BLOCKING IN
For our first two lessons we have been looking at using shapes to "block in" a drawing. "Blocking in" is part of the rough preparation for a drawing. We use circles, squares, triangles and rectangles to lightly and roughly sketch out where we will render our drawing. For our Teddy Bear project, we are using mostly circles.
So, I was thinking—why do we block in instead of just starting to draw? Well, by sketching in rough shapes for our Teddy Bear we can quickly see things like:
- how will all the parts fit together (arms, legs, ears etc.)?
- will everything fit on my paper (am I drawing too big or small for my paper)?
- are the different shapes in proportion to each other? (are the ears too big or small for the rest of the bear?)
"Blocking in" is a curious concept to share with young kids. Our class has a fairly wide age gap with many very young student and just few older ones. For the younger students, we try to have less analysis — explanations of the "why" we do this or that (like "blocking in"). These concepts can be too much for the younger ones. It's either too hard to understand or just not interesting enough to them at this age. For younger ones, it's more the time to practice just doing it. It's time to experiment with different types of paper, fun charcoal and kneaded erasers.
So, what I learned today is to not expect too much with the young ones and just let them do their thing. During the class I did talk about the "why" of this and that to encourage them to understand why I am getting them to draw a bear made of plain circles instead of jumping into drawing outlines and details. I am glad that I offer some analysis especially for the older kids who seem to be grasping more of it. But, I think that next time, I will try to talk a wee bit less and just draw. I will continue to present them with new ideas of how to approach a drawing but remind myself to not get too technical about it.
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