The Cindy Wider Method Complete Drawing Certificate Course Title: Unit One Outline Drawing Medium: Drawing in graphite pencil Level: Beginners Week: One Course Code: U1-OD-wk1
Major Purpose For This Unit One Course Welcome to the very beginning of the Cindy Wider Method Complete Drawing Certificate Course. The major purpose of this first unit of the full six unit course is to help you learn to draw better, in simple outline drawings. This is the foundation of all drawing skills because it also includes the skill of being able to draw the shapes of shadows and highlights which we will work with during unit two. This single unit in outline drawing is a complete short course in itself, and it is also the first of six units that when combined provide you with a solid foundation in the fundamental principles of drawing. At the end of this first unit of the full course you will have the skills to be able to create your own outline drawings. During the first five weeks of this course, you will be given a series of carefully designed exercises which will enable you to further refine your comparison skills, build mental stamina, patience and tenacity whilst further developing your eye, mind and hand coordination. There several different methods and techniques that professional artists use in their everyday practice, which you will be learning throughout this course. In the final two weeks of the course you are given the opportunity to pull together all of the skills you have learned to create one completed drawing. Week One: General overview During this first week of learning to draw in outline, we begin to settle in comfortably with the course and get to know the deeper underlying philosophy of the Cindy Wider Method and how it can benefit you. Please take your time to read the booklet titled The Artist s Language and Your Four Natural Abilities in full. It s extremely important that you read all about the Four Major Comparison Skills and the Artist s Language in particular. These two areas of study are totally unique to the Cindy Wider Method of learning to draw. Together these principles can provide you with a special way of thinking that enable you to learn to draw more easily and more quickly than you could ever have imagined. In your first week of this course, you will learn how to make the first few sketching markings on your paper. You will also learn how to access the natural movements of your wrist and shoulder to help you draw better curves and straight lines every time. Art Supplies: Gather all of the art supplies mentioned in the Essential list provided for you in the DrawPj Academy Getting Orientated Section. Page 2 of 13
Before you begin: Important: Before you begin you must create a pre-instruction drawing It is important that you record your current drawing ability in a pre-instruction drawing so that at the end of the course, you can look back to see how much you have improved. Please draw a picture of your face using a mirror or a photograph of yourself with either graphite pencil or charcoal (on light grey or white paper.) There are no expectations of you whatsoever and if you see the examples below of some typical adult beginner self-portraits you will notice that people come into this course at all levels of ability. If you are an absolute beginner adult this picture you create will probably be the same as your ability when you were about a twelve year old child. We do not expect a masterpiece, after all that is why you have enrolled in this class to learn how to draw! Please be sure to keep this drawing in a safe place to look back at in the weeks to come; so that you can enjoy your new skill level as you progress through the course. Fig 1. Examples of previous student s pre-instruction drawings Page 3 of 13
What Pencil to Use The most common graphite pencil used for general drawing is the HB. If you take a look along the side of your pencil towards the bottom you will see a little code HB written in small letters. The pencils you have gathered for your art kit are HB, 2B and 4B. The 2B and 4B pencils will be used when you are shown six different pencil techniques. For now, only use your HB pencil. The letter B stands for how Black the graphite in the pencil is. The higher the number, the blacker your pencil will be. The B range is a softer pencil than the H range. It is also the blackest or darkest pencil range. We have to be careful when using pencils in the H range as it is a harder pencil and can easily indent your page. Indentations are not easy to remove. The H pencil range achieves a paler effect. The higher the number the paler the effect and the harder the graphite is. These are great to use after this course and when you have a little more experience. A special way to hold your pencil for sketching There are many ways to hold a pencil for drawing and throughout this course you will learn how to use your pencil in various ways to create a huge array of effects. The simple act of drawing can be a beautiful and sensual experience especially when you begin to sketch with your pencil. To enjoy drawing to the fullest get your whole body involved! Before you pick up your pencil for sketching, warm up a bit. 1. In a standing position, begin by rolling your shoulders, then make large circular and wave motions in the air with both of your arms. Make sure the motions flow through from your shoulder, elbow to your wrist, and right down to the tips of your fingers. 2. Now that you are feeling nice and loose, it s time to pick up your pencil. Here s your first artist s drawing secret. Traditionally at school we are taught to write with a tight grip and to create one single line which is supposed to be perfect the first time. This type of writing is a form of drawing but we have to develop a very stiff and strong wrist to achieve this. We use our wrist for control when we write (Fig. 2.) However, when we sketch it needs to be a more expressive experience. One way that many artists use to begin a drawing is to sketch by using a series of many soft shorter feathery lines and curves which overlap and sit alongside each other (see Figs. 5 and 6.) We must be careful not to make these lines too short. These sketching lines should be created as longer strokes if the shape or curve is larger or longer and shorter when the shape is smaller or shorter. Page 4 of 13
