New Project: Crazy Shoes

Today’s essential question: If you could design a pair of crazy shoes or sneakers and didn’t have to worry about making them practical, what type or shoe would you design and why?

For our next project, we will design a unique, interesting pair of shoes.
Think outside the shoe box – the shoes do not have to be comfortable or practical!

Here are some examples of crazy shoes:

        

Here are some examples of the style of drawing this project will emulate (our shoes will be much crazier)

 

Project requirements:

• drawing shows a pair of shoes (total of two shoes)
• each shoe should be drawn from a different angle, and the shoes should be arranged into an interesting composition
• proportions are accurate and show an understanding of foreshortening
• realistically colored with colored pencil
  • show an understanding of colored pencil blending
  • show a clear light source and contain realistic highlights and shadows
• fills a 12×16 piece of paper (choice of white paper or colored paper)

Today we will:

• brainstorm a variety of shoes we might create
• post potential reference photos to our blog
• create concept sketches of at least 3 different shoe designs

Project Requirements: Color Wheel Mandalas

This project will familiarize us with color mixing. For this project, you may choose create your own mandala or work with ONE partner. You may also create your own mandala, but share the paint you have mixed with the other students at your table. This will save both time and paint.

Sample Color Wheel Mandalas:

Mya – Grade 10

Ler – Grade 10

La’ja – Grade 10

Project Requirements:

• Color Wheel contains 6 different “pie slices” – one for each of the following colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet
• The “pie slices” should be arranged in rainbow order. For example, the green pie slice should be between the yellow and blue pie slices.
• Each “pie slice” should be divided into 4 sections. This sections will gradually get lighter or darker as you mix tints and shades of the selected color.
• One section of each “pie slice” should contain the original color. If it is very transparent, you can remedy this by mixing in a tiny bit of white (but not enough to make a true tint).
• Mandala shows good craftsmanship – paint is even and smooth. Points will be deducted both for transparent areas and for paint that has been painted on too thick.

Project Steps

1. Trace the circle template onto a sheet of tag board.
2. Paint the circle with gesso.
3. While you are waiting for the gesso to dry, design your pie slice. This design will repeat itself 6 times around the circle.
   Here is what my pie slice looked like:
   
4. Paint the circle with black paint. You may need two coats to cover it.
5. Use a blow dryer to dry your cardboard circle.
6. Color the back of the pie slice with chalk, and use the trace and transfer method to transfer the first section of the pie slice onto your circle template.
7. Continue tracing and transferring until the entire circle is filled in with designs.
8. Pick your first color. Mix 2 tints and one shade, and paint the mandala. (Except yellow – it is so light that you will mix one tint and 2 shades.)
9. Repeat step 5 for the remaining colors. Here is what my finished mandala looks like:
   

We will have 6 classes to work on this project. Use your time wisely – by the end of today’s class, you should have traced the circle template, painted the circle with gesso, designed your pie slice, and painted the circle with black paint. Depending on how quickly you work, you may start transferring your design onto the painted circle, but if you do not, you should be ready to do so at the start of tomorrow’s class.

Donors Choose Thank You letter

The Prismacolor colored pencils we have used in the past few projects were funded by an organization called Donors Choose. Once you finish your room drawing, please write a 150-200 word thank you note to the donors and post it to your blog. If you’d like, you can also take a photo of your finished room project and post that to your blog as well. I will then print and mail the thank you notes to the donors, along with some photos of our class in action and the finished projects. If you would like to be in a photo for the Donors Choose thank you package, please let Ms. Lawson know.

If you are not sure what to write, here are some questions that will get you started:

• What did we get? (Each student got a 24 pack of prismacolor premier colored pencils)
• How did we use the colored pencils?
• What was special about these colored pencils?
• What did we learn?
• How did their donation make a difference to our art class?
• Begin the letter with “Dear Donors” and sign it with your first name only

Light sources & shading

Today’s essential question: What are the light sources in my room? How will they affect the shading in my room?

Some examples of rooms with different light sources:

Today we will continue our room drawings, paying attention to the lighting.

Cropping/Framing to Set the Viewer’s Distance from the Room

Today’s essential question: How can I crop the image to either make the viewer feel further from the room or close to the objects inside the room?

Here are two very similar closets. The image on the left shows more of the side walls, which makes us feel further away, like we are standing outside the closet looking in. The image of the right shows less of the side walls, making it feel as though we are standing inside the closet.
  

Today we will:

• Begin drawing our rooms on the final project paper
• Pay attention to how we crop or frame our rooms to set the desired distance between the viewer and the room.

Brainstorming Concepts for 1 Point Perspective Room with Figure

Today’s Essential Question: How can I create a drawing of a room that tells an interesting story?

Today we will brainstorm concepts for our 1 point perspective interior space project.

