Good morning, Voltville. Here's a song to get you up, though maybe it's not really a morning song. Still, I heard it first thing this morning, since Bill was playing it on the guitar. It's the song he's learning at the moment.
Chit Chat in VOLTVILLE Thread #2 :)
- Thread starter Imagine
- Start date
- th_trl_thread_readers 0
- Status
It's good morning here but afternoon where you are. We got some snow last night. Nothing to write home about though. 1" maybe and it's mostly gone now. Temps should get back to normal this week thankfully. Every time my furnace comes on the power meter spins like a top and I see $$. 
I'm still working on my sleeping puppy drawing. Got a problem though. The proportions are right so I'm having to improvise to I don't have to move his head over.
I discovered this when I started doing the detailing so I'm too far along to move the head or start over. I think I should have used grid lines. He's so cute though so I'm plugging away.
I'm still working on my sleeping puppy drawing. Got a problem though. The proportions are right so I'm having to improvise to I don't have to move his head over.
I discovered this when I started doing the detailing so I'm too far along to move the head or start over. I think I should have used grid lines. He's so cute though so I'm plugging away.
It's good morning here but afternoon where you are. We got some snow last night. Nothing to write home about though. 1" maybe and it's mostly gone now. Temps should get back to normal this week thankfully. Every time my furnace comes on the power meter spins like a top and I see $$.
I'm still working on my sleeping puppy drawing. Got a problem though. The proportions are right so I'm having to improvise to I don't have to move his head over.
Maybe it'll work if his head is just at a different angle, not like it's not attached to his body properly. I hope you can solve the problem.
This afternoon, I came up with an idea for the next tutoring lesson. Of course, if the kids wrote a review of the movie they were supposed to watch, we'll do that, but in case they didn't even watch one of the movies, I have to have a plan.
So I decided to show them a Mobius strip, which I've always thought was cool, so maybe it'll enchant them, too, particularly the boy. I found written instructions of all sorts of things to do besides just making one and drawing a line on it. Wait. Can I assume everyone knows what a Mobius strip is?
Just in case you don't, here's how to make one. It's easy and sort of magical. First, I'll ask you if you can draw on both sides of a paper without lifting your pencil. You can't think of how, right? So, cut a strip of paper, maybe one inch wide and fairly long -- 10 inches or so. Hold the strip and give one end of it a single turn and then tape the ends together. So, you've made a twisty-looking ring. Draw a line down the center of the strip of paper. Keep drawing till you meet up with where you started. When you examine the paper, you've drawn that line on both sides. Neat, huh?
So the instructions I found also suggested cutting down the length of the joined strip in various ways, such as closer to one edge than the other, and down the center, etc. I noticed when you cut down the center, it makes a big twisty ring, and when you draw on it, you don't go on both sides. It'll be fun to experiment with the suggestions. The kids can read the suggestions, then try them out and see what happens.
So there's my lesson plan for Monday.
So I decided to show them a Mobius strip, which I've always thought was cool, so maybe it'll enchant them, too, particularly the boy. I found written instructions of all sorts of things to do besides just making one and drawing a line on it. Wait. Can I assume everyone knows what a Mobius strip is?
Just in case you don't, here's how to make one. It's easy and sort of magical. First, I'll ask you if you can draw on both sides of a paper without lifting your pencil. You can't think of how, right? So, cut a strip of paper, maybe one inch wide and fairly long -- 10 inches or so. Hold the strip and give one end of it a single turn and then tape the ends together. So, you've made a twisty-looking ring. Draw a line down the center of the strip of paper. Keep drawing till you meet up with where you started. When you examine the paper, you've drawn that line on both sides. Neat, huh?
So the instructions I found also suggested cutting down the length of the joined strip in various ways, such as closer to one edge than the other, and down the center, etc. I noticed when you cut down the center, it makes a big twisty ring, and when you draw on it, you don't go on both sides. It'll be fun to experiment with the suggestions. The kids can read the suggestions, then try them out and see what happens.
So there's my lesson plan for Monday.
Last edited:
They can write what they think will happen, then what actually happened. Gotta work that English into it. Excellent idea! Get the whole brain working.
Here's a fun thing I found on YouTube. I was thinking of the pentatonic scale and how universal it is, and wondering why. (Remember in the movie, Close Encounters, the aliens used it to make contact with Earthlings?) So I thought I'd look up some info about it. Most was sort of boring, about what it is, its structure compared to the major and minor scales, and lists of different music the world over that uses it.
