How I Teach Rendering (Drawing a Likeness)

By Kathy In Drawing and Rendering, Sewing On March 9, 2015

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Nine-year-old Grace was inspired by a little stuffed pig she found hanging with the other stuffed animals from the sewing area ceiling. She made it her own by working with me at the sewing machine, creating a little jacket and pants for it. Then on her own, she decided to draw a picture of Piggy. I came on her work and was very excited because I love to teach drawing, but not in the way you may think drawing is taught.

Grace, this is drawing is wonderful because you are really seeing little Piggy.

Look how you noticed the pattern on its jacket.

You really show the shapes of the lei’s petals that you put around its neck.

You’ve come very close with the colors.

Of course we don’t have the the exact orange color you needed for its fur,

so the pink you chose was as close as you could get.

Well done.

I think we should frame this.

Teaching someone to render is about demonstrating what I notice is working and why I think it’s working. My goal is to make her conscious of the effects of what she did. I keep it positive, because that’s what I want to give energy to. That way, the next time she sits down to do a rendering, she won’t have to figure out what she’s not supposed to do, before she’s even begun; she’ll be able to launch right in.

Given another opportunity in the future, I would point out that this drawing is a combination of a cartoon and a rendering. The spiraling tail that slinks out from side of Piggy is not something that is actually seen. This would have given Grace the definition of a cartoon vs. a rendering. Oh well, I’ll be ready if Grace or another child gives me another chance.

When she explained her process to her mother and me, I was delighted to find out that she began by tracing the outline of the pig. I wonder if she got that idea from the way I come up with a pattern for making the pig’s jacket and pants.

If you are interested in learning more about how I teach, click here. This is a paper I wrote for parents and their responding to their children’s artwork.

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