Effective Drawing (2) - shades

using this picture, i was introduced to the the art vocabulary - "shades"

and according to the trainer, 5 tones is all we need to create a good drawing

and to create the darker tone, we can use the different methods of layering which is called hatching

our second assignment 

laying the ground with the graphite stick and kitchen towel

and tatatata..... 

i did the one of the left based on the pix given on the right

din do a very good job.... i think i gave him plastic surgery on his nose....wahahaha.... i cant seem to pick out the tones... I 左看右看, 上看下看, 前看后看 also only see 3 tones; the white, the grey and the black... wahahaha... maybe i shall darken the whole picture a whole lot more.... but i'm still impressed how the various tones just formed the whole picture like that.... 

it's really like magic to me....wahahaha.... 

initially planned to re-do the whole assignment but find it kind of boring leh....do the same picture twice..... so decided to just hand in this substandard work for evaluation... =P 

but on my own, i did a 3rd sketch of my self portrait using the techniques taught in this lesson and the previous lesson on lines.... 

took me 2 nights and a day (at least 3 hours each with many many intervals in between) to complete the whole pic cos i just dun have the patience to sit down and complete it in one sitting..... =P

this is how it looked like after the first night... 

quite happy with the hair...=)... it really does look like MY hair.... wahahaha.... no guts to fill in the features..... dun wanna the 3rd monster to appear so fast.... =P ....but ah....the more i look at it... the more i think the 3rd monster already appear liao lo....it's a FACELESS monster.....wahahaha.... 

and this is how it looked like after the 2nd night....presenting the 4th monster aka noseless monster.... wahahahaha

super difficult to draw the nose la.... so gave up and went to bed

anyway, this is the completed piece (left) drawn based on the photo on the right

something is wrong somewhere.... but dun know how else to improve liao.... =( ... 

update on 14/10/2012 - found out what's wrong liao... i was missing a mini tooth from the left and my nose was 1mm larger... every minute detail can create such a drastic change to the appearance 


but i must say that i have improved tremendously lo... 

left pix was my 1st attempt at drawing prior to the lessons and the right is my 3rd attempt after the 2nd lessons with some touch up after the 3rd lesson.

 i think i deserve a round of applause la.... wahahaha.... 

like i said before.... if Candy can draw, you can do it too.... so do check out the video on "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" if you are interested to learning drawing and try out the activities and strategies taught.... =) 

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effective drawing (1) - lines 

effective drawing (3) - lines & shades

effective drawing (4) - edge

effective drawing (5) - negative space

My Birthday (1) - JPS

My birthday Astrology:

Libras born on October 9 have the gift of making peace. They possess a strong love of beauty and love truth even more. They are controversial yet good-natured. They may display a sharp wit in their debates, but they are more ironic than sarcastic.


Friends and Lovers
Those born on this date demand a lot from their friends. They may look for superficial attractiveness in a lover, but what they want is a soul mate. When they are involved in a relationship that fulfills their spiritual as well as their emotional needs, they are perfectly content.


Children and Family
October 9 natives are devoted to the memory of their childhood, even if there was turmoil going on behind the scenes. October 9 men and women make extraordinary parents. They are able to enter a child's world, re-experiencing all the joy and fantasy of that period.


Health
The men and women born on this date have little interest in keeping fit if it means following a scheduled regimen. They enjoy being involved in physical activities that are conducive to daydreaming, such as long walks.


Career and Finances
People born on this date have a sincere interest in doing things of real consequence in the world -- and not just to satisfy their own egos. They are often drawn toward creative fields. October 9 individuals have a talent for money matters, but they aren't likely to be devoted to it. They prize values more than cash.


Dreams and Goals
People born on this date need to live life on their terms. They gladly throw away status for personal autonomy. They want to find contentment in their personal relationships. Although frustrated and complex in youth, they usually work these matters out by middle age.

