• How-to-draw-a-turtleHere is a nice and easy way to draw a cartoon turtle. This was inspired by a classroom session during my recent trip to Oman. The children were studying persuasive writing. I was just saying don’t be mean to turtles wouldn’t work and that people needed to be made to think about human behaviour from a turtle’s point of view, building empathy with the creatures.

    This can be done with cartoons, but there is a fine line between a cartoon that makes you think and one that just makes you laugh and move on. Some cartoons can be so generic that they don’t convey any kind of message at all because the viewer is so used to seeing the image or other that look like it. It’s possible even to give a completely different message under those circumstances!

    You can also try drawing a more realistic turtle in pencil with this video.

  • Shoo-QR-codeI’ve been to Muscat in Oman this week! Visiting the American British Academy, the British school and the American Elementary School. It was hot! It was hard work but I had a great time, met a lot of great people – all who love Oman – they come for a short work contract and end up staying! And I saw a lot of sights in a very short time available.

    My iphone has turned out to be a very unreliable recording device since installing iOs 7 – I wish they would put everything back so it all works properly again – progress isn’t always a great thing – it can often be a retrograde thing.

    I was impressed by the way they run things out there. The Sultan is in charge, but he really seems to have the interest of the country and his people at heart. There is building everywhere, investing the profits of the natural resources back into infrastructure for the future.

    There is definitely an Omani style. Modern Arab design can often seem a bit garish to western eyes, but the Omanis have a very reserved taste. They like a bit of bling and grandeur, but they do it in quite a classy and reserved style!

    Id like to thank Catherine and Paige at the American Elementary School, who organised the whole trip. Michael at the ABA and Carly and Francesca At the British school. All I have to do is turn up and perform. I know how much work goes on in the background to make everything go so smoothly, so many thanks for all your hard work again.

  • Small-R2D2May the 4th is Star Wars Day – geddit?- may the force/4th – so I thought I would show you how to draw R2D2

    Here is another video I did of R2D2 on my drawstuffrealeasy channel: