Drawing Activities

 Drawing Activities 

The start of the new semester has brought a strange start to the academic year. Same things needed to be taught but in a completely strange and different way. 

New Covid19 regulations meant we had to split the cohort up into groups of 6 or less. Thanks to the numbers being 36, this was easy to do and we were also able to put them into groups designated for their accommodation as well, which really helped the situation. 

Week 1 saw the students learning to draw perspective around the university Campus and from the top of the Flaxman Building. Teaching in smaller groups outside made the job really easy and fun. Luckily we also had the weather on our side as well!

Week 2 

Nature Reserve

Once again forcing us to change our initial ideas, we looked at other places where the students could drawing with in the safety of our university campus. Who would have know that there was a Nature Reserve around the back of the Campus where the student accommodation is. The students didn't know, and to be honest, working here for 16 odd years, neither did I.  The additional lesson on campus, enabled us to press home the group of 6 rule for students, so when they did leave the campus for the other drawing sessions this was more ingrained into their learning. 

The great thing about the nature reserve is that, last week we had drawn buildings and man made environments  and this week we were looking at natural landscapes 

Week 3 

Stoke Minster and the Town Hall

This week saw the 1st Years leaviong the safety of the university campus and venturing down the road and into Stoke Town Centre. At Stokes Heart in the Minster which is directly across from the Town Hall. This time we were looking for Establishing shots. Earlier we had done a drone fly past of the minster to look at possible locations 

Week 4 

A walk along the Canal

Final, venturing further a field and to check the students abilities to read a map, we sent them out into the heart of Stoke-on-Trent to look and draw along the canal to the marina in Festival Park. The point here was to get them drawing and observing life along the canal which took them past the Etruria Industrial Museum.  

Cartoon and Comic Arts Motto DRAW DRAW DRAW!

Cartoon and Comic Arts Motto

DRAW!DRAW! DRAW!

Well its been a world wind couple of weeks and sometimes it is hard to believe how fast it has gone. Once again the 1st Year have been indoctrinated into the course motto DRAW!DRAW!DRAW!
We try to emphasis on the award that, in the same way as being a professional footballer, you have to have the same mentality. SO you don just go out one day a week to play a game of football, but you also have to do exercises to build your skills and sometimes it might not be what you expected. Even Footballers have to go the gym, where they don't get to kick a ball all the time!! 
It is this way that we try and explain what we are trying to do when we take them into the life drawing room or around the museum. What are we actually expecting the student to produce and why?
A lot of the students don't understand why, they do the things they do and in doing so have trouble correcting their mistakes. 
So we try and get them observe what they are drawing. We use the example of getting them to draw their bedrooms, a place where a lot say they spend a lot of time. But it's fascinating to notice that they can draw every DVD Blu Ray, but fail to notice the light switch or the skirting board.

 Above, cartoon and comic arts students head into town to draw around the Stoke Minster. With the help of the local ground staff they found quite a comfortable place to sit down and draw the surrounding area and the Gothic Minster itself.  

 Drawing parts of the Minster itself helps the student to observe what is going on and understand how buildings are made. 



 

 THE TOP OF FLAXMAN 

 From the top of the Flaxman building along College Road you can see the back of the Stafford Hotel and the train station. This is one of the 1st years piece of drawing of the architecture and also looking at the perspective. 

DRAWING THE TOWN HALL 

 Drawing around Stoke Town hall, produced some interesting results. Here the students are drawing the main building... until students from Leicester turn up and park their coaches in-front of the building.  It must be Stoke as a cultural city that brings everyone to it!!

THE TRAIN STATION 

The train station is always a popular destination when learning about perspective. Here is a particular good example of the drawings that can be produced 

Other Things the New 1st Year have been doing

Cartoon and Comic Arts Continues to grow!

The new intake of comic arts Students at Staffordshire University has once again increased and now the award boast 80 students over the 3 years, and it looks set to become bigger.

The course has also grown with staffing. as well as myself Adrian Tooth the Award Leader - we also have Gareth Cowlin who is a freelance cartoonist whose work appears in magazines such as Private Eye and the Spectator to name a few. Claire Smith has also been recruited as another permanent member of staff to add her knowledge as working as an independent artist in the comic field. She also has a range of knowledge such as marketing and using new technology to pass onto the students. We also welcome back on a more regular basis, John Charles - MarvelUk and 2000AD artist to name a few. Alongside we have a range of visiting lecturers and new tempt staff - Kevin Gunstone has written for everyone from Marvel to DC and is currently working for Markosia. Becci Such as been integrated as Teaching assistant to help with Manga Studio and other technologies. 

So the award looks better than ever 

Here are some photos from the first couple of week at staffs uni

Induction Week saw Cartoon & Comic Arts at the Glebe doing a Comic Arts based Pub Quiz 

Becci Such does the Manga Quiz

High Jinks in the cartoon studio 

1st Years Drawing Around Stoke Minister to learn architecture and perspective

Jason Brindley 2000AD Artist and also Independent Comic Arts helping students to discover perspective