“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” — Scott Adams
This post introduces a series of exercises that accompany the Graphic Design Basic Element Series to help develop skill and artistic design competency through the repetitive practice of each basic art element.
Exercises to Deepen Skill
Through this series of posts you will practice incorporating all the basic elements step by step through spontaneous small works. The repetitive method progresses from basic element construction into more complex combinations.
The result builds an experiential knowledge base in design that you can consciously incorporate into your unique design style and deepen your existing works by transferring this new experience to any art medium.
The practice of rendering creative variations offers the subconscious an opportunity to recall the association of the learned experience in future works with greater ease.
The 3, 6, 9 Repetitive Formula
We’ll explore each element, or series of elements using groups of 3, 6, or 9 small works. This strategy creates enough variation to allow you to experience, compare, and build a diverse sample base of reference artwork.
Feel free to expand any lesson series. You can also revisit the series and explore any piece in further detail. The idea is to have fun, notice what you like, and do more of that! Be super playful, make this experience fun, and break any of your steadfast rules as you go. “What if” is your friend.
By the time you complete your last rendering, you’ll have multiple series of references to serve as comps for future projects. Your lesson creations may become standalone series that tell a story or provide inspiration for a storyboard for future art projects.
Bob Roth, “Finding Birds” Metaphor
You’re not gonna like everything you do, so keep in mind there’s always a bucket of white paint lying around to reuse a canvas if you are ready to release it after it sits awhile. Also, finding birds in an artwork isn’t a mistake. The bird metaphor turns a misplaced mark into something interesting. Get as basic as you can get, as well as bold! Also, did you know there are no real boundaries on a canvas? 😉
Gathering Your Materials
- 8×8 paper, cardboard, or mat-board canvases (or uniform alternate size choice)
- Graphite drawing pencils, colored pencils, and colored fine and medium tip markers
- Colored paper (for tearing and cut outs)
- Your choice of art and painting mediums (make sure to have a combination of bright and dull colors)
- Tissue paper (design aid, or overlays)
Exploring Color
During lesson plans we’ll incorporate color. Gather a combination of bright and dull paints, pens and markers along with black and white rendering materials. The intensity of the bright hues are important to incorporate during practice.
Click to revisit the > Best Palette Colors to Build Depth tutorial.
Bright Colors
The bright colors have more intensity and have the effect of moving forward toward the eye in a composition. They can assist in establishing a focal point.
Dull Colors
The dull colors are more subdued hues and are best suited for positioning in the middle ground or background. They work best for supporting the composition.
Step-by-Step Art Exercises
Now it’s time to deepen your skill and apply what you’ve learned. The following exercises are designed to expand your current skill level and are applicable to your existing art style and works.
Each lesson offers additional exercises that accompany the Graphic Design Basic Element Series.
1. Line Plane Tone Exercises
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