Review: Beyond the Stick Figure Complete Drawing Course PLUS 3 Bonus Courses

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any way. 


Issac and I have been working our way through Beyond the Stick Figure Complete Drawing Course PLUS 3 Bonus Courses by Beyond the Stick Figure Art School.  This is a video based program that includes downloads for many of the lessons to help your student learn the basics of drawing.  We've been having a great time working on some of our basic drawing skills. Do you know how hard it is to draw a perfectly straight line? I think we all say we can do that, but when you sit down and do it they typically aren't straight. I found that I tend to rush when I'm drawing things like straight lines or circle. There really IS a skill involved to make those things look great.  One of the great things about this program is that is geared for those 5-95, so really pretty much any age.  

Beyond the Stick Figure Complete Drawing Course starts out teaching the very basics.  There is first a nice little welcome message as well as a message just to the moms and then a basic supply list. I like knowing ahead of time what we might need in the next few weeks, so that we can be prepared.  We started off working on straight lines, squiggly lines and circles. One thing that the program suggests is that you work on small sections of paper. Take a regular sheet of computer paper and cut it into 4 sections. That way you use a smaller area and your child, or you, won't feel so pressured. I found this to be both good and bad. For my son it helped with him feeling overwhelmed, but as we moved further through the lessons many of the printed worksheets were harder for him because they were a smaller space. When I felt he needed it we just tried drawing the shapes on a larger scale for him. That's the great thing about programs like these that they give you the basics and then you can chose how you use them.  The drawing part of the program was divided into 3 different sections with multiple lessons. The lessons all build on each other working from the basic shapes, outlining them, coloring them and then putting them together to form other pictures.  After all the drawing sessions were done there is a nice little "How am I Doing" section that I really enjoyed. It's got a little rubric that you answer and see how many "points" you earned during the session. The max is 12, but it was just a little feel good section I thought that would help build students up.

As we moved into the pen and ink lessons we learned how to draw with a pencil and trace over it with a permanent marker. The main goal here is to draw with the pen/marker. We used an even smaller section of paper than previously to do a nice little pen drawing and then learned about watercolor washes.  For me I thought it was nice to be able to look at a small square that I drew and feel that I did a good job. The lessons then move into a further detailed drawing that included learning more about tracing.  Again at the end of this section is another rubric to check in and see how you are feeling about your progress.  

As you move through the program your student learns to use watercolors, acrylics and venture into 3d design.  We learn what basic materials we need to do these projects as well as how to use these. There are different ways to use watercolors as well as acrylics and we are taught the difference in the program. We have spent most of our time in the drawing sections, but I'm looking forward to the acrylics and the 3d. This program builds on each previous lesson, so you must complete all the initial drawing sections before you can move on to the next session. This is both a positive and a negative I think. It helps the students learn step-by-step, but then if you have a child that is naturally gifted it's harder to jump ahead to where they would feel more comfortable.
This is a nice "one size fits all" type of program in that you can use it for your entire family as well as learn different methods of art.  The lessons are taught through video and you can easily see what lesson you are working on or which lesson comes next.  Once you purchase the course you have access to it for life! There is also a 30 day money back guarantee as well as great customer support if you need it. 
 

There were a few things I didn't really care about in regards to the Beyond the Stick Figure Complete Drawing Course PLUS 3 Bonus Courses. The price is a little intimidating for me, but after breaking down the entire cost by the amount of lessons that I received I felt much more comfortable about the price.  My main concern was that you can't seem to skip around in the program. We had to do each lesson from each area before we could move on to the next. While I mentioned earlier I think that's great to help build on skills it was a little frustrating for my son because he felt we spent too much time drawing the same thing. I would like to be about to move about without having to complete each lesson. The other thing that was a bit of a struggle for me was the printing of the worksheets to use in the lessons. There were usually 4 sections of each type and I felt that we didn't use all of those and it was a bit of a waste of paper. I know that it's recommended to practice, but many of these lessons my son didn't want to do any further practice.  

