Making marks
Art & Design · Early Years · The School
Every drawing is made of marks
Dots, lines, zigzags, spirals, scribbles, dashes. Fill a page with as many different marks as you can invent. Nothing here has to look like anything — this is the alphabet of drawing, and everyone starts by learning the letters.
Different tools, different marks
A pencil makes a thin grey line. A crayon makes a thick waxy one. A brush makes a line that changes width as you press. A finger makes a soft smudge. Try the same zigzag with four tools and look at how differently each one behaves.
Holding the pencil
Rest it between your thumb and first finger with the middle finger underneath — a tripod. Grip it lightly; a tight grip makes tired hands and stiff lines. Big arm movements for big marks, small finger movements for small ones.
Fill a page with a different mark in each of ten boxes, all with the same pencil. Press hard. Press softly. Use the side of the lead. Hold it right at the point. Hold it at the far end. Draw fast. Draw slowly. Make dots. Make tight scribbles. Make long sweeps. Now name what each one could be — bark, fur, smoke, metal. You have not learned to draw a thing; you have collected the marks that draw everything.