/03/22/gdc-2018-30-photos-of-awesome-fortnite-concept-art
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z6hs34j
https://mymodernmet.com/
https://artsandculture.google.com/partner
https://www.womenwhodraw.com/
https://hifructose.com/
https://www.booooooom.com/
https://www.juxtapoz.com/
https://artzine.com/thezine
https://www.youtube.com/user/theartassignment/
https://www.youtube.com/user/theartassignment/
https://www.youtube.com/user/tate/
https://www.youtube.com/user/smarthistoryvideos/
https://www.youtube.com/user/atVanGoghMuseum/
https://www.saieddai.co.uk/still-life/
https://www.mitchgriffiths.com/Pedestal.html