FOR Adrian Osborne, there are four secrets young cartoonists need to learn.
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Letters, numbers, sausages and eggs.
Every cartoon you draw can be scribbled using a combination of those four things.
The Beechworth-based illustrator was passing on some of his tips and tricks to children at the Burke Museum on Wednesday as a part of their school holiday program.
He said it was important to not only teach youngsters how to wield a pencil, but also give them the means to bring the history that was around them to life.
“It gives the kids the skills to take their drawing skills to the next level,” he said.
“The idea then is that they walk around and they can start recording the history in the place from their own point of view.
“We’ve got a great bunch of kids here with a good sense of humour, they’re so enthusiastic about it.”
The workshop involved the children exploring the museum’s many exhibits, looking for something they found interesting they wanted to illustrate.
After a short introduction and a few pointers from Mr Osborne, the kids were let loose to discover what resonated with them.
“What we’ve done is introduce them to the concept of looking at something, and then break it down into basic shapes,” Mr Osborne said.
“You can see them start to put it together as you explain it to them – it’s stuff they sort of already know.
“It gives them a fresh perspective when they look at things.
“It’s not a huge amount of time we have to do it all, but what it means is that they can come into a place like a museum where before it might have been a bit boring, they’re instead looking at old things with new eyes.”
As well as being an important part of bringing Beechworth’s history alive for the next generation, Mr Osborne said doing these workshops was important to him as an artist.
“It’s personally satisfying, for sure,” he said.
“When you’re an artist, part of it is learning from and being inspired by people who are better then you, and then the other part of it is that there’s always opportunities to explain yourself, and the way that you think and work, and you can see them respond to that.
“Quite often you’ll get people who’ll say they’re a terrible artist or whatever, but the thing to remember is that you’re always in the middle of something.
“There’s those who will be better and those who will be worse – it’s about being comfortable where you are.”
The museum will hold holiday activities throughout January, with the next coming up on January 2.