The sketching strokes should also be curved whenever creating a curved line or circle. They will overlap each other in many places before you move onto the next section of the shape, so that you are in effect drawing around about in the same place several times before moving onwards; it is a spontaneous movement and we work rapidly. Sketching is all about stroking the paper many times to finally achieve the shape of the curve or line that we want. This is not what is known as hairy lines these are longer sketch lines and curves. This way of sketching works upon the law of averages and helps to utilize the natural wrist movement; you have many chances to obtain that one right line which can be then firmed in later. But don t firm it in here, we want to see those gorgeous feathering lines and curves for now. This way of drawing enables us to have much more control over our results so our artwork looks much more professional and pleasing to the eye. It can also help to hold your pencil in a slightly different way when you sketch. Try holding your pencil further up the shaft, using a more relaxed and slightly extended index finger. This position enables you to keep your pencil closer and lower down onto the paper which is perfect for sketching (see Figs. 3 and 4.) Spread your elbows out away from your body and be prepared to turn your page around often to achieve a comfortable position at all times while sketching. This placement of your finger on the pencil automatically relaxes your entire arm so the motion flows through from your shoulder, elbow and to your wrist. If this feels uncomfortable, your index finger might be just a bit too straight or a little too loose, in this case gently bend it a little more but keep it relaxed (see Figs. 3 and 4.) This position is not essential but can help you to sketch better. Fig. 2. Traditional tight grip used for writing Fig. 3. Special pencil hold used for drawing Page 5 of 13
Fig. 4. Keeping the hand inside the curve at all times. Getting to know our wrist and shoulder movements a bit more Using the wrist motion for sketching curves: When we sketch curves, we are making the most of the natural movement of the wrist. Take a minute to really have a good look at your wrist and the movement that your wrist is capable of right now. It can bend forwards a lot further than it can bend backwards. It can really hurt when we bend it either way too much. You might find that your wrist is actually quite stiff and that happens more and more the older we get; unless we are using our wrist a real lot such as when we play certain sports that require us to do so. This wrist motion is what we are using to greatly benefit us when sketching curves, therefore it makes sense to be able to get as much flexibility in our wrist as we can. Notice that when our arm and elbow are tucked into our side and the hand and wrist are pointing directly forward out in front of us, the wrist can only really bend forward comfortably towards us in an arc less than a quarter of a circle (not quite 45 degrees.) It can curve backwards and away from us even less than that. It s really not much movement at all. However it gets really interesting when we spread our shoulder and elbow out and away from our body; to allow air to flow beneath our arm-pit. Think of this as a little bird spreading out its wing and getting ready to fly. Now look at the incredible amount of movement the we can achieve with the arc of the wrist there! Try flipping the wrist forward towards you and back outwards and away from you (as you hold your hand with your thumb facing upwards towards the ceiling.) The arc that we can now create is far more like half an entire circle than the tiny less-than-aquarter circle movement that we were able to create when our arm is tucked into the side! When we stand to draw at an easel we can use this full motion of the wrist and even get our entire upper-torso involved in the action, however, when we are seated for drawing (which is Page 6 of 13
more suitable for this art course as the exercises are quite long in duration to complete) and our goal is to have our arm resting on the surface of our drawing table for support. The seated position does of course restricts us somewhat but not as much as it does when our arm is tucked into the side of our body - which many people tend to do when drawing and writing. By all means experiment with standing up to draw as well! With this new amount of movement that we can now make with our wrist (while our arm is out away from our side and resting on the table) we can now comfortably stroke our paper and make curves to form almost one quarter of a circle with the greatest control. So we aim to sketch our curves a bit less than a quarter of a circle in length. After we complete this portion of a curve, we can then gently turn our page around to create more of the curve. We can then sketch several strokes on the paper before we gently turn the page around and then keep on travelling around the shape sketching as we go. This helps us to form very professional and controlled curves every time. Using the Shoulder motion for sketching straight lines: This next bit of information is equally as exciting as using the wrist for curves! Did you know that we can also use our shoulder motion to help us to create straight lines? This time instead of utilizing the flicking wrist motion (that we access for drawing curves) we are using the limited range of the shoulder joint to help us achieve straight lines. When drawing straight lines we have to keep our wrist very stiff this time, and make the movement for our lines from the shoulder. Many artists use an Under-hand grip when drawing straight lines, but this is mostly good for drawing at an easel. When we sit to draw, we can also use the same grip that we use for sketching curved lines. SMILE Smile while you sketch: Whenever you draw if you remember to smile, your whole upper torso will relax and you will enjoy the experience so much more. Page 7 of 13
