Bronze Arts Award: Rowan aged 11
As part of Arts Award Bronze, students must share or demonstrate an aspect of their practice and invite feedback. Here Rowan shares her sketching technique using a light box. Please do feedback below via the comment box.
“I start with a rough sketch. It doesn’t matter if it looks messy or is covered in finger prints. For this drawing I used a reference photo for the basic pose and then I made the dress, hair and features my own. I used a mechanical pencil.
I then transferred it onto card, using pen, by putting it onto a lightbox and then putting some card over that. With the room relatively dark and the lightbox turned on, I could trace over my sketch. I used Micron Pigma Pens in orange, green and brown and a Derwent Graphic Line Marker in Sepia.
I don’t always over line different areas of my sketch in different colours, but for this sketch I decided to try it out.
I coloured this in using a mixture of alcohol markers: promarkers, copics and spectrum noirs. Some people lay down a base of light and build up the colours making it darker. Others do the shadows first and make it lighter. I do a mixture of both, but mostly light to dark in this picture.
I added extra definition with Luminence pencils and Polychromas pencils. I then added highlights with a white gel pen.”
Other resources by Rowan
Making Mini Food
Using a Lightbox
AccessArt is an Arts Award Supporter. Contact us if you would like to use AccessArt to support your Arts Award
Sheila, AccessArt
February 8, 2017 @ 11:18 am
Rowan! This is absolutely stunning and what an incredible achievement for your Bronze Arts Award which you have more than demonstrated in this video as very brilliantly earned! It was so interesting to watch the video showing your processes step by step and how competent your draft-person’s skills are, which actually well surpass your age in years. You are clearly a ‘master’ of illustrative drawing shown in your initial sketch (which for many would have been enough of a demonstration of your skills beyond Bronze award) and using the light box to further enhance the initial draft. I also loved watching how you layer up the colours – here you have such a strong instinct for both pallet and tonal differences leading to such a realistic and enhanced finished piece. I was also very impressed with how you used technology to demonstrate your amazing skills and talent. I wish you all the best in all your creative endeavors and can’t wait to see what you do next! Do you ever use your beautiful drawings to illustrate stories? There is a narrative quality in your work and the drawing tells me so much about this girl – makes me want to get to know her even more!