Cardmaking Essentials: Thank You Cards

Overview

Join artist Patricia Watwood and start a daily drawing practice; all you need is a sketchbook and pencil. Just 20-30 minutes of drawing a day not only helps build your skills but also is a meditative, calming experience that can free your mind and open you up to new ideas. Learn observational techniques for conveying proportion, form, and dimension. With each day’s practice, you’ll gain confidence, patience, and peace as you discover the joys of drawing.

Video Lessons

01: Just Begin

Join artist Patricia Watwood and start a daily drawing practice; all you need is a sketchbook and pencil.
Duration: 17 min

02: Becoming a Better Observer

Leave preconceptions behind as you create an observational drawing of a leaf. Begin with a contour drawing, and polish and refine it before finishing with watercolor accents. After that, see how to prepare a watercolor page in your sketchbook for a later project.
Duration: 14 min

03: Cultivating Calm

Discover the calming, joyful aspects of drawing as you create a volumetric drawing of a pear. Create a meditative practice through rendering, shading, and building forms as you continue your daily habit.
Duration: 16 min

04: Renewing Your Intention

Strengthen your voice and move through any fears or doubts while also building your skills. Create a personal piece using drawing, tracing, and collage techniques. You’ll be reminded of the reasons you wanted to start a drawing practice and be motivated to continue.
Duration: 9 min

05: Staying on Track

Embrace resilience and the notion of turning negatives into positives as you learn the technique of subtractive modeling. After creating a toned surface, discover how to erase or pull out graphite to create whites. Then complete your piece with contour drawing and rendering.
Duration: 15 min

06: Unexpected Places

Every new subject has something to teach you about seeing and drawing. Patricia excavates a junk drawer for interesting items, many with hard edges and defined shapes, great for technical drawing, with a specific focus on using measurements as you work.
Duration: 13 min

07: Freedom in Imagination

Unleash your creative imagination! Using a mandala as a structure, Patricia shows you how to approach drawing in an improvisational way and reconnect with creative play.
Duration: 11 min