Title: Still Life of Basic Shapes

Grade Level: 7th to 9th grade
Anticipated Time Period: two 45min class period

Goal: Students will perceive and understand the basic drawing process

Objectives: Students will:
create a still life drawing representing three basic shapes
understand and apply elements and organizational principles of art
illustrating a direction of light
recognizing shadows and highlights
arrange and examine basic shapes into a composition
define and identify value, composition, direction of light

Materials:
2b pencils
Kneaded eraser
8 ½ x 11 white drawing paper
basic shapes-coke can, box, tennis ball, etc.

Vocabulary:
value: element of art that refers to the darkness or lightness of a surface
composition: to create, form or design something by arranging parts to create a unified whole
direction of light: the way the light appears to be coming in, identified by the shadows in the art work

Teacher Preparation:
have teacher exemplar ready
vocab on blackboard-value, composition, direction of light
materials ready to distribute
paper cut to size
rubric handouts ready

Motivation/Initiation:
Have the students do some drawing exercise before having them complete a still life. Either have them draw a value scale from the lightest tint to darkest tint or complete the eight step drawing exercise of varying pressure to completing a still life on the basic shapes.

Process/Procedure:
have student do drawing exercises-value scale
explain good composition
set up still life-the three basic shapes-for the composition
examine the shapes size in relation to one another
lightly sketch shapes contour and base line
consider the direction of the light
lightly add value to the shapes
stop-and view as a whole
add more dark values-strong to light
add highlights
add detail to objects-lables, lettering
stop-and view as a whole
add finishing touches where needed
clean up and critique

Closure:
Have students critique one another’s work. Ask them why they think the piece has a good composition? If not what can be changed to make it so? Is the direction of the light evident in the piece?
 

Student Assessment:  see attached rubric
have the students created a still life of the basic shapes that includes a direction of light and a good composition?
are the students able to define and identify value, composition, direction of light?

Teacher Reflections:
 
 

Extension Activity:
have students add background to their still life
 

Interdisciplinary Connections:
Science, measuring

Title: Drawing a self-portrait

Grade Level: 7th to 9th grade
Anticipated Time Period: one week, 45min class period

Goal: The students will perceive and understand that  the relationships of the parts creates a whole.

Objectives: Students will:
create a self portrait
showing correct facial proportion and observation
illustration accurate shadows and a direction of light
define portrait, proportion, negative shape/space
identify  portraiture in art history

Materials:
pencils, #2
erasers
newsprint paper
white final draft paper 9x12
art reproductions (slides) of various portraits
mirrors
 

Vocabulary:
portrait: any form of art expression which resembles a specific person or animal
proportion: the relation of one object to another with respect to size, amount, number or degree
negative shape/space: the space surrounding shapes or solid forms in a work of art
 

Teacher Preparation:
get portrait reproductions together either by slides with projector or graphics
have newsprint and white paper cut to size
vocab on blackboard
pencils, erasers, mirrors counted and ready
rubric, self assessment handouts ready
teacher exemplar and other examples prepared

Motivation/Initiation:
Show the students various portraits from art history, The Mona Lisa, Van Gogh’s self-portrait, etc. Ask them to state the expressive quality and  proportions of  the portraits. Ask  the students to tell you how  they  think the artist achieved his/her outcome. Explain to the students that through careful observation they will draw their self-portrait. Have students sit across from a classmate and study his/her head-draw this shape. Then on the blackboard show them how to map out a guideline for the facial features.

Then show the students the facial proportions in relation to the size of one eye. Also have them draw several eyes, noses and mouths on  there newsprint paper.
 

Process/Procedure:
have students do practice activities on newsprint
hand out mirrors pencils and erasers
look and observe oneself in hand mirror
notice your own facial proportions
decide on direction of the paper according to face
sketch lightly the outline shape of your head while looking in mirror
look in mirror and consider how big your forehead is and where mid line would go (eyes)
consider the profile before sketching facial features-straight on, slightly to the left or right
lightly sketch facial shapes from the inside out while looking in mirror being aware of the negative shapes/spaces as well as positive
determine this with the size of one eye in relation
starting with the eyes then the nose and mouth to the neck and ears then hair
stand back to see if the placement of facial shapes are accurate
begin to add more definition to facial shapes, eyes, nose, mouth-etc.
consider direction of light
begin to add shadows, keeping in mind where the lighter parts of the face are found-higher protruding parts, top of the nose, forehead, etc.
 identify and draw in extreme darks
erase where necessary where the extreme highlights belong
stop and stand back and view piece in entirety
add finishing touches and detail in hair, clothing, jewelry
clean up and critique

Closure:
Have students share their portraits for critique. Ask them , why did we use the size of one eye  to help us map out the face? What is proportion? Tell the students how direct observation combined with the use of guidelines for general proportions of facial features enabled us to make our self-portrait.

