Hey, it's me, Mr. J, and welcome to today's drawing challenge. Do you have a couple minutes? Because today's challenge is draw a flying horse. So grab something to draw on and something to draw with. And let's do this.

[upbeat music] [pencil scratching]

(Describer) A title: Drawing with Mr. J. He sits at a table with squares of paper and a pen.

Phew. A flying horse. I'm actually a little nervous about today's challenge, not the flying part, but the horse part. For as long as I can remember, I have had a hard time drawing horses. They always look kind of awkward, but I'm not gonna give up. I should take my own advice that I always give you and break the horse down into simple lines and shapes. All right, let's start with ears. Two little triangle shapes.

(Describer) Make a print large M.

[gentle music]

All right, then down to the nose, a line with a bump and then another bump for the chin.

(Describer) Make a long U.

The neck can be two lines.

(Describer) Make a small U on the right of that.

It's coming along pretty well, I think, and then its back and its belly. If we draw a line across and then a bump and around.

(Describer) Angled, one from the U and one from the M ears.

Whoop. Okay. I'm actually pretty proud of this so far. All right, legs, two in the front, two in the back.

(Describer) A big rectangle.

A leg with a hoof, and we'll just repeat that.

(Describer) Skinny rectangles sticking down.

A leg with a hoof, and then the two in the back. Leg with a hoof. Leg with a hoof. Yeah, this horse is coming along. All right, hair, it comes up in front of the ears and then also down its neck. So there's some hair and some bump, bump, bump, bump for that hair. And how about, the tail's like a teardrop shape. Hmm. And a little face for the horse, an eyeball. And then the nose is up here. And a little line for the mouth. It's a pretty happy horse. Now, to make it fly. How are you gonna make yours fly? We could attach balloons. We could add wings, butterfly wings. We could attach a bunch of birds to the back of the horse. How about instead, I'm gonna do a propeller. So here is a line to connect the propeller to the horse. The propeller goes up with a circle and we can add little paddles here and motion lines to make it look like it's moving. Hmm. Yeah.

(Describer) A line across the bottom of each leg.

[upbeat music] [pencil scratches]

So let's check in. When you're focused on getting something right, what does your face look like? What happens to your eyes when you're concentrating? Do you squint a little bit? And how about your eyebrows? Do they scrunch towards your nose? And your mouth? Is your mouth scrunched up or does your tongue stick out of the side of your mouth without you even knowing it? When our mind and our body are focused on getting better

at something really difficult, [vocalist vocalizing]

it shows on our faces. We don't normally get something correct right away. We have to practice. Many of us go to dance practice, softball or baseball practice, soccer practice, or singing practice. I love running, but I can't just go outside and run 30 miles without practicing shorter distances first. I have to train my mind and my body to keep going even when it gets difficult. Those practice runs can go really well, but other times, I feel terrible. Yet, I show up again the next day to get stronger and to stay focused on my goal. The same can be true for drawing. Just because I couldn't draw a horse the first time that I tried doesn't mean I give up and never try again. Practice is a really important part of learning and sometimes we need to ask for help. When you get frustrated during practice or feel challenged by something that's difficult it's important not to give up. Keep trying and talk to a parent or trusted adult about what you're experiencing. Use your drawing to start the conversation. Trying your best to draw a flying horse and talking about how it may have challenged you is a really great place to start. I'm pretty happy with my flying horse, but it's taken a lot of practice to get here.

[upbeat music]

(Describer) It looks like a fan.

I can only imagine how your horse is headed off into the sky. Well, thanks for joining me today as we drew a flying horse. I look forward to seeing you next time for another drawing challenge.

(Describer) Host and education specialist, Jon Juravich. Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.

[upbeat music continues]

Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.