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Anyone using Mark Kistler art curriculum?


MelanieM
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We got it last year and my DD didn't like it. The videos went to fast for her and she didn't like to have to pause it. There are IPAD apps that do similar instruction and she's done well with those. She taps the screen when she's ready to move on to the next portion.

 

Nevermind- I just went back and realized it does have a lesson section where it doesn't move so fast... Oops. Guess we'll try again!

Edited by grace'smom
reviewed site again
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My daughters LOVE it. They set up sketch tables by the computer and have no problem hitting pause while the catch up. There are also classes that are not videos (School of Imagination) where they click next to see the next element to add. I would suggest having your children try out the samples and see if they enjoy it.

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We got it last year and my DD didn't like it. The videos went to fast for her and she didn't like to have to pause it. There are IPAD apps that do similar instruction and she's done well with those. She taps the screen when she's ready to move on to the next portion.

 

Nevermind- I just went back and realized it does have a lesson section where it doesn't move so fast... Oops. Guess we'll try again!

 

 

Total hijacking..sorry, OP..but what apps do you use for this? My DD would love this as she's starting to get more interesting in drawing lately.

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Total hijacking..sorry, OP..but what apps do you use for this? My DD would love this as she's starting to get more interesting in drawing lately.

 

The app she likes is called How To Draw. There is also a Mark Kistler app but we haven't used it. It's 99 cents though so it's worth a shot...

 

Hailey

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We've been very slowly (meaning do a lesson every other week or so) his Draw Squad book. The improvement in my kids' drawing ability after less than a 1/3 of the book is amazing. I've been looking at that offer; it's the only thing I've seen on the co-op that has tempted me.

 

Here's a link to one of my 9 year old's drawings from the book. He could barely draw a recognizable house before starting lessons.

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We've been very slowly (meaning do a lesson every other week or so) his Draw Squad book. The improvement in my kids' drawing ability after less than a 1/3 of the book is amazing. I've been looking at that offer; it's the only thing I've seen on the co-op that has tempted me.

 

Here's a link to one of my 9 year old's drawings from the book. He could barely draw a recognizable house before starting lessons.

 

HIs drawing is amazing! Makes me want to order the book. Is Draw Squad written by Mark Kistler also? By the way, your son is adorable.

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That looks cute and fun for something to do on the side, but it should be known that those kind of art programs are not truly art instruction. True art instruction doesn't instruct on "how to draw a koala" or "how to draw a car", it involves study of the elements and principles of art and design so that they can be used as tools to draw or paint anything. Learning to draw that koala is akin to learning how to write the equation "35 x 7 = 245" with no understanding of how multiplication works.

 

I have a bachelor's degree in art and worked some years as a professional illustrator and graphic designer before having kids. I've never seen a a real art education curriculum for sale, per se, though I haven't actually looked. Most seem to be similar to this.

 

I taught an art course last year for home schoolers (a 12 week course ) and none of my students - even those who had extensive experience taking kids' art classes, had ever learned about even the most basic principles of art prior to my class.

 

Not to say that "Learn 2 Draw" can't be fun or that there's anything wrong with spending time with a program like that, and it is probable that by doing those lessons enough a student would pick up enough about art principles to apply them more broadly. But one shouldn't make the mistake of thinking such a program provides an art education.

Edited by zenjenn
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That looks cute and fun for something to do on the side, but it should be known that those kind of art programs are not truly art instruction. True art instruction doesn't instruct on "how to draw a koala" or "how to draw a car", it involves study of the elements and principles of art and design so that they can be used as tools to draw or paint anything. Learning to draw that koala is akin to learning how to write the equation "35 x 7 = 245" with no understanding of how multiplication works.

 

I have a bachelor's degree in art and worked some years as a professional illustrator and graphic designer before having kids. I've never seen a a real art education curriculum for sale, per se, though I haven't actually looked. Most seem to be similar to this.

 

I taught an art course last year for home schoolers (a 12 week course ) and none of my students - even those who had extensive experience taking kids' art classes, had ever learned about even the most basic principles of art prior to my class.

 

Not to say that "Learn 2 Draw" can't be fun or that there's anything wrong with spending time with a program like that, and it is probable that by doing those lessons enough a student would pick up enough about art principles to apply them more broadly. But one shouldn't make the mistake of thinking such a program provides an art education.

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on books for the 5 to 10 age range that could help them to start learning these aspects. Not curriculum, just books?

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Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is the first book that comes to mind, absolutely. More for the instructor to read, rather than the child.

 

Anything that develops an awareness of the basic principles of art and design is foundational. If you know about art, as I do, books aren't really necessary, but just scanning through Amazon, something like "Dynamic Art Projects for Children" might be a good resource for a homeschooling parent.

 

Art cannot be learned from books. Art is learned from observing and creating. For a true art education, the student learns to look at the world differently - he learns to de-construct what he is seeing (into shape, light & shadow, texture, pattern, line, form) and re-construct that in the form of art. At young ages he needs assignments and projects that focuses on these powers of observation, deconstruction, and reconstruction. Because of this, art is a difficult subject for a non-artist to teach, unless the non-artist learns along with the student how to see things differently. People who know nothing about art tend to draw using symbols (put very simply, such as a square with a triangle on top to symbolize a house), and if their student also uses symbols to draw and the teacher doesn't have the artistically critical eye necessary to point it out, not much progress is made.

