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| Teacher Sample, based on Valerie Davide |
This lesson was part of a sequence of lessons focussing on illustration and drawing. Value and tone in drawing (pencil and pen) had been addressed in previous projects, so I felt my students would be ready to tackle it in chalk.
Students were introduced to the different chalk types. For this project, we used the softer vine charcoal and compressed chalk (conte). Students also had the option of using chalk pencils. Vine charcoal is a super soft and light chalk, and is a very forgiving drawing tool in that it can be smudged and erased with ease. Conte, on the other hand, is a compressed chalk which is firmer, creating a darker line which is more difficult to smudge. Erasing it away fully is not possible. We used our fingers as smudging 'tools', as well as a kneaded putty erasers as both erasers and as 'white drawing tools'.... because when we create a point with our eraser, we can lift off the chalk and 'draw' white lines or white spaces. This is particularly handy for the reflection spot in eyes and noses, or for white fur hairs and whiskers.
Students chose their favorite Valerie Davide dog illustrations and made several 'studies' on small format paper. Mapping out the features and being mindful of how the measurements and spacing of features relate to one another was the most important step in getting the faces right. We put much effort into getting the eyes right, since we wanted to preserve the expressiveness of Valerie Davide's dogs.
In order to mimic Davide's loose drawing style, students were encouraged to draw 'from the elbow'. Wrists and arms should be flicking around the surface with quick, open and loose movements. This is the antithesis of drawing with a pencil or pen, where only the fingers are moving.
The next week students each drew one larger format 'final' Davide animal and were given the option of adding a hint of color.
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| Dog 'studies' based on Valerie Davide |
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| Final animal drawings based on Valerie Davide |