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so true hor??? especially the part where it states that i have little interest in keeping fit and i enjoy activities that's conducive to daydreaming....quoting lady gaga's song; i'm BORN THIS WAY....wahahahaha... so stop saying that i'm a lazy bum bum k??? =P


i like the part which it states that i m able to enter a child's world, re-experiencing the joy and fantasy of that period. Cos that is what making my job as a P1 teacher easier... =)... by better understanding my little kiddos... knowing what excites them ... teaching strategies can be modified to bring about greater learning and exploration... =)


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anyway, was super duper touched that afternoon cos hui miin bought a strawberry short cake for aqidah & me and we had a mini celebration with all the P1 teachers....

谢谢oh... =)

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really feel so luv luv... especially with a list of celebrations lining up... =D

fri - with sec sch pals
sat - with Mr Ang followed by NIE pals
sun - with NTU pals
next sat - with PTL
next sun - with BFF

Book Haul

i bet many of you had seen this pic before.... i had a good laugh when i first saw it long long ago.... and of all places....it sort of happened to me while i was in Compasspoint after having breakfast with mr ang last week.... 


My mission: Get A gift for Bb Ethan 

knowing that lorraine will definitely have all the necessary Bb and mummy items, i really see no point in visiting those mummy's store so i decided to shop at Popular Bookstore instead to see if i can get any books or learning resources (mummy's self help book or storybooks for Bb Ethan) ...in addition, i really like to take my own sweet time to do my shopping without having any sale person talking to me unnecessary 

being a teacher, i ended up buying 3 of this

one for Baby ethan (2 months old), one for Boy boy Marcus (4 years old) and one to be placed in my classroom's english corner for a bunch of 7 years old

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bought this for my 2013 class.... will be putting it at the English corner where pupils can do self-directed learning after they have completed their work 

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being a teacher again, i'm always on the look out for strategies to convince kids that they are the one who want to do things in a way that we adults want... 

i love how this book provide ideas on how to provide choices to kiddos to get them to do the things we want them to do

planned to give this to lorraine initially but decided to keep it for myself for the time being ....not because i want to 占为己有 but because she is just so good with her Bb that i dun think she will benefit anything from this book la...

side track abit - introducing Bb Ethan, son of lorraine & carl

  

 the most lovable Bb...one that sleeps on his own in his own room since month 1... one that will go to sleep on his own without any patting and the need to silence the whole surrounding...he's just my ideal child la.... no fuss de.... i believe all these can only be achieved because lorraine is a "french mother"....wahahahaha.... 

what's a french mother??? go google on why french parents are superior and u will find out... =) 

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browse browse brose and this amazing book caught my attention

my eyes were filled with tears just by reading the foreword...click here for more info about the book... here's a video on it too

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alot of people around me always say that i'm such a lucky girl...always getting things that i want, getting situations to be in the way i want, having great friends and family who pampers me, having colleagues and bosses who let me do alot of things in the manner that i want....i dun denied that.... though there were times of pits which most dun know....but these were rare.... 

so when i saw this book, i wonder if it was just because i had used some of these strategies subconsciously ... it's a very easy to read book with friendly fonts and line spacing and not too much words....my favourite kind of self-help books..... wahahahaha

"In this clever book, bestselling author Richard Templar delivers a collection of principles, tactics and techniques that will make sure things always go your way, without you even having to ask.

You’ll discover the secrets of being the kind of person who gets what they want, and the secrets of making it easy for people to say yes to you (sometimes without even realising they are doing it).

And for those rare occasions where you really do have to ask, you’ll find priceless advice on exactly what to say and how to say it, so that you’ll definitely never have to ask twice."

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Do enjoy scrapbooking but never seem to get anything done prettily enough.... heee.... gonna try this for my ATPP portfolio.... just cos Brenda gave me a class photo.... =) 

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bought it for a friend who is into baking.... but if she's into baking, she wun need a easy cooking book right??? hmmmm...... 

