Nothing is growing in the greenhouse yet but it's a nice place to sit and draw and an easy place to practice proportion.

I drew my cat and some grackles that were on my porch. The grackle drawings are from photos I took, because it was too wet to draw outside today. I also did a drawing where I zoomed in on my cat's fluffy ear - it has a little tuft on the end!

Since it is still winter, I used the animal cams on explore.org to find animals to sketch. In the second sketch, I used the top of the head to the shoulders as my reference. I used that reference for the length of the beak and the vertical proportions of the body. With the cat sketch, I used the negative space to define the white fur.

I started with a quick sketch for the drawing of my dog. Then, I filled in the negative space and after that, I checked myself for proportions. I decided to just scribble to suggest the curly fur of my poodle and that was fun.

I took awhile to "see" the negative space and draw that

useful exercise!

I've been having trouble with proportion and I think this will be really helpful in drawing things proportionally.  It is 17 degrees - too cold for me to go out and sketch so I tried sketching this strangely shaped cactus that is here in the house.

the proportion and negative space tools are really helpful! they seem obvious once you use them in practice but they would never have dawned on me unless I learned them here. I think proportions are easier to measure on things with more solid structure - I was drawing a jade plant and I kept either drawing the leaves too big or little, even though proportionally the main stalk was accurate. I had to go back and check a few times for each area.

  I think my negative space drawing came out better than a straight sketch would have.  Useful tool for sure.

Drew this from a picture not in the field. Considering negative space and proportions was very useful while drawing, hoping to get to a point where this happens while drawing without thinking consciously about it.

I enjoyed using negative space and proportional measuring as techniques for nature drawing.  I began my drawing by lightly pencilling the spxe tha I expected not to be used by my cactus plant.  I had used this method in the past doing pastel drawings so it felt very familiar.  The idea of proportional measuring with my thumb was a new technique for me and it worked very well in marking out the height and width of the expected size of the plants; putting the Madagascar lines in first and then marking out the flower pot and the other plants, the Tiger Aloe and the Mistletoe cactus. I was pleased with my resulting drawing but not sure how transferable the skills will be with moving targets.  I was very challenged by the moving target videos.  Had fun but not much success. Here are attached 2 photos:  a photo of the planting and a  pencil drawing. Suzanne

I actually forgot about the negative space when drawing this orchid plant.  I was concentrating on the the proportions.  And I didn’t shade either. Looked better.  More practice.  Too miserable to go,outside.  Raining and several days more to come.  

Drawing using negative space.  I found this interesting. After drawing for a while I got the hang of it. Actually started making sense and looked like a flamingo. And was fun.

I found this very helpful. I will use it all the time now. And, yes, it's easier to measure some subjects compared to others.

Thank you, Liz. Always had trouble with Proportion but this technique helps a lot. I have even sketched my GS which I've been wanting to do.

I went outside, at first, to practice measuring proportions using my pencil. It worked, helping me to balance the pond size and configuration, as well as the bench. Then I practiced indoor, using a still from the video provided here. While outdoor, I think didn't notice negative space as much as drawing the second time, indoors. I realize these are techniques I must keep on practicing. The negative space helped me a lot, while drawing the "Pink Lady's Slipper" flower.

Drawing the negative space to show the flamingo

Measuring proportions helps at looking at far away object to depict the proportions of each element on a 2D surface. Below are two drawings, the first measuring inside of space. The second measuring an outside scene. Both drawings where measured using the pencil.

This technique has definitely brought my sketches to the next level. Living, moving animals are definitely harder than landscapes. Using photos and video that you can loop I find is very helpful. Below is a drawing I did do a toad I found in the garden when digging the last of the potatoes. It was certainly an exercise in proportion but also negative space as the garden soil made such a contrast to the toad. I worked off a photo that I took. I am pleased and surprised how well it turned out using all the techniques I have learned so far in this class. Thank you!