 

As you develop these skills, it doesn't matter if no one taught you how to draw a koala. If you want to draw a koala, you do, based on what you observe about the koala's shape, texture, contours, etc. If you want to make the cute cartoon koala, you take what you observe about a real koala and exaggerate and distort to the desired effect. And you can apply those skills to everything, and in the style that suits you best (as opposed to the style of the artist who creates the "How 2 Draw" book.)

Edited by zenjenn
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Also I'd say, for most kids, age 5 is too young for a *really* formal art education. At that age I think free expression is best. Around age 8 is the minimum at which I'd make any effort to try to focus an awareness of the fundamental principles. Developing those skills takes spacial awareness, fine motor control, etc, that just may not be present in lower elementary. Certainly some basics about shape, color, texture, form, etc, are appropriate, however - playing with media, getting the feel for it, mixing colors, using scissor skills, manipulating pieces and assembling them, etc.

Edited by zenjenn
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Thanks for your responses. I was just curious on your thoughts. We have Artistic Pursuits that teaches a bit about art history and some of the processes, but we don't do it very often. I am definitely not an artist. My husband's parents are both artists, but they live in Colorado. We are actually hoping to move there in the future :)

 

For the most part, my daughter (8) draws all the time, whatever she wants. My son is starting to take her lead.

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I would argue that Mark Kistler's lessons (we use Draw Squad) does teach basic principles of drawing through easy and cute line drawings. Lessons include foreshortening, surface, shadow, density, contour, overlapping, and size at beginning, intermediate, and advance levels. He also talks about attitude and daily practice. It's through these step-by-step basic drawings that you learn to use these methods of showing perspective, and they translate to other projects outside the curriculum.

 

I checked out Ed Emberley books from the library when I was a kid and taught myself to draw with them. They are even more basic and don't cover the things I listed about at all. However, they taught me to see, and I was able to move onto more advance drawings.

 

We've only made it through the first 6 lessons of Draw Squad, and my kids' ability to draw has improved greatly. They are already applying what they've learned to other drawings where they don't have step-by-step instructions.

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I would argue that Mark Kistler's lessons does teach basic principles of drawing through easy and cute line drawings. Lessons include foreshortening, surface, shadow, density, contour, overlapping, and size at beginning, intermediate, and advance levels. He also talks about attitude and daily practice. It's through these step-by-step basic drawings that you learn to use these methods of showing perspective, and they translate to other projects outside the curriculum.

 

:iagree:

Kistler's does teach several art concepts that can be applied elsewhere. It isn't like those simple How to Draw a Cat type books.

 

Thanks JoAnn for showing your son's drawing! It's wonderful and it gives us more incentive to use the program. I need to schedule it in or we won't get to it.

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I would argue that Mark Kistler's lessons (we use Draw Squad) does teach basic principles of drawing through easy and cute line drawings. Lessons include foreshortening, surface, shadow, density, contour, overlapping, and size at beginning, intermediate, and advance levels. He also talks about attitude and daily practice. It's through these step-by-step basic drawings that you learn to use these methods of showing perspective, and they translate to other projects outside the curriculum.

 

Yes, this is the impression I got from the sample lessons, and it's one of the reasons why we're going to go with it. I learned a few things for sure! And JoAnn, thank you for sharing that adorable photo of your son and his fabulous art work! :D

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We've been very slowly (meaning do a lesson every other week or so) his Draw Squad book. The improvement in my kids' drawing ability after less than a 1/3 of the book is amazing. I've been looking at that offer; it's the only thing I've seen on the co-op that has tempted me.

 

Here's a link to one of my 9 year old's drawings from the book. He could barely draw a recognizable house before starting lessons.

 

My 6 yr old did half of a lesson and improved a ton and people who saw his drawings were amazed. My 8 yr old often draws himself things like your son's. Thanks for sharing. I will show it to him.

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I would argue that Mark Kistler's lessons (we use Draw Squad) does teach basic principles of drawing through easy and cute line drawings. Lessons include foreshortening, surface, shadow, density, contour, overlapping, and size at beginning, intermediate, and advance levels. He also talks about attitude and daily practice. It's through these step-by-step basic drawings that you learn to use these methods of showing perspective, and they translate to other projects outside the curriculum.

 

I checked out Ed Emberley books from the library when I was a kid and taught myself to draw with them. They are even more basic and don't cover the things I listed about at all. However, they taught me to see, and I was able to move onto more advance drawings.

 

We've only made it through the first 6 lessons of Draw Squad, and my kids' ability to draw has improved greatly. They are already applying what they've learned to other drawings where they don't have step-by-step instructions.

:iagree: We bought this book too and my two boys only did a few lessons in it and they both improved a lot.

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I used the Draw Squad book for my 10 year old and he really loved it. We did a section per week and it was informative but low pressure. Super easy for me (who had an 8, 6 & 4 ds at the time also) - he would read the book himself and complete the activities.

