Bunnies, Bunnies Everywhere!

They are cute, they are furry and sometimes mischievous! Can you name some books, movie, game or tv characters that are rabbits?

I have been lucky enough to see this painting by German artist Albrecht Durer in person. They only display it every few years in order to protect it from fading. You can learn more about Albrecht Durer here. You can also visit his house in Nuremberg Germany. I've been here before since my sister lives here!

Most of us can't draw or paint at the level of Albrecht, but here are some funny bunny exercises for you to try using pen, pencil, crayon or marker. Work with a family member because it's more fun when you can laugh at your drawings together! I'm even going to show you my drawings because even art teachers can't do it perfectly!

1. Blind Contour Drawing. Draw a bunny with your eyes closed or without looking at the paper. Your partner needs to watch and make sure you don't cheat!

Pretty cute! I'm surprised I managed to get the eyes, nose and mouth on the face! Don't be surprised if you try this and the eyes end up on top of the ears or completely off the rabbit. That is part of the fun!

2. Continuous Line Drawing. Now try to draw a bunny without lifting your pen or pencil off the paper! Not even once! Have your partner make sure you don't cheat or you have to start again! Retrace over your lines if necessary.

You will get some funny lines crossing through the face and body. To make both eyes I had to cross over the forehead. Maybe there was another way for me to do this? How did yours turn out?

3. Observational Drawing. Now that you've warmed up your drawing muscles, try taking your time to look at a rabbit (drawing, photo, sculpture or even this website). Now you can use erasers, do some pencil shading or keep it simple with a contour line drawing like I did.

Now I could be more accurate since I could lift my Sharpie off the paper and look down at my work! Because I could laugh at my other drawings I didn't feel under too much pressure to make my drawing perfect. It doesn't look exactly the same or as detailed as Albrect Durer's painting but I'm very happy with the result!

Want to do even better? Take a break for now, but keep practicing drawing a bunny each day (even if you only do it for 5-10 minutes). Keep all of your drawings together and date them and you can see how you've improved over time!