Drawing for Absolute Beginners

Materials for the 1st day:  18x24 paper pad, Eboni pencil, Staedtler eraser

Necessary materials for further classes: 

  • Prismacolor Ebony pencils
  • Sharpener
  • Hard eraser
  • Kneaded eraser
  • Black conte crayon or compressed charcoal
  • Masking tape or clips to hold paintings to drawing boards
  • 18” x 24” paper-- “sketching” quality sufficient; or “drawing” quality if you want nice paper for longer drawings. 
  • 18” x 24” newsprint paper for very fast and warm-up sketches. Not necessary to buy if you want to use “sketching” or “drawing” quality paper for everything. 
  • Higgins Waterproof Black Ink (will discuss in class)
  • Economy set of synthetic brushes for acrylics (will discuss in class)

Optional:

  • Portable drawing board, 23” x 26” 
  • Tube or carrying case for drawings. 
  •  Any pencils of varying hardness that you want to try ( 2B, 4B, 6B etc. The softer the pencil, the darker the line)
     

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.