The most crucial part of any artwork is its preliminary stages. In this class, Sawyer will emphasize the most necessary of these stages: the block-in. The goal for this class will be describing the figure as efficiently—and accurately—as possible. Through a series of demonstrations, explanations, optional assignments, and primarily model time, students will be eased into complex topics. Gesture, rhythm, proportions, shape simplification, structure, and notan statements will be discussed and practiced in an approachable manner. There will be no intimidating rendering. This is the meat and potatoes of drawing!

Materials:

• a small drawing board
• medium sized binder clips
• HB pencils (yellow school pencils work fine)
• a pencil sharpener, or blade, and sanding board
• kneaded eraser
• legal-sized bond paper (8.5 x 14 inches) not letter-sized
• Strathmore 400 drawing paper (11 x 14 inches)