ARTScool presentation for Group of First Grade Students

In what is becoming my signature introduction demo, I speed sketch a dragon on the board to grab the students attention from the start. Thanks to Marilyn from Charity for Change for taking these pictures (otherwise it would have been awfully difficult to give a presentation and take pictures of myself at the same time). This presentation was a prize for a class of first graders in the School "Giver" Program. Since they invited a second class to join them, we had about 50 students in attendance.
We talked about the mission of the Naples Art Association at The von Liebig Art Center and upcoming summer art school program ARTScool.
After having filled the board with demo drawings, I decided to switch to my trusty clipboard for the remaining sketches. That way the students could keep them as souvenirs of the presentation and/or teachers could make copies if multiple students were interested in them.
One of my favorite watercolor pencil illustrations for show-and-tell that I originally made for a birthday party at the Miami Children's Museum.
These are the 2 custom colored samples and the coloring sheets for the kids that I made in advance specially for this event.


"Artist Ninja can paint you into a corner" (joke courtesy of Sheri whom you'll certainly meet if you attend ARTScool)

We completed the hour by drawing as many students' requests as possible with my Worther Shorty leadholder and Sakura Pigma Sensei pens : lots of dragons, a mermaid, a Barbie fairy, a robot, a ninja, and a Bakugan-inspired robot.
Also brought a few of my completed sketchbooks to give the students an idea of the amount of practice and type of art materials exploration that can be conducted on them. I hope that will encourage some kids to start sketchbooks of their own since a couple asked were you can find them.

A few Moleskine pencil doodles

It is usually a good idea to keep a small sketchbook and pencil with you at all times, for you never know when you might have a few free minutes that could be productively spent making some drawings or writing some thoughts down.
Sandbox at the playground inspired this straight cartoon portrait drawn while sitting on the edge of the sandbox.
Trip to the Zoo
inspired "Tato Keeper of Mutant Bees".
Dragon ninja in training
inspired "Tato meets his Dragon avatar". A pocket Moleskine sketchbook is the ideal size to take along on all sorts of outings and make quick notes, record stray thoughts, and sketch some doodles for later use. If I do not have much warning or carrying space on a given day, I simply stuff the Moleskine with my Worther Shorty or Staedtler leadholder in one of my pockets before going out.

Never too early to start drawing with leadholders and fine sketching tools

Mateo, my 2-year old nephew, trying out my trusty 3.15 mm Worther Shorty leadholder.
Worther Shorty + Moleskine Pocket Sketchbook = one efficient sketching kit. Even for toddlers!
Should I draw with my right hand?
Hmm, or is it better when using my left hand?
Trying out my travel set of Uni watercolor pencils.
Right-handed?
Or lefty? Time will tell.
Trying out a 0.7 mm Pentel Graph Gear mechanical pencil on a pocket Moleskine sketchbook.
Figuring it out how the 3.15 mm graphite lead loads into the Worther Shorty leadholder. I find that with close supervision, most of my young nephews and nieces can safely enjoy the opportunity of trying out artist grade and grown-up sketching tools.

The Worther Shorty pencil is an ideal field sketching tool

These are some of my preferred graphite tools that I like to take with me to do the sketching demonstrations for my cartooning lessons. It is nice to have a wide range of options in lead sizes and graphite grades to work with any kind of support that I might find in a classroom. The main advantages of the clutch-type leadholders are that they maintain a constant length and do not require constant sharpening (especially if you are careful to periodically rotate the pencil as you draw). If they ever get too blunt, there are also specialty leadpointers available to restore the sharp points of the thick graphite leads (like the red KUM model shown in the photo above). The Worther Shorty is my favorite choice for sketching on-the-go for its sturdy, compact, and lightweight design. Its 3.15 mm thick 7B lead resists breakage while still producing a nice range of grays with ease. I find it extremely comfortable to hold and use for extended periods. For one of my most compact sketching kits, I tend to take the Shorty and a small Moleskine sketchbook in the pockets of my cargo pants. The only real problem I have with it is that its 3 mm refills tend to be rather hard to find. Usually the tubes of 3 mm leads can only be found online, and often they are out-of-stock when you need them.
Now that I managed to get some more spare 3 mm 7B graphite leads for it, the Worther Shorty has regained its regular spot in my daily take-along sketching kit.
Sketches drawn in blank and gridded 4"X6" index cards.
The Worther Shorty pencil and a handful of 4"X6" blank index cards also make a very efficient field kit for doodling and sketching anywhere.