Art Basics for Children CD

"A" is for apple. "B" is for ball. "C" is for cat. Learn to draw each item, and a little something about art principles as you do: shading in "A", patterns in "B", and foreground/background in "C". Rich and Sharon present "The ABC's of Art" with joy and enthusiasm. The heart of the book contains 26 lessons, corresponding to the 26 letters of the alphabet, with plenty to consider and do on every page. Each lesson contains one or more art principles or definitions, one or more art activities, and information or practice on specific art techniques. Learning and retaining is better with hands-on projects. Art topics include color wheel, shapes, lines, texture, perspective, balance, and more.

The book begins with a wonderful section on using art supplies (finally, someone has taken the time to explain those pencil grades!). There are lots of "how-to's" and incredible tips for drawing with 7 full pages of exercises in drawing from basic shapes. Also included are goodies like "recipes" for different modeling compounds, including edible clay, and brief overviews of the major art styles at the end of the lessons. Fun for all, this is an art course you can definitely use with all of your children at once.

Suggested art supplies include: pencils, drawing paper, charcoal, oil pastels, tempera paints, water colors, and chalk pastels. Book: 50 pgs, 8.5x11" pb. CD: contains PDF of book. ~ Emily