Express Yourself by Drawing Little Dots and Lines with Black Ink

1. Introduction: Hi, and welcome to my class. My name is Yvonne. I've studied illustration. My passion is drawing, making videos, and also writing. I've created illustrated books, paintings, and now I'm actually learning music. I'm also interested in improving my lifestyle through better routine, healthier food, and thinking more positively. Always looking for my true self. In this class, I've created a technique I use. I simply sit down at my table and repeat dots. I can express myself authentically and represent how I feel in the moment. And eventually, I can start to plan what is to come next. It's a technique I use in my illustrations, like paintings and illustration are made up of dots. So, um like the small touches and the brush strokes. Even if it looks quite simple and basic, it also helps you to practice the gesture needed to create real artwork. All in all, this class is about repeating dots and lines as you will see, and it consists of three exercises that helps you to master this class and you will practice with different reading and sometimes write sentences. So welcome, and I can't wait to share this amazing tool. And 2. Class Project and Material: Why this activity? Because it's effortless. You do not need to think or even do much physically. When I do this activity, it's because I usually cannot do anything else. In this class, we will not focus on performance, but rather on the process. We will not focus on the final result, but rather on the feelings and the experience itself. For material, you will need a notebook or a piece of paper, brush, some black ink, water, and a metronome, and an hour of your time. You will see that we will repeat lines and dots for about 20 minutes in the first exercise, 7 minutes in the second and 20 minutes in the third exercise, which focuses on reading and uses metronome. So in the end, you will have double pages filled with lines and dots and sometimes a sentence. So the class project is to share one of these double pages from your notebook where you practiced those repetition. I know it's not the most visually beautiful piece, but it's still something meaningful. The sentences you add will bring a personal poetic touch. Don't censor yourself. We are all here to learn from each other. So to share your class project, go to the Skillshare website and find the projects and resources tab and then click on the submit Project button. 3. Exercise 1 Dots: Now let's start the first exercise with the dots. So take your notebook, or you can also use a sheet of paper and draw squares of ten by 10 centimeters. Then take your black ink. Or as you can see, I use Chinese stone, and it helps me to ease smoothly into the process. Then pour a little water into it, take your solid ink, and move it into circles for a while until the ink becomes deep black. Then take your brush, dip it into the ink, and start creating little dots on your page. Simply at the top of the page, create forms line of dots one after another. Continue until you reach the bottom right corner of your page. Sometimes you may have thoughts you want to write down while you are drawing. You can pause and take a pen and write a sentence on the left page of your notebook. However, I recommend not stopping too often because you might struggle to connect with yourself once you get at the end of the first page, turn it and start a second one. Then how long does it take? For me, it takes about 23 minutes to complete two pages. Now it's your turn. Don't forget to breathe, and that will be great if you share one of your double pages with the Skillshare community. So check the projects and resources tab of the class. See you in the next exercise. 4. Exercise 2 Lines: What kind of mind do you think you have? Every exercise is like a path you follow moving through arches and going deeper and further. So let's begin again but this time with the lines. I will draw them on the page facing those with the thoughts. And every time you come across a sentence, you can stop the line and start again after it. Remember, we wrote sentences on the left page of your notebook. Or you might choose to draw over the sentence if you no longer like what you wrote. Keep your lines straight one after another. Then you may reload your brush after each lines with the ink, and I find it aesthetically pleasant that the lines slowly fade, creating a soft texture towards the end. And once you have finished the first page, start again the second one. So how long does it take about 7 minutes for the two pages. So still you in the next video. Now it's your turn. 5. Exercise 3 with a Metronome: For the third exercise, I would like you to break the pattern you are used to when doing the dots. To do this, we will use a metronome to guide the timing of each mark. We will do one page at 60 BPM and then another one at 90 BPM. You will need to download metronome app on your phone. Look for metronome and tuner, for example. You will see that many of these app allows you to create a sequence of changing rhythm, which you can explore further if you want to. And now let's start the demonstration. So first, set the metronome to 60 BPM, have your ink and your notebook ready, and now start the metronome, fill the page with the dots and following each bit. Then you can set the metronome to 90 BPM and repeat the same process on a new page. My advice is to try increasing the BPM to a faster rhythm and maintain it for a longer period of time. For example, it could be fun if you try 120 BPM for two pages, especially if you have to reload your brush frequently. Don't forget to protect your workspace. So now it's your turn, see you. 6. Conclusion: Congratulations. You've made the class. You might think it's simple, but becoming comfortable might take a little bit of time. Please don't forget to share your work in the projects and resources section. Also any thoughts or writings you made during the exercises, please share them. I can also receive your questions in the discussion tab and I will be happy to enter them. So I also invite you to explore the work of Pirete Block and her work is quite similar to what we've done here. Through art, we can create a structure, find fulfillment, and also create a space within ourself to transform us. An, what do you find most in your art practice? I encourage you also to extend from 45 minutes to 2 hours. But by see