 

I gave him an art tablet that had a spiral top and each of his lessons were completed in that. It was fun to flip through and see the progression from week to week. He learned a lot of art terminology as well.

 

I highly recommend it!!

 

Nicole

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  • 1 month later...

My kids are having a tv free week this week so my son has started drawing again. We have the Draw Squad book, love it, but haven't made it through all of the lessons and haven't used it in quite awhile. Anyway, I was so impressed with my son's drawings this week and how he used elements from the Draw Squad lessons in his drawings. I'm going to dig the book out so he can continue to improve on his drawing. Another thing I like about Draw Squad is how it encourages the student to use their imagination.

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We started using Mark Kistler last year and the boys do the lessons on their own. As far as talent in drawing, let's just say we were all still trying to master stick people. Now, when one of the boys is drawing something (not part of a lesson) we are very surprised at how the lessons have improved their skill. It is hard to believe the progress they have made, and in a very low-key lesson.

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  • 2 years later...

I know this thread is old, but people Google up old threads and I felt the need to post. I need to eat crow after what I remembered posting on this thread in the past.

 

There was a deal on Homeschool Buyer's Co-Op so I went ahead and bought a Kistler program for my kids. They remained hungry for more art lessons than I felt inclined to give them personally at this late date when I am bogged down with end of year and pre summer camp stuff. I remembered some here recommended it and the price was right so I figured why not.

 

There IS definitely much more depth than it appears! After so many of those how-to-draw-a-(fill in the blank) crap books, I had assumed this was more of the same as that is how it appears at a glance. I was wrong! He does definitely hit on a lot of principles while hiding under the guise of how-to-draw-a-(fill in the blank) which kids seem to INSIST on wanting. 

 

Some said the videos were fast but my kids can keep up. They have had a lot of art instruction, so they dove right in to some of the intermediate and advanced topics and could keep right up. So I'd say it would be maximized with kids who have had other art instruction - I can see why kids with none would need to pause a lot.

 

After just a couple days of watching his videos:

 

9-year-old's lesson:

10291706_10152441705268812_7904771770603

 

11-year-old's lesson:

10295781_10152441705273812_8118529764545

 

Again, they went into it knowing how to draw fairly well but this did kick it up a notch, even for copying an instructed composition.

Crow eaten.

 

 

 

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I know this thread is old, but people Google up old threads and I felt the need to post. I need to eat crow after what I remembered posting on this thread in the past.

 

There was a deal on Homeschool Buyer's Co-Op so I went ahead and bought a Kistler program for my kids. They remained hungry for more art lessons than I felt inclined to give them personally at this late date when I am bogged down with end of year and pre summer camp stuff. I remembered some here recommended it and the price was right so I figured why not.

 

There IS definitely much more depth than it appears! After so many of those how-to-draw-a-(fill in the blank) crap books, I had assumed this was more of the same as that is how it appears at a glance. I was wrong! He does definitely hit on a lot of principles while hiding under the guise of how-to-draw-a-(fill in the blank) which kids seem to INSIST on wanting. 

 

Some said the videos were fast but my kids can keep up. They have had a lot of art instruction, so they dove right in to some of the intermediate and advanced topics and could keep right up. So I'd say it would be maximized with kids who have had other art instruction - I can see why kids with none would need to pause a lot.

 

After just a couple days of watching his videos:

 

9-year-old's lesson:

10291706_10152441705268812_7904771770603

 

11-year-old's lesson:

10295781_10152441705273812_8118529764545

 

Again, they went into it knowing how to draw fairly well but this did kick it up a notch, even for copying an instructed composition.

Crow eaten.

 

Your sons did some great work!!!!

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

I know this thread is old, but people Google up old threads and I felt the need to post. I need to eat crow after what I remembered posting on this thread in the past.

 

There was a deal on Homeschool Buyer's Co-Op so I went ahead and bought a Kistler program for my kids. They remained hungry for more art lessons than I felt inclined to give them personally at this late date when I am bogged down with end of year and pre summer camp stuff. I remembered some here recommended it and the price was right so I figured why not.

 

There IS definitely much more depth than it appears! After so many of those how-to-draw-a-(fill in the blank) crap books, I had assumed this was more of the same as that is how it appears at a glance. I was wrong! He does definitely hit on a lot of principles while hiding under the guise of how-to-draw-a-(fill in the blank) which kids seem to INSIST on wanting. 

 

Some said the videos were fast but my kids can keep up. They have had a lot of art instruction, so they dove right in to some of the intermediate and advanced topics and could keep right up. So I'd say it would be maximized with kids who have had other art instruction - I can see why kids with none would need to pause a lot.

 

After just a couple days of watching his videos:

 

9-year-old's lesson:

10291706_10152441705268812_7904771770603

 

11-year-old's lesson:

10295781_10152441705273812_8118529764545

 

Again, they went into it knowing how to draw fairly well but this did kick it up a notch, even for copying an instructed composition.

Crow eaten.

Thanks for coming back with an update! Your kids' work looks fabulous! We haven't done anything with MK for a while, but seeing your post and samples today is just the incentive I need for us to jump back in. 

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