Youth Gather to 'Draw Along'

This year’s Summer Reading Program at Grand Terrace Library gets kids excited with this summer’s dinosaur theme. With the launch of this program, local youth are encouraged to keep reading and to expand their knowledge even though the school year has ended. The program helps kids track their reading with the allure of incentives for meeting weekly reading requirements. To further promote summer learning, the “Excavate Something Big” program hosts several events for kids to enjoy throughout the summer. Last Thursday, the library put on a Draw Along Show hosted by Renegade Art Teacher and Visual Arts Education Consultant, Kyle Tiernan. The community room was filled with kids of all ages. Tiernan was set up in the front of the room with a projector for his presentation. Everyone was given a sheet of paper and a pencil provided by the library. Tiernan welcomed the room with an animated tone at the start of his presentation and ensured the children that the effort put into their drawings is more important than how the drawing looks. He chanted, “If I try my best, I can do the rest.” For the next hour, Tiernan guided the audience through step-by-step directions on how to draw three whimsical animals: a kitten, a penguin and an owl. Using kinesthetic movement to reinforce different drawing concepts, Tiernan was able to get the crowd more involved with the show through eager participation. Grand Terrace Library has been working with Tiernan for around three years now. Jennifer Palma, the Children’s Library Assistant, shared, “I like the hands-on events. It’s a great way to get the kids involved.” Tiernan started out teaching at an after-school care program in San Diego where he drew everyday with the kids. Traveling all over the state of California throughout the school year, Tiernan stays in Southern California over the summer to present in libraries. Although Tiernan’s expertise is life drawing, he enjoys cartooning for kids. He shares his enthusiasm for his profession by stating, “I get to draw for a living.” He mentions that his favorite part about his line of work is being able to illustrate his passion for drawing to a young audience. With music and art programs dwindling down in schools, Tiernan is able to provide a program for students where they can benefit from a learning experience through entertainment. In fact, many of the kids fled into the library to borrow books following the show. Detailed instructions on how to recreate these drawings can be found below. Refer to photos for further direction. The Kitten 1) Draw a dot. 2) Draw another dot as wide as your hand. 3) Connect the dots. 4) Draw a diagonal line from the first dot. Repeat on other side to create a trapezoid (without the bottom) 5) Draw a curved lined at the bottom to close the trapezoid. 6) Draw ears. 7) Draw a curved line through the middle of the ear from the top. 8) Draw ear hair 9) Draw a zig-zag to make furry cheeks. 10) In the center of the head, draw a teeny tiny triangle nose 11) Draw the mouth from the nose. 12) Draw a tongue to make it look open. Draw little teeth for a scary kitten. 13) Draw the whiskers by pushing lines out 14) Draw big, funny circles for eyes 15) For the pupil, draw a circle or an oval. Darken the circle and leave a light circle for the “love sparkle”. Color the iris with a color of your choice. 16) To make the kitten even cuter, draw romantic eyelashes. 17) Draw a rectangle for the collar. 18) Draw a straight line at the bottom and a curved line. 19) Draw little kitten paws 20) Draw a “snake” for the tail. 21) Draw waggly tail marks. The Penguin: 1) In the middle of the page, draw a big arc that fits your hand (like a horshoe) 2) Draw a line at the bottom of the arc leaving open corners. Don’t connect 3) In the open corner, draw a triangle without the bottom. To create “symmetry” do the same to the other open corner. 4) From the outside point, go in halfway to make a “tired ‘T’” by drawing a line to make a sideways letter “T”. 5) Draw the flippers on both sides for symmetry. 6) Draw a triangle (pizza) with a “z” in the middle 7) Draw a big, shiny black eye and one little eye 8) Draw confused eyebrows 9) Draw a curved line from the top of the left flipper to the bottom of the right flipper 10) Draw another curved line below it from the top of the left flipper to the right foot to make a scarf. 11) At the top of the scarf, draw a circle with two trapezoids to make it look like a bow. Draw squiggly lines for decoration. 12) Draw desired pattern on the scarf. 13) From the foot, behind the scarf and the triangle “pizza”, draw a curved line to make the stomach 14) Draw two upside-down cupcakes on top of the head with two curved lines connecting them to make ear muffs. 15) Draw arcs to make it stand on snow 16) Draw “x”s with one more line for snowflakes. The Owl: 1) Draw one dot. 2) Draw a diagonal line one way and then the other to make a “roof” 3) From each diagonal line, draw a line down each side. 4) Draw a curved line to connect the bottom. 5) Draw a half circle 6) Draw a triangle for the beak. 7) From one corner, go up halfway and draw a curved line down. Do the same in the other corner. 8) Draw big eyeballs. At the center, draw pupils with “love sparkles”. 9) Draw a hidden heart with waves for the feathery stomach. 10) Draw a string or a snake for the owl to stand on. 11) Add tree leaves 12) Draw a chocolate chip cookie for the moon. 13) Add stars for a night sky