Sample Room Concept Blog Post

I would like to start with an empty room warehouse-inspired room similar to this:

I like these furniture pieces and accessories:
 

For my figure, I will include a woman in a ball gown:

How to Start your Room Concept Sketch

1. Draw an X across the paper. The center of the X is your vanishing point.
   
2. Draw a box around the X. Keep the vanishing point, but erase the rest of the X inside the box.
   
3. Begin adding furniture, windows, and doors by connecting each room detail to your vanishing point.
   
   

Today we will:

• Brainstorm concepts for our room
• Post reference photos to blog, including:
  • examples of room style
  • examples of interesting architectural details or furniture
  • reference photo of figure or figures
• Create a concept sketch for our project

New Project: 1 Pt Perspective Interior with a Figure

Today’s Essential Question: How can I draw room details (furniture, windows, wall and floor textures) in one point perspective?

Our next project combines the skills we have learned in our previous projects. We will use one point perspective to draw an interior space that contains a figure, and use our knowledge of colored pencils to set the mood in our artwork.

Project requirements:

• Uses one point perspective to draw a realistic interior space
• Includes a variety of interesting architectural details and/or pieces of furniture
• Contains at least one figure
• Figure and room work together to tell an interesting story
• Mood established through skillful use of colored pencil
• Fills a 12×16 sheet of paper

Think outside the box. Here are some examples that would fulfill the project requirements:

Closets
  

Architectural Ruins
  

  

Windows to the Outside World
  

Industrial/Urban
  

  

  

Ballrooms
  

  

Today we will:

• Learn how to draw furniture and architectural details in 1 point perspective
• Complete the 1 point perspective furniture handout
• Practice drawing at least 10 different architectural details (windows, doors, light fixtures, floor or wall textures, pillars, ceiling beams) or pieces of furniture in 1 point perspective in our sketchbooks

 

Critiquing Art

Today’s essential question: How do we successfully critique art?

Today we will:

• further our understanding of how to critique art by completing the following tasks:
• post thoughtful comments to 3-5 art projects
• pick one artwork to critique in greater depth
  • fill out a graphic organizer to guide our critique of that artwork
  • use our notes from the graphic organizer to create a blog post of at least 150 words critiquing the artwork
• respond to classmates’ Post It Note comments (if time allows)

Art Critique Blog Post Guidelines

• at least 150 words
• includes several strong comments that refers to the artist’s use of art elements and principles
• cites evidence (if you write that a piece contains successfully shading, explain how the artist has created that shading)
• demonstrates proper use of the English language
• published to student blog by 11:00.

Sample Art Critique

(My example is 306 words. You only need to write 150, but can go longer if you feel inspired like I was.)

In the drawing of Drake made of Drake lyrics, the artist created realistic value using black ink, but instead of using traditional ink shading techniques such as hatching or stippling, he layered words on top of one another. The more he layered words in an area, the darker the value he created. The focal point of the artwork is the eye area. We naturally look towards eyes, and in this artwork, the eyes are located about a third of the way from the top of the page, further drawing attention to the face. The way that Drake is gazing at the viewer, combined with the words, “Never give up,” make it feel like Drake is offering encouragement directly to the viewer. This makes the artwork feel hopeful and intimate. The best parts of the drawing are the visible tear lines. They add texture and allude to the story behind the artwork. The artist nearly gave up on the piece, and in a moment of frustration, ripped the artwork into small pieces. Two friends convinced him to tape it back together and finish it, and one even helped him iron it. The rip marks, combined with the words, “Never give up,” add a new layer of meaning to the piece. This artwork reminds me of one of my proudest moments in my teaching career. I had tried several times, unsuccessfully, to convince the artist to continue working on the project, but I had never thought to suggest ironing it. It was heartwarming watching my students work together to put the piece back together. I learn from my students each day, and this artwork is an especially powerful reminder of one of those times. If given the option, I would definitely buy this drawing, both for the level of technical skill it displays and for its conceptual sophistication.

 

Creating Realistic Texture with Colored Pencil

Today’s EQ: How can I create a realistic texture for my animal with colored pencil?

Pay attention to the various textures on your animal (fur, scales, feathers, etc). You may want to practice these textures in your sketchbook before coloring on your final project.

Sample Animal Textures

Fur

   

Feathers

Scales

Today we will:

• continue working on our animal colored pencil drawings, creating realistic texture with colored pencil

The rule of thirds

Today’s essential question: How can I use the rule of thirds to create an interesting composition for my animal project?

Rule of Thirds

To apply the rule of thirds, break an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts. Place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines to create a more balanced and visually interesting photo. Studies have shown that people’s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points rather than the center of the shot. When we use the rule of thirds, we make the way people naturally view images work for us rather than against us.

How do the examples below feature the rule of thirds?

   

Today we will finish our project planning sketches and then start on the good project paper.