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.

 

Aboriginal Art (2013)

My 8th grade students learned about the style of Aboriginal Art and how the tribal artists used patterned dots to create their artwork. Students chose an animal to be the subject of their artwork and found an image from the Internet to work from. Student first drew a rough draft in markers to practice the design of their patterned dots. Students then worked on a 9x12 canvas board and drew the contour lines of their animal. Students painted the background colors first that would be seen in between the dots. I provided 6 different sized wooden dowels that the students used to dot their painting. Student were not allowed to use the biggest size dot but had to show a variety in the dot size.  This project took about nine 55 minute class periods.

Altered Landmarks (2013)

Students chose a famous landmark to be the subject of their painting. They found a digital image of the landmark on the Internet and then used the Cut Out filter in Photoshop. They also chose one main color to work with a  monochromatic color scheme and altered the color in Photoshop. Students had the choice of painting a ceiling tile to be permanently installed in the school's hallway or painting on Watercolor paper and keeping their painting. I allowed students to use a projector to trace their image onto the canvas since the focus of the project was to work on painting and color mixing techniques. This project took eight 55 minute classes to complete.

Eiffel Tower

The Colosseum

The Eiffel Tower

Taj Mahal

Sydney Opra House

Capitol Hill

Route 66

Eiffel Tower

Hotel Del

Big Ben

Chuck Close Ups (2012)

My 8th Grade students had 2 weeks left of the quarter and made these Chuck Close inspired paintings of a close up of their eye. I took photos of their face and cropped just their eye. Students drew a half inch grid on the black and white photo that was 3x5. Students then drew a one inch grid on 6x10 in watercolor paper and enlarged their eye by drawing the contour lines. Students learned about monochromatic color shcemes and chose one color to paint their project with while mixing numerous tints and shades of that color to represent the highlights and shadows. This project took five-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.

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.