Activities for all Artists, Explorers, and Nature Lovers
Prepare Your Own Sketch Kit!
Every Nature Explorer needs a proper sketch kit! Author/Illustrator Jean Mackay recommends:
- The Nature Explorer’s Sketchbook or a blank sketchbook
- Pencil or thin black marker
- A few colored pencils- yellow, blue, red, purple, green, orange, brown, gray or black
- Extras: eraser, small ruler, magnifying glass
You can put your supplies in a pencil case or large Ziplock bag to carry in your backpack when you go outside.
Be a Nature Explorer!
Try these activities to get started:
Try these activities to get started:
- Color Seeker– Pick one color (brown, green, yellow, or red are good choices). Go outside and sketch all the things you find that are that color. Put all of your sketches on one page of your sketchbook.
- So Many Questions– Go outside and find one thing to sketch that you don’t know much about. You might know that it’s a plant or a bug or a bird, but not much more. Look carefully and then make a sketch. Write down all of the questions you can think of about this one thing.
- Take a Sketch Challenge Hike– While you are on the trail, add these things to your sketchbook: something spikey, something soft, something that is alive, something that has died, something red, something a bird would eat, something that makes no sound. If you are hiking with a friend or other family members, you can make up your own things to challenge each other.
- Moon Watch– Sketch the moon every night for one week. If it’s cloudy and you can’t see the moon, just draw the cloud shapes you see and try again the next night.
The Nature Explorer’s Sketchbook includes sketching ideas, tips, and more activities to try, as well as plenty of space for you to draw.
For more inspiration:
Jean Mackay is an avid Nature Explorer, and she does so close to home! Take a look at some pages from her sketchbook, and see what you can find to draw in your own backyard!
