Perspective for Kids

Learning linear perspective is an endeavor for ages 12 and up, but you can get younger students thinking about some of the elements of 3-D drawing with this creative and fun street scene.

Ages 7 -12

Swan in Charcoal

This intermediate project will sharpen your charcoal skills and ability to see shadows and light.

Ages 10 and up.

Repeating Patterns

Let's have fun with patterns! This exercise in design can be used as decorative paper for wrapping gifts, scrapbooking and card making.

Ages 6 and up.

Colorful Giraffe

Learn to draw a giraffe and choose from a variety of color schemes for rendering! Our new color theory references can help you learn more about color schemes and choose one that expresses your personality!

How to Draw a Windmill

I took some students out to draw the lovely Fabyan Windmill in Geneva, Illinois. Click HERE to see the actual windmill and learn more about it.

This project is nice in pencil or ink. You can add colored pencil to it by observing the actual picture at the Fabyan Windmill site.

Mixing Mediums

Can you guess how many different art supplies were used to create this seahorse drawing? This lesson will explore ways to combine various mediums in a drawing to create unique results.

Pencil Techniques

In this lesson, I will describe a few pencil techniques that I used to render this lighthouse composition. Also included are the steps to sketching it prior to rendering.

Shading with Color

Learn how to shade your color compositions using color, not black. These principles will help you to shade with color using pastels, colored pencils as well as paint.

Creating a Textured Background

Learn a technique for creating an interesting background for a pencil drawing using gesso and watercolor paints.

Colored Pencil Techniques

In this lesson on how to use colored pencils, I will focus on the "direction of your stroke" and how it affects the movement and feel of your drawing.

Atmospheric Perspective

Learn how to create depth in a landscape while sketching the misty cliffs of Ireland.

In this lesson, you will learn a simple exercise that will help to develop your eye-hand coordination and follow the contour line of your subject.

Shadows and Shading

Learn the basic steps taken when shading round objects such as apples.

Sometimes it is hard to look at something 3 dimensional and see the 2 dimensional shapes that make it up. The shadows and details can get in the way. This exercise, using tracing paper, will help to block out the details and really see the shapes!