Every Stroke Counts: The Illustrations of Every Clue Counts

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        Many people love to draw, but I have found that there is something ever so special for those who have a talent for drawing. Sometimes as a student you might feel like you just want to draw, draw, draw. You might get caught doodling or drawing some beautiful picture when you are supposed to be doing math. I wanted to give the chance for these students to draw and really enjoy themselves. Most of all I wanted students to express their unique creativity and personality through their artwork.

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    Great artwork certainly takes a lot of time, but it also takes the use of good materials. Quality materials were something I wanted to make sure that students had access to. So, I made sure to take a trip to Walmart to pick up some drawing pencils, colored pencils, and sketch pads. One of the most important things that I remember my artists requested was a special kind of drawing paper. I used to think that simple computer paper would do. However, after feeling the quality of the drawing paper I was able to see why my students wanted it so much. The size was very convenient and allowed for very pretty drawings. As with anything that you enjoy and want to be great with, it

 often takes a lot of effort to make it

great. One of the special opportunities

my scenery artists were able to enjoy

was the ability to use my iPad Pro to

color and draw their scenery

illustrations. I myself started to

thoroughly enjoy drawing and drew

two illustrations for our book.

I also felt so privileged to learn more

about drawing by watching them draw.       

 

     Many of our scenery illustrations were a collaborative effort which brought out active discussions between our writers and illustrators. This provided a unique experience while watching our writers use their words to describe what they wanted, and then watching our artists bring those words to life. How did we squeeze artwork into a busy school day? We used the first 15 minutes of school which is often dedicated to "morning work". I remember one of the students mentioning how much they enjoyed getting a chance to draw in the morning. I especially enjoyed watching how much joy it brought to their overall day.  

 

​“One of my favorite things about Sherlock Club was getting to come into the classroom in the morning and seeing the art materials there on the table and just letting our creativity flow.”

                                                                  – Addison Nelson (Head Artist)

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     Overall, I was blown away by the great skill and dedication these 5th graders showed. Every Stroke Counts…and behind those strokes you could see a great amount of creativity, time, and effort. 

                                                     - Bryan Andress (ECC Head Production Coordinator)