Try not to be too concerned about the outcome, relax, enjoy the journey it s all okay. You can t force drawing, it has to be given permission to come out of you. This will only happen if you are relaxed, if you have fun and most of all if you love your drawings unconditionally! Before you begin to sketch, consider printing out or hand-writing the following affirmations (or make up some of your own) then stick them above your art or drawing area: I always smile while I draw I love drawing, it relaxes me and replenishes my soul Drawing completes me I am drawing for now but I will be back in the real world again soon. When I go back to the real world I will feel happier, more fulfilled and a better person as a result Drawing is necessary for my soul to feel balanced, I take responsibility for my own happiness and therefore I give myself permission to draw regularly Exercise One: Sketching practice Have a go at drawing with this new way of holding your pencil while you create the soft sketching lines and curves that artists use for drawing. After reading the instructions below, draw a variety of large and small loose curves, circles and waves. Then try some straight lines on an angle as well as horizontal and vertical or in all different directions (see Figs. 5 and 6.) Make up your own patterns with lines and curves, these are just to give you an idea of the kinds of shapes that you need to practice. Try anything with lovely flowing curves, some tight smaller curves and S shaped waves and shapes as well as some lines. 1. Clear the area around your desk top so that you can turn your page a full 360 degrees and spread your elbows right out to the sides. 2. Sharpen your pencil to expose as much graphite as possible. 3. Hold your pencil as previously described for drawing and do your best to use your whole arm including the elbow and shoulder. It s important to note that your hand and arm should be away from the side of your body, not tucked in to your side as we do when using only the wrist. Tip: If the extended index finger feels too awkward, just bend it a little more and see if that is more comfortable. If not, just hold your pencil how you normally would but do your best to achieve the soft sketching lines and curves that we are ultimately aiming to create in this exercise. Page 8 of 13
Keep your hand on the inside of the curve while you are still developing flexibility; that way you are working with your natural body movements. Continually rotate your page around as you gently brush the surface with soft feathery strokes. Remember that the arc of the wrist movement is limited. If your hand or wrist becomes uncomfortable it means that you need to turn your page a little sooner next time. Fig. 5 Draw a series of loose curves similar to these. Page 9 of 13
Summary The overall aim of this exercise is to draw with many shorter lines and curves to make up the one shape. We sketch continually in around about the same place using the law of averages to discover the exact place we are looking for. We either choose to leave all of these wonderful sketching lines in place (as for this exercise) or we can then go over the drawing with the single line but still using a very neatly sketched line. We can choose whether or not to erase the other sketching lines we don t need, however please leave the sketching lines for the purpose of this exercise. This should be an enjoyable, relaxing and beautiful drawing experience for you if you are using the technique correctly. It is not only about how you hold your pencil, it s also about learning to draw from your shoulder and wrist so adjust your hand to suit your comfort. Fig. 6 Sketching straight lines and curves Assignments To Complete This Week: 1. Your pre-instruction drawing of a self-portrait, this is a fun relaxed darwing that we can use as it is a record of your ability before you begin this course. Later you will use this image as an indication of your progress. If you are studying with the assistance of an instructor you must submit this image. 2. Exercise One: A series of curves and lines to demonstrate the sketching technique Page 10 of 13
Final words This first week of your art course is different to the following weeks as you have been given a lot of extra reading to do with the important extra resource booklet titled The Artist s Language and Your Four Natural Abilities. Enjoy the journey of the learning process. Take your time and absorb the knowledge that is put before you. Nurture yourself often along the way because the time has come to give yourself permission to indulge in the fullness of who you truly are. This is the beginning of re-claiming that child-like wonder that has perhaps been missing all your adult life! Make a bold and visible statement to yourself and others by setting up an artist s haven a desk with art materials and supplies that you can go to any time you like. Take some time out to create an Artist s Portfolio to keep your artworks in a safe place as suggested early in the Cindy Wider Method booklet. It is a good idea to place some special drawing tissue paper between your artworks to keep them nice and clean, otherwise a sheet of white paper is okay temporarily. You may find that as you first attempt to claim your Pyjama Time there might be some initial teething problems as your family and friends learn to work around you. There may be many interruptions if you are a parent with small children, or taking care of an elderly parent or working from home