Fun ways to draw !

Ways to Draw

Sometimes we can get caught up in the technique of drawing, trying to make something true to life, but drawing can be playful, a space for experimentation. Pens and pencils are just a couple of media that can be used to draw with. I will try to unpack a few other easy to try drawing tools to get us thinking outside the box.

Multi-pen: Many of us would have tried it, taping multiple pencils or pens together to create simultaneous lines.  Try it by getting 3, 4 or 5 textas together, making sure all the tips are together, secure them in the middle with a rubber band or masking tape which is easy to remove. Try colours of a similar tone, or contrasting colours for different effects. This technique is fun to make subjects look like they are moving.

– in my example below I used the unexpected spaces created between the pen lines to colour in black, creating a shadowed effect.

Yum pencil: Try drawing with dark chocolate. It’s fun, a bit messy, but you can just lick your fingers clean. This works best on textured paper such as watercolour on which the chocolate can grate on the bumpy surface. 

Long pencil: Try challenge yourself by creating an extra long pencil. Get a stick from the backyard, around 1metre long, and tape or strap your pencil to the end of the stick. This is best practiced with your paper on the ground or pinned to the wall. Get a whole group of kids together standing around one piece of paper for a fun collaborative wiggly drawing. 

Matisse loved to draw this way!

Swinging pen: Hang a felt-tip marker from the ceiling on string so it can easily swing around. Instead of moving the pen, try move a piece of paper underneath it! This is both challenging and funny, making us think in a bit of a backwards way. 

There are other ways to create drawing too – including by using the weather – check out the beautiful Wind Drawings by Cameron Robbins and his cool drawing machines. 

Maybe you might think of some new ways to make marks, and create drawings. Time to get your ‘thinking artist’ hat on!

Happy mark-making!

Tracy x