Categories: General

Sketching with Alison Wong

Last week we had the lovely Alison Wong come teach us how to sketch – quickly.  She warmed us up by having us draw 20 circles in a 5×4 grid and then turning each of those circles into circular objects we see everyday, like an orange or a ring.

Next she taught us how to draw star-shaped men and told us to draw them instead of stick figures because they show body language that a thin line cannot.

But it’s all about the emotion in people’s faces – that is how we relate to people in stories.  She showed us how to cut the face up into quadrants and then place the eyes, nose, ears, mouth and hair appropriately.  And then we learned how to use eyebrows to show facial expression.

The next skill we learned was pacing – how to show time has passed from one frame to the next.  And my favorite part was learning about the three types of frames – establishing shot, medium shot and close-up.  She was drawing on the whiteboard the whole time and we were following along on paper.

At the end, she gave us a 4 line story and had us storyboard it.  Here are some of our fine pieces of art. :)

Thanks again, Alison for sharing your awesome visual communication skills with us!