Guest post: A is for Art

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by John Fidler from Scribblz n' Doodlz

A couple of years ago, whilst idly doodling, I hit upon the idea of using a letter as the starting point for drawing absolutely anything - almost!
The letter was 'A', as in 'A is for Art', coincidently the title of a little book that I've put together that details easy step by step instructions for drawing people, animals and machines.

I found that by using slight variations of an A, it was incredibly easy to draw something that looked like what it was supposed to.

As a school teacher this has proved to be an invaluable tool, as I can quickly show children a simple way of drawing something. Far from limiting or stifling their own creativity it actually provides the springboard to get them going. Lots of children (and adults!) lack confidence when it comes to drawing. By giving them a consistent, simple starting point you can open the door to enable them to experiment and try things out.

One of my colleagues is currently using the idea to coax a very reluctant writer, but an able drawer, into producing simple, illustrated texts.

By using this method you won't necessarily become the next da Vinci and the resultant images obviously lack photographic realism, but you will find yourself able to quickly sketch out a recognisable picture.

If nothing else, it will at least add to your doodle repertoire and take you beyond random squiggles and shapes. Happy drawing!

I have one copy of 'A is for Art' to give away to a randomly picked person who leaves an alphabet related comment!

The give-away is now closed and the winner is Tash! Congrats on your brilliant comment and winning the book! :)