Drawing Exercises

different or new drawing exercises and fun things to do?

i like sketching and drawing (as well as painting ect) but i was trying to think of some new things to do just to change it up a little.. like a collage, drawing with different colored pens, drawing on a different surface like sheet music or an old recipe card, maybe focussing on sketching one thing like eyes or hands.. just different ideas like that that wont be serious art work, just something different to do that is still art. (preferably pencil or pen work) thanks

Public Comments

1. you could also try drawing cartoons of your family members or portraits of them real-life. Something that is really fun and fast is having an ink pen and using it to draw buildings or animals as fast as you can. This helps to practise your drawing skills and not only that, your eye memory as well. I have tried to draw animals while they are moving and it really gives you the practise to draw faster.
2. These are just a few things that I do to help my creative juices flowing and to see just how creative I can be: Drawing an image upside down. Believe it or not, drawing an upside down image helps your brain differentiate between what your brain knows and what your eye truly sees. Instead of merely drawing what you know, you're drawing what is actually in the image. Drawing something ordinary, but giving it a fanciful twist. Like a royal family portrait (from the 1700's), but they're all cats or different breeds of dogs. Create your own tarot designs. Certain symbols of the tarot deck can be made even more fantastic or even "cute". They will mean the same thing, but you will have put your own spin on them. Toying with texture. Do an illustration with a medium you're comfortable with, then add texture with paint or illuminate it with gold, bronze, or silver. You'd be amazed how you can make something POP with just the added texture or metallic embellishment. Or age some heavy vellum and create your own archival artwork. Tint the paper with tea or coffee grounds. Once you've tinted/aged your paper, allow it drying time, then create your own Gutenberg'esque piece. Here's an example of what I mean: http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/exhibits/treasures/horae.htm Just relax and do something fun. Don't worry about impressing anyone. No pressure -- just creating for the sake of creating.
3. Whatever your dominant hand is, try doing some quick sketches with your OTHER hand. If you are right-handed, try your left, and vice versa. Don't expect the result to be easy, or even good. But, it can be VERY interesting. This exercise forces you to use a different part of your brain. Even if you become pretty good at this "opposite" hand drawing, you will find that it produces a very different style of drawing, almost as if it were done be a different person. It's lots of fun and is a good way to improve your skill set.