Student Assessment:
Has the student created a self-portrait from direct observation?
Does the students work show correct facial proportion and observation?
Does the students work illustrate accurate shadows and a direction of light?
Can the student identify various portraits from art history?
Can they define portrait, proportion and negative shape/space?

Teacher Reflections:
 
 

Extension Activity:
Have the students continue by drawing classmates and family members at home
 

Interdisciplinary Connections:
Anatomy, Social Studies

Title: Drawing the Human Figure

Grade Level:  High school 9-12
Anticipated Time Period:  three to five days-45min class period

Goal:  The students will perceive and understand the proportions of  the human figure through the visual arts.

Objectives: The students will:
learn new ways of looking and drawing the figure
understand different strategies on drawing the human body
using cylinder shapes, contour lines, and measuring devises
create the human figure
faster warm-up drawings (gesture drawing)
slow, meticulous final drawing
understand and apply elements and organizational principles and techniques and processes of art (standard 1&2)

Materials:
newsprint, white drawing paper
pencils - 2b, erasers
conte crayons or charcoal
portable timer
easels or field sketch boards
teacher exemplar
reproductions of figure drawing
books - Figure Drawing Without A Model, by Ron Tiner, Constructive Anatomy and Bridgman’s Life Drawing by George Bridgman

Vocabulary:
foreshortening - A way of drawing or painting an object or painting so that it seems to go back into space.
gesture drawings -  Quick sketches that are based on careful observation. A good way to speed up your figure drawing is to break down the model into a number of simple lines that describe the pose.
contrapposto - The position of a human figure in painting or sculpture in which the hips and legs are turned in a different direction from that of the shoulders and head; the twisting of a figure on its own vertical axis. It is sometimes called "weight shift."
proportion - The relation of one object to another with respect to size, amount, number, or degree.
chiaroscuro - This is a method of applying light and shadow to create and illusion of solidity.

Teacher Preparation:
have vocab on blackboard
teacher exemplar ready to show
books and reproductions displayed
easels or sketch boards accounted for
paper cut - newsprint and white drawing paper
assessment rubric handouts ready

Motivation/Initiation:
Ask one of the students to volunteer to be a model. Have that student pose and show the students, on the blackboard, various ways to quickly draw the figure
 

Have that student take his/her seat and share with the class some figure drawings from art       history. Show them how Leonardo Da Vini’s figure is filled with lines defining her shape.  Explain to them contrapposto and show examples as well as chiaroscuro.

Process/Procedure:
have the students  set up their sketch board with newsprint
with charcoal time their gesture drawing of you in different poses
then switch  off  with a student to do the poses while you walk around and loosen the students up in drawing the figure and help them see various shapes
explain to then how to use their pencil as a measuring devise
next day have a model sit for long, meticulous drawing
have the students:
study the model from different angles
consider the placement of the figure on your paper and the paper direction
make two marks indicating the length of the figure
think of a figure as one composed of various shapes
sketch those shapes starting the head to the neck
hold pencil tip up as a measuring stick for correct proportion
draw a line giving the direction of the shoulders
indicate the general direction of the body with outlining the shape of the hip and thigh, the outermost point of the figure
sketch the placement of the knees and feet in basic shapes
connect with a line from the thigh down to feet
end sketch with outline of the arms to hands
stand back and look at total placement of these various shapes and lines and determine if correct
go back in and make a more defined contour drawing with the shapes
draw in the outline of the head with the figure’s hair-no detail
draw outer outline of figure representing the clothes
draw in the outline of the hand-with fingers
looking at model visualize the direction of light
go in and apply light and shadow to create solidty-chiaroscuro
along with shading start to loosely add more features-facial, clothing
step back and view as a whole
then start to add more detail to the face, clothing, hair
place in the darkest darks and the highlights
add finishing touches with the background or shadow

Closure:
Have the students critique each others work including their own. Ask them what they found most difficult to do? Why? What was the easiest? Why? Review  vocab and have them finish their own assessment rubric and hand it in with their final drawing.

Student Assessment:
Did the students illustrate the different strategies on drawing the human body through their gesture drawings?
Have the students completed a final life drawing?
Were the students able to verbally define the lesson’s vocabulary?
 

Teacher Reflections:

Extension Activity: Have the students choose a different angle to draw the model.

Interdisciplinary Connections: The study of anatomy-science

Prior Knowledge:
Students should have a prior knowledge of basic drawing and design techniques and processes.  For example they should know what shading is and how to place an object in a composition. As far as prior knowledge of figure drawing, this would be the introductory lesson on how to draw  the human body.