But I found this very entertaining demonstration of how universal it is.
Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale - YouTube
But I found this very entertaining demonstration of how universal it is.
Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale - YouTube
I'd have to redo his whole head to change the angle. I couldn't fix the problem so I'm starting over. I hate starting over but this puppy is so cute that I really want to see it complete. I know what I did wrong so it should turn out better this time.
Chalk it up to "live & learn," I guess. There's no way you can just redo the head? That'd be easier than totally starting over. Sorry to hear you have to do this.
No, I couldn't redo the head because I had already used charcoal on the dark spots and that won't erase completely. I knew there was something wrong but I couldn't figure out what it was so I started detailing. Then I realized the proportions were wrong. Like you said...live and learn. I learned a lot from this.
I subscribed to an artists Youtube channel and I got an email this morning saying he had a new vid out. It was called "Getting proportions down accurately". What a coincidence and just what I needed.
Now the redo is coming along nicely.
No, I couldn't redo the head because I had already used charcoal on the dark spots and that won't erase completely. I knew there was something wrong but I couldn't figure out what it was so I started detailing. Then I realized the proportions were wrong. Like you said...live and learn. I learned a lot from this.
I subscribed to an artists Youtube channel and I got an email this morning saying he had a new vid out. It was called "Getting proportions down accurately". What a coincidence and just what I needed.
What did they say to do?
Sorry about the late response. I was watching a movie.
He showed how to use a grid with only 4 lines not counting the box for the border. A diagonal line from corner to corner, then a horizontal line across the middle and then a vertical line down the center. All the lines intersect in the middle of the drawing. You first draw the grid on the photo or printout and then draw the border on your drawing paper, then draw the grid on your drawing paper. This is easier to do than a bunch of little squares and you don't have so many lines to erase. This may sound like cheating but it is a very effective beginners tool.
It's not cheating - you use the tools that you have. I used to use grids all the time - not just for proportions, but for breaking things down so that I could concentrate on one section at a time. Heck, I think even Leonardo used grids:
Last edited:
I tried a grid once, but it was lots of little squares. I got a very accurate drawing, but it sure was tedious. What I do now is to print out the picture I want to draw, same size as I draw it, and carefully measure the distances between things. I use my pencil to do it. I hold it sort of sideways, and the point of the pencil is one spot, and where I'm holding it is the other. I hold it up to the printout and get the distance, then hold the pencil on the drawing paper and put my hand where some part already drawn is, and make a dot with the pencil point where the other spot should be. For instance, how far the eye is down from the ear, then how far in it is from the jawbone, etc. I block in the basics like this very lightly before anything else. When it seems right, then I start filling it in. Still, as you know, sometimes an eye or nostril is not quite where it should be, and with pastels, I can erase enough to correct it. Your grid would help with blocking in major items, but for details, you might want to try my method.
I like cindy's grid. Sounds easy to use.
SandySu - great flower pic.
It rained and rained last night.
I have to clean a house today. Bummer.
The new dogs are doing great. We walked all four dogs around the yard together yesterday. They are getting along...with a little supervision to make sure nobody growls at anybody else.
SandySu - great flower pic.
It rained and rained last night.
I have to clean a house today. Bummer.
The new dogs are doing great. We walked all four dogs around the yard together yesterday. They are getting along...with a little supervision to make sure nobody growls at anybody else.
I'm glad to hear you got rain and that the new dogs are settling in so well. Have a great day!
Yep, the little square would be tedious to mess with and a lot to erase. That's why I never tried it. I like this 4 line grid though. I suppose if you were drawing a very large drawing you might want to add a few more lines though. Here is the video that I watched and he showed a tool I hadn't seen before that looks pretty cool. "Accurate Drawing Proportions Video" What I like about it is you can use it to draw a larger drawing from a small photo or print. I found one on ebay.
I've been using a similar method as you only with a rule rather than a pencil. The mistake I made was my drawing area didn't match the photo so my measurements were off. I won't make that mistake again.
Terry -how's the new pic?
Easterners and Southerners - How much snow are you getting? How are your temps? What is going on out your way?
Easterners and Southerners - How much snow are you getting? How are your temps? What is going on out your way?
- Status
Similar threads
