LESSON PLANS WINTER TERM 2023 (2nd half). Lesson 4: Dogs and Horses

In this lesson I'm asking my students to make pencil sketches of horses and/or dogs, as a serious rather than a 'cuddly' subject. I'm posting a selection of drawings - all very different, to illustrate some several ways that these animals can be studied. I'm asking my students to bring photos of dogs and horses from which they'll sketch. These sketches will be the workings-out for a future painting.

Winter Term 2nd half 2023 – lesson 4: Dogs and/or horses.

· Choose your image of a dog or a horse from which you’re going to sketch (and you may make many sketches in this lesson).

· Think about the format of the page you’re initially sketching on (landscape or portrait format?)

· Think about where and why you’re placing your dog/horse within that format.

· Think about the shapes between your dog/horse and the boundaries of your page.

· Begin your drawing by looking for the shapes between the legs of your dog/horse. This is by far the best way to get the legs in place and looking like legs that can work!

· Work with a loose line, putting more pressure on your pencil to make a darker thicker line or less pressure to make a softer or a narrower line.

· Gradually, as you become clearer about the shape of your animal, using your pencil on its side, move into tone. Build up some areas of tone and shadow on your drawing.

· Make another sketch – experiment with tone, line and marks that might describe texture.

· Look at any context that you could include in your drawings – backgrounds and surroundings.

Next lesson: Painting your dog/horse. Think about the medium you’d like to work with in the next lesson. Discuss with me any ideas you have, bring your images, sketches and the medium you intend to work with.