During our 2020 digital festival we hosted daily DrawAlongs from a selection of fabulous illustrators on our Facebook page.

DrawAlongs are a great way for to get creativity flowing, especially for children who might lack confidence and be intimidated by a blank sheet of paper and an instruction to simply draw something.

Here are our top 5 ways to use DrawAlong videos in the classroom:

• Take part in one of the DrawAlongs then ask your class to create their own character, taking inspiration from the illustrator. From there this could be expanded into creative writing.
• We all need a break now and again. Why not use a DrawAlong to let off steam and regain focus between lessons! This fun one from festival-favourite Nick Sharratt is perfect!
• From Scottish wildlife to starting a new school, use a DrawAlong to introduce a book or topic you’ll be working on.
• Practise descriptive language without pressure by asking children to talk about and describe their drawings as they create them. This could be tailored depending on stage and part of speech you want to work on.
• Small changes to your characters facial expressions can completely change their emotions, as Nadine Kaadan shows us in her wonderful DrawAlong. This is a great introduction to talking about feelings and empathy. You could even draw eyes and mouths expressing different emotions and swap them around on top of your character’s face.

Now you only have to choose from the awesome selection of DrawAlongs below!

DrawAlong with Axel Scheffler!

Award-winning illustrator Axel Scheffler, perhaps best known for drawing The Gruffalo, reads from Alison Green’s beautiful new book Kind, before showing you how to draw a lamb and a lion! Grab a paper and some pens or pencils and settle in for this superb short session

DrawAlong with Allen Fatimaharan!

Hannah Lee’s book My Hair is all about variety and difference – perfect for an illustrator like Allen Fatimaharan to show off his fabulous drawing skills! In this DrawAlong session he shows you how to draw the book’s main character as well as her cute cat. How would you draw the hero of your book?

DrawAlong with Eilidh Muldoon!

Scottish illustration sensation Eilidh Muldoon introduces you to her gorgeous Scottish Colouring Book series, including The Colouring Book of Edinburgh and Glasgow – so get your brightest and boldest pens and pencils ready! How would you colour the sites of each city? Get involved and share your wonderful artworks!

DrawAlong with Nick Sharratt!

Learn how to draw toothy sharks, jolly jellyfish, smiling seahorses and more with Nick Sharratt, the illustrator behind books by loads of your favourite authors, including Jacqueline Wilson and Julia Donaldson!

DrawAlong with Kate McLelland!

Say ‘Hello Scottish Animals’ with illustrator and author Kate McLelland! Meet some of Scotland’s favourite furry friends and learn how to draw the beautiful puffin, including it’s multi-coloured beak. Can you draw any animals that live near you?

DrawAlong with Dapo Adeola!

Get your paper and pencil ready as Dapo Adeola, the award-winning illustrator behind Nathan Bryon’s Look Up! and Clean Up! books, shows you how to draw one of his excellent characters in this DrawAlong session.

DrawAlong with Polly Dunbar!

Polly Dunbar has illustrated Eoin McLaughlin’s timely picture book, While We Can’t Hug, about two animal friends who just can’t give each other a squeeze right now – something we’ve all experienced recently. In this DrawAlong session, Polly shows us how to create colourful rainbows like those you might have put in your windows recently, and draws the happy friends too.

DrawAlong with Eilidh Muldoon!

Scottish illustrator Eilidh Muldoon is back and this time she’s brought along a sleepy friend! Snooze is her first picture book, and its the story of a tired owl who needs some help nodding off. Wake yourself up as Eilidh shows you how to draw your very own owl friend!

DrawAlong with Lydia Monks!

Have you started back at school or nursery recently? Then join the illustrator of What the Ladybird Heard, Lydia Monks, as she draws Mouse and all her friends from Twit Twoo School as they celebrate Mouse’s Big Day.

DrawAlong with Allen Fatimaharan!

Learn how to draw Yasmin and Levi the talking toy Llama from Annabelle Sami’s hilarious novel Llama Out Loud! with the book’s brilliant illustrator, Allen Fatimaharan.

DrawAlong with Dunja Jogan!

Grab your paint, pencils, pens or collage materials and get creative as Dunja Jogan shows you how to create a dramatic scene from her beautiful book Felix After the Rain. As Dunja says “You are the artist – have fun!”

DrawAlong with Cressida Cowell!
Learn How to Train (and draw!) Your Dragon as the bestselling author and illustrator Cressida Cowell shows you how to draw Hiccup the dragon from her beloved series – and you might just learn some Dragonese too!

DrawAlong with Kate Leiper!

Edinburgh-based illustrator Kate Leiper LOVES to draw animals – don’t you? Here she shows you how to draw a wee bird, just like the one from her book with Scottish folk singer Karine Polwart, A Wee Bird Was Watching. Send us your best drawings!

DrawAlong with Annet Schaap!

Listen and draw with Dutch author and illustrator Annet Schaap as she reads the first chapter of her wonderful novel Lampie and draws a captivating fairytale underwater scene complete with a merboy!

DrawAlong with Cressida Cowell!

The fabulous author and illustrator of How To Train Your Dragon returns for another DrawAlong session, this time showing you how she draws Wish, Xar and Bodkin from her The Wizards of Once series!

We’d love to see your drawings so please feel free to share with us on twitter or Facebook! And keep your eyes peeled for more wonderful DrawAlongs as part of our digital offering in August 2021!