Superheros (2013)

My 8th grade students were given the theme of Superheros for their project. To practice drawing from observation I let them chose a Superhero worksheet and they had to follow the grid to complete the pencil drawing.

 

Students then had the choice to draw or paint a Superhero that exists or create their own Superhero. I also let students who were comfortable with their artistic abilities work on just a logo of the Superhero. This project took eight- 55 minute classes.

 

Chuck Close Portraits (2013)

My 8th Grade students learned about the artwork of Chuck Close and how he used a grid to enlarge a photo. Students were given the choice to bring in a photo of themselves or I took a photo of them in class. Students put a one inch grid on the photo and then chose to work with colored pencil or watercolor pencil. Students put a one inch grid on their project paper and used the grid to draw the contour lines of their facial features. They chose one color scheme for the background, a second color scheme for their skin, and third and fourth color schemes for their hair and clothes. This project took about eight 55 minute class periods.

Pixar Animation Lesson Plan

I use this lesson plan when I have a random class period where there isn't quite enough time to start a new project or when I'm sick and have lost my voice and can't teach but don't want to take a sick day.

I saw a documentary on TV about the history of PIXAR computer animation and was so fascinated. The pace and wordage is appropriate for middle school or high school students. I wouldn't show it to elementary students as it wouldn't hold their attention. PIXAR sells a DVD of just their Short Films (which are my favorite) and the documentary is a special feature of the DVD. I was able to purchase the DVD at my local Best Buy.




For this lesson plan I begin class by having students brainstorm all the careers you could have as an artist. For the sake of competition I offer a prize to the group that can think of the most jobs. I then transition into introducing the career of being a computer animator for PIXAR. I explain to the kids that movies like Toy Story and Finding Nemo  were possible because of the computer scientists and animators that developed the software that made computer animated movies possible. I explain that the documentary they are going to watch details the history of PIXAR computer animation.  I show the documentary which is 23 minutes and provide the students with a worksheet I've created with fill in the blank questions that they must complete while watching the movie and turn in for a grade. This helps keep their attention and makes them responsible for the material.

For the remaining 25 minutes of class I have a whole variety of "How To Draw" worksheets that show step-by-step illustrations of how to draw the PIXAR characters that come from this book.


I let the students choose which character they want to draw and depending on the class I will give them a required number of characters they must turn in by the end of the period. I have found that students really love to do these drawing activities. At the middle school age, How to Draw books are like crack...they fight over the books and will draw anything.

If I have two class periods to fill I will play the entire PIXAR Shorts and let the kids draw while they watch the movie. We then discuss how the look of computer animation has changed over the past 30 years and compare and contrast the first animated Shorts to the most recent Shorts. This lesson plan has been very successful and the students like that it's artwork they can relate to while gaining more understanding about the process of creating animated films.

I've got 2 class periods to fill before Spring Break and I've lost my voice and can't talk. This lesson is a life savor for sure. It requires minimal talking on my part and the kids are still learning about careers in art and participating in engaging artwork.

If you would like a copy of the worksheet students complete while watching the documentary please email me.

2013: Pop Art Drawings

To end the 3rd quarter my 8th grade students created Pop Art drawings of candy boxes. We only had 3 weeks (7 class periods) to make these so I kept them on a manageable scale of 5x7 in.  I collect candy boxes year round for this project so I had about 30 boxes to let my students draw from. I gave them a choice to bring in their own candy box and I did let them eat candy while they drew (I figured the sugar would kick in after they'd left my class).

My librarian is fantastic about saving the extra lamination plastic and brings them to my class all year. I cut these into 3.5 x 2.5 in rectangles. Each student began by using sharpie and measuring every half inch around all 4 sides. Then they used the ruler to connect opposite marks and ended up with half inch boxes 7 across and 5 down. I passes out scrap paper so they could see the plastic easier and the sharpie wouldn't end up on my desks.

Next, students enlarged the grid to one inch on their 5 x 7 in drawing paper. I instructed them to draw as light as possible and provided 6H drawing pencils so they couldn't draw dark. They measured every inch around all 4 sides of the paper and used the ruler to connect opposite marks ending up with one inch boxes 7 across and 5 down.

Students taped their clear plastic grid over a section of the candy box they wanted to draw. They were required to include part of the lettering. They began by lightly drawing the contour lines of the fonts and logos. When they finished I checked their drawings and then they erased the grid lines.

Finally they colored in the drawing with colored pencils trying to accurately match the same colors and design. This project was a good way to end the quarter and 7 class periods was just enough time to finish. I was inspired by this idea from pinterest.

Hero Portraits

High School Art 2 students studied the artwork of Chuck Close. Students were directed to choose a person they consider to be a Hero: A person admired for their achievements and noble qualities. One that shows great courage. The central figure in an event, period or movement. After they chose their person I printed out an 8x10 black and white photo. Students drew a one inch grid on top of their photo. Students were given 16x20 inch drawing paper and then doubled the grid by drawing 2 inch squares. Students were capturing the values they saw in the photo and translated them onto their drawing. They drew a different set of line designs to fill each square focusing on value and contour lines.

 

 

Candy Box Perspective (2009)

My Junior High art students learned about one and two point perspective. They chose a candy box to be their subject and drew it in 2 point perspective. (I saw this project on Artsonia). Students were challenged to replicate the logo, colors, and font from the original box while capturing table shadows to show a sense of realism. On the day of our project critique we had a huge candy eating party!

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**

Hero Portraits (2007)

Students studied the artwork of Chuck Close and his stylized use of grids within his portrait paintings. Students chose someone they considered a "hero" to be the subject of their portrait. The created one inch grids and enlarged a photo to 16x 20. Each square needed to be filled with line designs while capturing the varying shades and contour lines of the face.

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**