Why not try these drawing exercises inspired by the Betts Collection?

  • Why not try these drawing exercises inspired by the Betts Collection.. Take a pen, pencil or medium of your choice. Get a friend or family member to post in a chair, sofa or bed. Or pose yourself and take a photo, or look into a mirror. Draw their/your figure as much as you can in 5 minutes. What di you notice about your drawing style? Where did you start drawing from on the body? Image Caption: Albert de Belleroche (1864-1944) Study from the Montparnasse Sketchbook: Woman Sitting at a Table, pencil. University of Reading Art Collection UAC/10552
  • Wth a pen, pencil or medium of your choice, find a video or someone/a group of people moving: maybe they are dancing or playing your favourite sport. Try to make quick marks and lines on the page to show how the figure/figures move. Use different colours and textures to represent the different types of movement you see. What was the most difficult thing about trying this exercise? Does your drawing look like a figure, or is it more abstract? Image Caption: Spencer Frederick Gore (1878-1914) Ballet at the Alhambra, pastel. University of Reading Art Collection UAC/10566
  • Take a pencil, pen or medium of your choice. On a sheet of paper draw a part of your body, then rotate the paper. Draw another part. Keep rotating the paper in between sketches. Try changing your medium or drawing style too. You've created a "sheet of studies" style composition! How have you arranged each sketch? Do they overlap? Do you think they clash or complement each other? Image Caption: Jacopo Zanguidi, called Bertoia (1544 - 1573/1574) Sheet of Studies with Seated Male Nude and Two Arms, ink and chalk on blue paper. University of Reading Art Collection UAC/10545
  • With a pencil, trace the outline of a figure facing away from you. Try to use as few continuous unbroken lines as possible. Once you're happy, retrace the lines in ink. How do the lines interact with each other? Do you think that a simple line can suggest detail? Image Caption: Jean-Louis Forain (1852-1931) Military Officer, Ink. University of Reading Art Collection UAC/10581
  • Take a pencil, pen or medium of your choice. Look at the view from your window - it doesn't have to be rural! Draw the main shapes on the horizon (if you can see it) in one, continuous line. Fill in the rest of your composition with dots and dashes. What is the difference between creating forms with lines or dots? Which was more difficult and why? Image Caption: Edwin John Victor Pasmore (1908 - 1998) River Landscape (Drawing for 'Suburban Gardens'), c.1947, ink. University of Reading Art Collection UAC/10571. (c) Estate of Victor Pasmore. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2020.
  • With a pen, pencil or medium of your choice, quickly draw someone - that could be you in a mirror, or a family member/friend. Take a different medium, something contrasting. Create a background around your figure. How did you make the figure stand out from their environment? Image Caption: Ambrose McEvoy RAR (1878-1927) Study for Phyllida, ink, pencil, chalk and wash. University of Reading Art Collection UAC/10565

Here are some tips and tricks by our Drawing Micro-Residency artists, Jerome. and Sae Yeoun.

Try out their Drawing Tutorial

Click on the image below to explore our Resource Pack for Teachers. Featuring artists from the Rubens to Sickert: The Study of Drawing exhibition alongside a series of questions and drawing activities.