Drawing is fun, educational activity

Emmeline Elliott

Back-to-school shopping may have started, but there’s still plenty of summer to fill. One great activity that’s fun for all ages – and helps kids gear up for the classroom – is drawing.

The Madison Public Library has a large selection of drawing books appropriate for preschoolers up to high schoolers that cover a variety of topics. The books provide step-by-step direction and often discuss drawing methods, materials and perspectives to improve the skills of the student artist.

To keep children on top of their South Dakota facts, bring home How to Draw South Dakota’s Sights and Symbols by Stephanie True Peters. This book shows how to draw the state seal, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, the capitol building, a map of South Dakota and the official state flower, bird, animal, tree and flag. Kids will also read about notable South Dakotans, including artist Harvey Dunn.

Dig deeper into history through the art of drawing with Ralph Masiello’s Ancient Egypt Drawing Book by Ralph Masiello where students can learn about the symbols, emblems, royalty and gods of the ancient civilization. Kids can go back to medieval times while drawing from Christopher Hart’s Kids Draw: Knights, Kings, Queens and Dragons. Besides offering drawing tips, the book has plenty of information about people and buildings of that period and the design, function and use of armor, weapons and wardrobe.

For households with animals in the home, children may want to use the family pet as a model. Kids Can Draw: Favorite Pets by Philippe Legendre uses simple geometric shapes that are easy for young artists to turn into a fish, a dog, a bunny, and a cat, among others. Student artists who want to make a more life-like rendering of a furry friend could check out How to Draw Puppies and Kittens by Ron Zalme or How to Draw Dogs by Laura Murawski. Each book introduces techniques, like shading, to add more detail to the picture. Murawski’s book also has a page on the history and characteristics of each of the eight canines she features. Kids can give themselves a pony by following along with Jeff Crosby’s book Drawing Horses.

Artists who want to explore the worlds of bugs, ocean animals, rainforest animals and even dinosaurs have a lot of options on hand. Check out Ralph Masiello’s Bug Drawing Book by Ralph Masiello, Draw 50 Sharks, Whales and Other Sea Creatures by Lee J. Ames and Warren Budd, Draw! Rainforest Animals by Doug DuBosque, and Draw 50 Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals by Lee J. Ames. Ralph Masiello’s book would be helpful to the less experienced artist, while the other three books would challenge the more advanced student.

Kids can draw a habitat for their animals with the guidance of Drawing from Nature by Jim Arnosky. In this book, Arnosky shares his insight and methods in accurately drawing water, land and plants as well as some wildlife.

Machines and vehicles are another popular subject matter for children. How to Draw Cars and Trucks by Rob Court teaches elementary kids about drawing a police car, a school bus, a monster truck and more. Older students who can appreciate the finer details of a vehicle can try drawing a 1950s Cadillac, a Formula One race car and a tractor-trailer from Dermot Walshe’s book Mean Machines: How to Draw Cool Cars, Trucks and Motorcycles. This book briefly describes the background of specific vehicles and has lots of drawing tips.

The youngest of beginners can draw an ice skater, a cowboy and a scuba diver by looking at Ray Gibson’s I Can Draw People. Artists who want to create better portraits could read How to Draw Faces by Rob Court. Or if the experienced artist is looking for a twist, try Draw 50 Famous Caricatures by Lee J. Ames and Mort Drucker, which includes caricatures of John Wayne, Dolly Parton and Bill Cosby.

Let’s move from drawing real-life subjects to make believe. Young children can draw all the creepy crawly creatures under their beds with instruction from Kids Can Draw: Monsters by Philippe Legendre. More skilled artists could enjoy drawing characters depicted in Learn to Draw the Fairies of Pixie Hollow by the Disney Storybook Artists and in Peter Gray’s Drawing Manga book series on action figures, heroes and villains.

Several books focus on drawing cartoons. Some apply a cartoon look to real animals, like in How to Draw Cartoon Rodents by Curt Visca, while others make up new characters for artists to draw, such as with How to Draw 104 Cartoons by Gary Harbo and How to Draw Cartoons by Rob Court. Fans of the “Garfield” comic strip can learn to draw the feline and his friends in How to Draw Garfield and the Gang by Jim Davis.

MAAC meetings are held the first Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. at The BrickHouse Community Arts Center.