but will you find that you can eventually get used to that. It is all about resigning to the fact that there will be interruptions and other responsibilities to take care of right when you want to draw, however, its still better than not being able to draw at all. If you are happy then that makes the whole family happy too. Another little tip is to try and learn to relax when you are ready to draw. When you relax, you make a conscious choice to let go of whatever else is happening in your life good or bad. Even if that is only for a short time just while you draw. You can go back to thinking about all that other life stuff later. If you don t have anyone else living with you then that s a bit easier of course, but if not maybe you can even negotiate to have some time out for you, even if its one evening a week where you get to have me time. You can put on some head-phones and ambient music to really enjoy your time. Avoid music with words because its distracting. Consider instrumental or world music. With this attitude and openness to receive, you will successfully allow the knowledge of art and creativity to flow through you and learning will come naturally. Most of all, it will be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Drawing can be meditative and almost addictive, in a wonderful way. It gives you a reason to get everything else done efficiently and to be organized so you can get to what you love doing more often! Remember to just show up at the table that s often the hardest part! Page 11 of 13
CPD Accreditation (applicable if your instructor offers the CPD Accreditation model) If you wish to obtain your CPD Accreditation Certificate as well as the Cindy Wider Method Certificate upon completion of all six units of the course you may do so by simply requesting the information from your instructor. Only students studying this course Instructor Assisted and who complete all six units of the course are eligible to obtain their CPD Accreditation Certificate. This full course is worth a total of 200 hours of CPD. However each individual unit of the course is also graded and a document awarded at the end of each unit. The grading is presented as a three page pdf document containing your grade, comments on your work and the grading criteria. The final grade for each unit of the course is sent to you by private email within the following two weeks after each unit of the course has been completed. Please also let your Instructor know what name you wish to have written on your grading forms and your final certificate upon graduation. Optional Grading For those of you who study this course as Instructor Assisted your final artwork will be graded unless you request otherwise. If you do not wish to have your artwork graded please inform your instructor before week six of the course. Instead you will receive your usual weekly comments on your work. IMPORTANT: only course participants who complete all of the exercises in the course and submit them to their instructor are entitled to have their final project graded. Optional extra exercises are for your enjoyment only and your instructor will not be critiquing them. You are welcome to submit those drawings for sharing your new skills with your instructor and fellow classmates to enjoy. Page 12 of 13
Grading Criteria If you are studying this course instructor assisted, your final artwork will be graded using a Rubric-based grading method, therefore you will be graded according to your ability to achieve the criteria set out below. This grading method provides you with a set of goals to aspire to throughout this unit. Your grade will be recorded on your Certificate of Completion which is a beautifully printed document containing the original signature of your personal art instructor. The Certificate which will be awarded to you once you have successfully completed the entire six units in this course will be posted to you free of charge anywhere in the world. The project you complete at the end of this unit will be graded according to your ability to successfully achieve the following results; 1. Demonstrate that you are able to accurately compare angles, lines and curves to a horizontal or vertical line. This skill will be evident as your ability to accurately draw the outline shapes on your final drawing of a bunch of frangipani, using the grid method process. 2. Neatness: Your ability to present your final project without smudges and marks on or around the outside or within the image on your page. The grading system your Instructor will use to grade your work is as follows: A+ Excellent standard of artwork; the highest possible standard of drawing that is expected from this level in the art course with little extra advice needed to improve the project. A B C D High standard of drawing for this level in the art course, some small adjustments are needed with a little more practice required to further improve. A good standard of drawing for this level in the art course, with several changes in your technique needed to improve your skills with extra practice required. You have demonstrated a basic understanding of the methods and techniques being taught in this course and it is evident you are trying hard. There are some significant changes to your techniques that were needed in this drawing. You need a better understanding of the exercises which lead up to the creation of this artwork. If you are not satisfied with this grade, you have the option to redo your final project in an aim to receive a higher grade, however a higher grade is not guaranteed. You need to repeat this final project and several exercises prior to that (as suggested by your certified Instructor.) You possibly haven t completed some of the earlier exercises or made the alterations to your artwork as suggested by your Instructor, therefore the lack of skills are evident in your project. Sometimes more patience and tenacity is what is required. Page 13 of 13