Course description: 4 hour course that is an introduction to drawing techniques, basic visual perception and perspective.  Includes analysis of drawing elements and applied creative problems.  Subject matter includes perspective, still life. This course will serve to provide each student with techniques and methods that can apply to almost any observable situation.

Rationale: Visualization, and the parallel development of perceptual prowess and hand skills, are rudimentary to art and design.  Recognition of forms, space, atmosphere, line, etc. through objective sight and visual awareness assists the artist and the designer to order their thinking.  Cultivated interpretation and individual sensibilities provide for creativity and content.  There are, then two important ingredients to be considered for the artist and designer – objective representation and creative process. This course provides a nuts-and-bolts approach to developing a foundation for visual perception and working processes of basic drawing.

Course objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• interpret, analyze and evaluate their own drawings
• describe the technical and aesthetic components of the drawing
• demonstrate practical knowledge and use of perspective
• begin to demonstrate appropriate skill and dexterity for the faithful representation of images on a two dimensional plane

Major Topics – Lectures:

• empirical understanding of one and two-point linear perspective, and how to depict an arrangement of objects using that understanding.
• a foundation to understanding basic composition

The course will begin with a basic description of one and two point perspective, and then the instructor will  demonstrate specific methods that help each student depict objects in space according to those basic laws of perspective. 

Materials needed:

18×24” drawing pad

18×24” newsprint pad

two each of 2B, 6B and 8B drawing pencils

white plastic eraser.   – approximate cost for all materials is $30

Cost of the course is $40 plus the cost of materials.