All in all we've enjoyed our time spent with Beyond the Stick Figure Art School. I've learned that it's really not as easy ad I thought to draw a straight line, but when I take my time and do things step-by-step I can draw a pretty nice flower :) This is an especially great value for those with several children at home and you are wanting to bring more art to your schooling. I like that the lessons are available for lifetime as well. There were 80 families reviewing this program, so please go check out the drawings that were done by the other families.   As always for more information check out Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Youtube.  

Review: Chinese Brush Painting

Art is one of the subjects that has been very hit or miss around our house. It seems like we put the effort into doing the core subjects, but forget how much art and music need to be explored as well. Timberdoodle has us covered when it comes to art. We recently were sent Chinese Brush Painting to review. I'll be honest that I hadn't really heard of this before, but was excited to try it out.  The set arrived in a very pretty and sturdy box.  It included the instruction book with 10 painting projects, a pad of paper, Chinese brushes, watercolor paints and more! This set is recommended for ages 9 and up. My son, almost 13, and I worked on these projects together.

We first sat down with the instruction booklet and went over all our materials.  There were two brushes included, one called a white cloud brush and the other a vine brush. The white cloud brush was for larger strokes and the vine brush for thinner.  Everything we needed was included in the kit other than water, a dish and a towel. I like when I can open the box and get started.  This technique is all about the layering of the colors and how the brush strokes are made.

We decided that we'd follow the book's recommendations by first doing the ladybug.  We struggled with the technique of layering the colors on the brush, but I think it's a skill that needs to be developed. The more we work on it the better it will be. It's definitely a skill to paint this way. The layering is what makes these paintings so beautiful and unique.  Everyone is going to layer colors slightly different and therefore that is what makes them unique.

** Issac's ladybug

** My lady bug 

**The example in the book

After the ladybug we decided to just pick items we wanted to paint and work on our techniques while we worked. The item I thought was the COOLEST out of the kit was the ink stone and stick. We were given a black stone in which we were to put a few drops of water. Then you take the stick and grind it around the stone and it gives you a black color. The stick is dried-up powder that has been compressed. I find these two items just fascinating!

We've really had a lot of fun with this kit. There has been trial and error in our technique, but like I mentioned before it's a skill that needs to be learned. I'm not quite sure we have the technique down yet, but we still had a great time trying.  I'm very thankful for Timberdoodle for providing such quality art products such as this Chinese Brush Painting set.  

Review: Hey Clay Bugs

Playing with clay has been something that I've done with all my children from a very early age. They've loved being creative, but are often upset that they can't really keep their creations longer than the day they played with it.  When I learned about Hey Clay and that it's a pliable clay that can dry I was really interested to check it out. This way your child can make their bugs and continue to have creative play with them long after the day they were made.  Even though this item is part of the Timberdoodle Fourth Grade Curriculum Kit I knew my 12 year old son would enjoy it.  

Hey Clay Bugs is a really cool kit that arrived with 18 containers of air-dry clay. This clay is different than anything we've used before. It's a little stiff when first opened, but after working with the clay for a few minutes it softens up a bit.  This clay also has more of a sponge type texture and even after it dries it feels like nothing we've ever used before! One thing that is very cool about this product is the interactive app that you can download from either Google Play or the Apple App Store. It walks you step-by-step through how to make each of the 6 bugs features on the box of the kit. Clay is provided to make a spider, caterpillar, praying mantis, snail, ladybug or dragonfly.  The app is set up for all users to be able to succeed by allowing the user as much time as needed as well as the ability to back up if needed.  There are many these days with allergies that stop them from being able to use certain materials.  Hey Clay is wheat & gluten free as well as nontoxic and nonstaining. This can be so very important for our children while they are expressing their creative side.

Issac and I each decided to pick one bug as well as Issac chose to do something totally off the wall and NOT follow the directions :) I chose to do the caterpillar and Issac chose the 6-eyed spider.  I found the clay super easy to work with as well as the instructions were easy to follow. My only issue that I had was often I didn't really know how much of the clay I should be using. I wish there was a little better suggestion on the size or maybe even a template included that showed the sizes we needed to be using. I was often a little worried if I used too much maybe I wouldn't have enough to do another bug. When I was done I set my caterpillar to the side and was happily surprised the next morning to see how sturdy it had become.  

