Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Draw a box the size of your Etch A Sketch on a piece of blank paper. The paper sketch is an essential part of making any complex Etch A Sketch work of art. For a dinosaur drawing, it is necessary to properly proportion the head and the legs and still have all the dinosaur parts fit on the Etch A Sketch screen. Drawing within the same size limits of your Etch A Sketch ensures your drawing will fit the size of the Etch A Sketch when you are ready to start working.
Draw the dinosaur picture inside the box on the blank piece of paper. Use a pencil to design the drawing as you would like to see it on the Etch A Sketch. Start with a basic outline of the dinosaur, including the head, body and legs. Then add more details to the dinosaur such as the face, skin texture and background.
From your pencils starting position, move throughout the outline of your dinosaur without lifting the pencil up. This simulates the movement of the Etch A Sketch.
Shade in the picture using the same techniques you will use on the Etch A Sketch. The Etch A Sketch can make vertical or perpendicular shading lines. Use the same shading direction and coloring on your drawing as you intend to use when working with the Etch A Sketch. Remember that darker shading on the Etch A Sketch requires several passes and will take added time to complete.
For your paper drawing do not use the traditional pencil shading techniques which entails rapidly moving your pencil back and forth to fill the area. Instead, shade your picture with single lines placed close together. The closer the lines are together the darker the shading will look. Again, do not remove the pencil from your paper at any time during the drawing process to help simulate the drawing on an Etch A Sketch.
Draw the dinosaur outline using the Etch A Sketch. At this stage of the drawing, it is easy to erase the Etch A Sketch and restart as needed. Take your time to get the outline of the dinosaur in proportion and looking exactly like you want it to.
To move the writing tool towards the right, turn the right Etch A Sketch knob clockwise. Turn the right knob counterclockwise to move the writing tool towards the left.
The left knob on the Etch A Sketch moves the writing tool up when turned clockwise and down when turned counterclockwise. For diagonal movement it is necessary to move both the left knob and the right knob in conjunction with one another.
Add the details to the dinosaurs face and body. Using slow, deliberate strokes, add the details first to the dinosaurs face, then move down through the body. Some artists find adding the shading now is helpful, while others prefer to do all the shading at the end of the drawing.
There is nothing you can do if you make a mistake. Mistakes need to be dealt with by working them into the design, or erasing the entire picture and starting over.
Draw the background artwork for your picture. For a dinosaur picture, you may want to include mountains or trees in the background. Start with a general outline of the background items then fill in the shading. Make the scale of the background items smaller than the dinosaur to accurately show depth in the picture.
Add the final touches to the dinosaur drawing. Add wrinkles around the dinosaur's joints and claws. Include a small specialty item somewhere in the drawing such as your initials or the initials of a loved one.
Use small lines close together to make areas darker and add more depth to the picture.
Preserve the dinosaur drawing forever on your Etch A Sketch. Drilling a small hole in the back of the Etch A Sketch and draining all the aluminum powder from inside will make your drawing permanent. If the aluminum powder is not taken out of the Etch A Sketch the picture can easily be lost with just a small shake of the Etch A Sketch.