Design and Wonder in the Everyday

Mo Willems makes doodles dandy

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

whole

In an NPR interview on May 5, Mo Willems discusses the benefits of drawing as an adult. He describes his family doodling time at his home where everyone draws on the dining room walls (painted with chalkboard paint). Visit his blog to view more photos and to be inspired by this creative and fun family activity.

This is something I considered for my office walls as a creative outlet and as a productivity tool (to-do lists, calendars, and scratch pad), but I didn’t want to deal with the chalk dust.

09.05.2009 Cool, Inspiration Comments Off

Profile practice

Monday, August 25th, 2008

 

Mike G. profile

Mike G. profile

I’ve been looking for a profile to practice my drawing skills on and finally decided to sketch a guy I know. I love working out of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. It’s a classic book on drawing by a master teacher.

An interesting thing to note in terms of proportions, is that the distance from the inside corner of the eye to the bottom of the chin should be the same length as the corner of the eye to the back of the ear. Also, because our minds unconsciously place so much emphasis on the face, many beginners mistakenly reduce the size of the top of the skull. In reality, the eyes should be midway between the top of the head and the bottom of the chin.

In attempting to find photos of profiles online, I’ve noticed that not everyone’s profile fits according to these guidelines. Still, it’s a good exercise in reducing a person’s features into lines so that you can draw them accurately.

 

25.08.2008 Learning Comments Off