Issac chose to do the 6-eyed spider and enjoyed the silliness of the creation.  He does struggle with fine-motor skills, so he had a little trouble getting his legs just right.  He struggled with the eyes as well as I did and didn't care for the idea of using a pencil. He felt the pencil was a tad to large. We just changed the plan a little and I suggested he put the eyes together and then put them on the spider.  Thankfully Hey Clay Bugs is easily adaptable.

Overall even though Issac is 12 he really enjoyed the Hey Clay Bugs. He enjoyed it so much that he even wrote his own review and posted it on his YouTube channel.  This item is listed as 3+ and its definitely one of those items that works for a variety of ages.   I liked that the texture was a little stiffer in the beginning because that can be good for those with fine motor issues. The variety of colors was great and there is plenty to do all the bugs pictures.  In this day and age of technology often times I think our kids are losing the creative aspect that was there before technology. Have this app combines the best of both worlds I feel. It gives the artist the ability to follow the directions and have a great product or adapt as their creativity suggests and still come up with a great product. 

If bugs aren't your thing check out Hey Clay Animals.  Both of these items can be found at Timberdoodle.com as well as tons of other great items.  

Wordless Wednesday 6/13/2018

Giveaway: Magic Stix Washable Markers

 One lucky winner will receive one 24 pack set of the Magic Stix Washable Markers from The Pencil Grip, Inc.

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Review: Magic Stix Washable Markers by The Pencil Grip, Inc.

The Pencil Grip, Inc. is one of those companies that I hate to admit it, but I hadn't heard of before last year.  Last year we were able to review their Thin Stix Creativity Pack and their Thin Stix 6 pk of Classic Colors.  Both of these items were great quality items that we fell in love with while using.  This time we received the 24 pack of Magic Stix Washable Markers which pretty much has any color that you could want to use. Gives lots of options for creativity when the kids are doing their projects.  They come in a great clam shell case  with a handle that allows the kids to carry them around without fear of losing them.  This was super helpful because Issac just started a dinosaur class at co-op and he wanted to take his markers to show them off to the class. I didn't worry about them not making it back home because they were safe in the case. It's also got individual slots, so that each marker has it's own space. They have vented safety caps and are non-toxic. I really love that these have no odors because often times the odors from products can bring on a bad headache for me. 

  I'm sure just about every household has had their fair share of markers in the house. They've also had issues with the kids leaving the tops off the markers and then finding them dry and unusable. This company has developed a wonderful quality marker that WON't dry out even with the top is left off for 7 days and they GUARANTEE that promise. Anytime there is a promise like that you know we have to put it to the test :) I left a marker out in a cup with NO top and tested the writing quality each day. Here are my results:

Here is my final writing after the marker has been sitting open since January 29th. 

Here are a few projects that Issac and I worked on while using the markers. He asked me to color some hearts for him to use on his Valentine's Box.  

I used them on this picture and I really liked how easily the fine tip matched what I was trying to do.

One thing that is nice about these markers and different from others is that the entire marker case is the shade of the marker. Typically other markers just have the caps showing the color. If the caps are lost with the Magic Stix Washable Markers then the children can still see what color choices they have. We love these markers and I WISH I had been able to have these when my kids were younger. We lose a marker lid every once a while now, but typically it was when they were younger that we went through them like candy. These markers are priced higher than the ones you buy in the store, but it's well worth it in the long run. When I think of ALL the packages of markers I have purchased over the years and had to throw away because the lids were lost and they dried out I would probably cry at the expense. These will definitely save you money in the long run. I would recommend these to anyone with children, but especially with younger ones that will lose the caps easier. 

If you'd like more information about The Pencil Grip, Inc. or the  Magic Stix Washable Markers check out their social media sites as well as read what the other crew members thought and how they used their markers.  

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