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so u see, the intention of spending $50 for a gift for Bb ethan ended up as a $130+ hole in my pocket.... so i m just like any typical woman too when it comes to shopping....wahahaha.... 

Effective Drawing (1) - lines

lesson started with an introduction to the different kind of pencils... 

 (H) stands for hardness where as (B) stands for black...so for people who are always dropping their pencils onto the floor, should get (H) pencils for them
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then we were introduced to the different drawing stages by age
http://www.learningdesign.com/Portfolio/DrawDev/kiddrawing.html


i think i am stuck at the crisis period which is described as 

"The beginning of adolescence marks the end of artistic development among most children, due to frustration at "getting things right." Those who do manage to weather the crisis and learn the "secret" of drawing will become absorbed in it."

i always find my drawings super duper ugly and look nothing like the real thing and being someone who has a fixed mindset, i give the excuse that i'm not talented and refuse to try to make my art any better.... =S

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anyway, the 5 lessons under this program is to teach people like me to draw and the first step to encourage me to do that is to give me a goody bag.... wahahaha.... 

we were told to do a pre-instruction self portrait based on this photo  

 and i drew a Candy monster (according to Mr Ang)... =S 

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金玉良言 from the course:

"It's not about seeing different things but seeing things differently"

"Drawing is a record of current perception"
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2 strategies which we learnt to improve our drawings by improving our ability to see lines in this first lesson

(1) blind contour drawing

without looking at our drawing paper, we were told to draw the above line  

(2) upside down drawing (http://www.slideshare.net/mardev/whyupsidedowndrawing)

this is a copy of a drawing of a horse by Picasso.... placing the picture upside down, and with the help of the proportion finder (vernier calliper like thingy), we were told to draw the exact same thing.... 

i found the proportion finder not that user friendly so i ended up using a ruler to mark the point... so drawing ended up like math cos i was using coordinate geometry strategy...and this was what i drew.... 

 am proud of myself.... =) 

and since i was in a good drawing mood, i decided to do the optional homework as well and draw this 

based on "Portrait of Stravinsky" by Picasso

thinking that i had mastered the technique of drawing, i decided to draw another self portrait of myself based on the same photo above....bad decision.....=S....i created another monster.....

not as ugly as the first one though....wahahaha....

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The whole program on effective drawing is actually an adaptation from Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards

really really hope that my drawing skill can improve after this whole program.... keeping my fingers (& toes) crossed.....  


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effective drawing (2) - shades

effective drawing (3) - lines & shades

effective drawing (4) - edge

effective drawing (5) - negative space

我是一个懒女人

attended Mr Ang's cousin's wedding on 29 sept... since i was kind of bored, super super bored, the whole afternoon,  i took the time to play with my make-up and the panasonic hair straightener/curler which i bought a few weeks back.... 

once again, i have to agree..... 世界上没有丑女人，只有懒女人....

上了妆的我还是可以看的....wahahaha....but sadly, 我就是一个 懒女人 with terrible skin condition..... =S

anyway, with my favourite boy ~ Mr Ang 

Day 3 - ATPP Camp

"Go out the the little patch of grass and see how many different greens you can find?" 'ordered' our trainer.

And these were what i saw...

the activity was to OPEN our eyes to the different types of greens that we could possibly get from 'playing' with our paint. 

Setting up my paint platter.... it was so fun squirting the colourful paint onto the plate blob by blob.... trying to arrange them from lightest to darkest... 

trainer demonstrated how she used a single fan brush to create different strokes for the trunks, leaves and weeds... 

then we were allowed to paint anything that we wished to represent ourselves so i did this

always envy those dancers who moves around so gracefully on and off stage

and my coursemates did these

for the finale of the camp, we were asked to use any medium and style of presentation to illustrate our role as an art educator

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did a bit of scrapbooking for the class photo taken on the last day of the camp.... thanks brenda for developing it for us...