As restrictions continue across the world in a (hopefully) final push against the coronavirus pandemic, many children are once again stuck at home. Parents will no doubt be eager to find free activities to keep them feeling creative and entertained – and thankfully, one of the most popular series of drawing lessons is back.
Rob Biddulph's #DrawWithRob videos became an online sensation last year, offering budding young artists the change to draw along with a professional illustrator. We love a good drawing lesson (check out our list of the best how to draw tutorials), and Biddulph's animal designs are a super-fun example.
Schools may be closing for a bit, but I’m still here to help with art lessons. As well as the usual (brand new) Saturday #DrawWithRob videos, I’ll also be posting one from the archive every Tuesday & every Thursday at 10am. It’ll be just like old times! We can do this, team... 🙌 pic.twitter.com/qGPlBz2453January 3, 2021
Biddulph will be sharing three videos every week, at 10am on Saturdays, Tuesdays, Thursdays. The first will be a brand new video, while the latter two will be come from Biddulph's archive of videos from 2020. The videos will be shared on his website (opens in new tab) and social media channels.
Last year, Biddulph managed to break a Guinness World Record (opens in new tab) by hosting the world's largest online art lesson. Over 45,611 participants joined the lesson, raising more than £50,000 for charities impacted by coronavirus.
If you're wondering whether #DrawWithRob is right for you and your little ones, you can check out two of his draw-along videos below.
There are lots more brilliant resources available to keep kids keep flexing their artistic muscles over the winter period – many of which were created in response to lockdowns last spring and summer.
Firstsite gallery in Colchester has brought together a crack team of well-known UK artists for a series of downloadable activity packs called Art is Where the Home is (opens in new tab). Those artists include Grayson Perry, Annie Morris, Jeremy Deller and Antony Gormley, to name a few.
Meanwhile, author and illustrator Mo Willems has created a series of brilliant Lunch Doodles videos, perfect for snatching a creative moment at lunchtime. The whole series can be found on YouTube (opens in new tab).
And for something a little more meditative, there are lots of free colouring templates available online. Kent-based illustrator Steve Turner (better known as Squidoodle) is offering several free colouring sheets (opens in new tab) on his website, and in one of the more unexpected offerings, car manufacturer Audi has posted a free colouring book PDF to its website (opens in new tab).
These brilliant free resources should keep your little ones busy and entertained – at least for a few precious minutes. If you're also having to juggle working from home with everything else, don't forget to swing by our guide to surviving another day not at the office.
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