Great news folks, the last two weeks have been spent completing the final part my Outline Drawing course with DrawPJ.com. This is just the first module of a 6 module course that I’ve signed up to for the next couple of years. It’s one heck of a commitment I know, but I’ve always believed that being able to freely draw anything at will, and to be good at it, is the foundation of the type of art that I intend to make my living from.
When reading the details about my progress below please don’t forget to click on the thumbnails by each section to see the cool drawing I created in more detail. My drawings were submitted to Cindy, my course instructor at DrawPJ.com, and her feedback (in italics) is also included below.
Unit One: Outline Drawing: Week Six and Seven
The primary goal of this module is to have a final graded assessment of my work to date.
Exercise 1: Create an outline drawing of Frangipani Dreams
For exercise one I had to copy a very complicated drawing called Frangipani Dreams, using the grid method, onto bond paper. To say it was a complicated exercise would be an understatement! When I began to plot the multitude of lines and curves it was a total nightmare, as there were lines or every angle, and curves of every radius imaginable in this drawing!
I took a deep breath, relaxed, and treated myself to a recap of the course material to date by reading through the previous modules, then I just got my head down to finish the exercise. I was very careful not to rush things, and when I was tired I even went for a walk to chill out and clear my head. Eventually, after many hours of careful work I was finished, and I was quite pleased with the results which I promptly sent off to Cindy for review. Take a look at my drawing opposite and you will see just how complicated this drawing actually was!
Exercise 2: Transfer Frangipani Dreams to Artist quality drawing paper
The final part of this module was to transfer the outline drawing I had previously drawn onto artist quality drawing paper. I had recently treated myself to a 12×9 Langton Extra Smooth (Hot Pressed) pad of watercolour paper which was perfect for this exercise.
I used a 4B pencil to coat the reverse of my outline drawing on my bond paper with a layer of graphite, then using small strips of masking tape I affixed this to my artist quality paper and gently traced over my outline drawing, being careful not to press too hard and indent the paper underneath. The image transferred beautifully, and after a little tidying up of a few graphite smudges with my rubber (or ‘eraser’ for my American followers!) I scanned the finished image and sent it off to Cindy for her critique and grading. Please take a look at my final drawing opposite, and apologies that it’s so faint, but this is intentional, and it’s now ready for me to render as part of another module later in this drawing course.
Feedback from Cindy
Dear Ian,
It gives me great pleasure to award your first graded document in this course.
I am so impressed with how quickly you have developed all of your new skills.
Now you are aware of many great techniques that you can apply to all of your drawings.
On another exciting note too; the Complete Drawing Certificate Course is now officially CPD Accredited so once you have completed your full six units of the course you will be awarded with your CPD Accredited Certificate of Attendance worth 200 hours.
Please find your graded document attached and let me know that you have received this document.
Warm wishes
Cindy
Feedback on my submission
Hi Ian, this is a wonderful drawing and you have clearly demonstrated that you understand how to use the Grid Method professionally and with precision. There are a few minor errors where you need to draw your image differently for example:
At letter A this petal is a little large. You may have forgotten to compare the angles to the sides of the square (horizontal and vertical line comparison) see letter B.
There are some other areas that needed a more refined comparison of angles skill set which will develop more over time (see C.)
Overall fantastic work and you should be very proud of your amazing accomplishment in such a short period of time. You can now use the Grid Method, Construction Drawing Method and many other skills to draw in outline. Now the very exciting part begins as you learn to bring your art to life with the three-dimensional illusion of “Shading and Form” in Unit Two.
I look forward to seeing more of your wonderful work.
Cheers!
Cindy
Outline Drawing Course Grading
So here are copies of the documents I received, and as you can see I was awarded an A! I’m very pleased with the result and this will go towards my final grading on the completion of this course.
Conclusion
This was an awesome introduction to the basics of drawing, and outline drawing in particular. There are many new things I’ve learned from this course and I’m already reaping the benefits because my new-found knowledge is helping me to create better quality art. Understanding the basics of the “artists language” is really helping me to see things in a different way, making it easier for me to break down and analyse what’s before me and put it down accurately on paper. Without a doubt, this has been the best art instruction courses I have ever taken!
Coming up
I shall be moving onto the next set of drawing lessons in Unit Two next, Shading and Form. In Module One I will begin refining my skills for comparing levels of light and dark to enable me to draw convincing realistic three-dimensional images on a flat two-dimensional surface. Please follow my Drawing Journey to see how I get on 🙂
Next Steps
Please join me!
You too can learn the fundamental drawing techniques that Professional Artists use. Download the course notes here> The Complete Drawing Certificate Course