Jamie J (S4, OLSP) has been working on drawings for an animation. He started with drawings that looked a lot like Family Guy and Simpsons characters, but he is quickly finding his own style (a nice amalgamation of the two), an example of which, you’ll see above. I helped Jamie colour the drawing to make it look more professional, I can’t wait to see more of his ideas and maybe even try and animate them.
My S1 Pupils (11-12 year old) from OLSP have been working on a ‘fit for life’ project that involves them using colour theory to convey health. Looking at the work of Franz Marc (a German Expressionist who gave meaning to the colours he used), pupils had to paint a strong or weak animal using these colours. I found it really hard to choose one of them for ‘artwork of the week’, so I’ve decided to go for four choices this week.
Jean M has painted a very weak and hurt horse. She has done an incredible job on the tone and texture of the animals skin and it’s eye shows so much emotion.
Emily M has also painted a weak horse, though has gone for using brighter tones of colour. The animal still looks fragile due to the way Emily has painted the horses legs. I really like the intense reds she has added to show the dark tones on the animal.
Jodie B has created a beautiful painting of a little weak lamb. It’s impressive how she has used comforting reds to surround the lamb and make it look like it is protected by the background.
Rebecca D has painted a strong Flamingo. Although it looks like a weak animal, she has used strong blue hues and vivid oranges to bring out the strength of the animal. Though, it’s not that clear cut, the same blue makes the bird look very sad and lonely.
Just a quick photo of Paula A’s (S1, OLSP) initial drawing for her ‘weak’ lamb based on the colour theory and Fauvism-like style of Franz Marc (as pointed out by Darla below, Marc was actually part of ‘The Blue Rider’ movement). This is for a project based on ‘Fit4Life’, a Curriculum for Excellence initiative that highlights healthy living throughout all subjects. I just love this work already, hopefully she can do it justice when she reaches the painting stage. She’s already captured Marc’s stylised shapes, so I’m sure she can pull it off. I’ll keep you posted on her progress.
Iona F (S4, OLSP) shows off her pencil skills in a quick colour/tone study. Although there are small issues with the shape of the bowl, this goes completely unnoticed as the layers added onto the apple and the vivid colours of the kiwi fruit dominate the piece. Iona uses her pencil control to her advantage, she is able to work lightly and carefully, building up layers of colours to create a fine textured surface. A beautiful drawing… Nice work Iona.
If you are interested in achieving the same result:
Draw lightly (start the guide lines with colouring pencils (a light orange or blue works well), don’t mix normal grey pencils with colour).
Always use three pencils (harmonising colours e.g. red, orange, yellow) at once, chop and change, mixing the colours together to build up the surface.
Coverage is important, try to hide visible paper for a better result.
This is the last post before the Xmas/New Year’s break and I have a nice work in progress to show to you. Megan B (S4, OLSP) has been working toward her Prelim Standard Grade Exam piece. She’s actually just started her prelim exam above and is using her previous piece and the original photo as her resources to work from.
There’s still a lot of work to do before her actual exam, though I think she’s well on her way. The subject is interesting, her proportions are very good and she’s observing the light and shades really well. Just a little work on tonal exercises and a bit more colour mixing theory should have her confident and ready to sit her actual exam. An excellent piece to end the year on…
Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year Everyone!
I’ve been working on a nice set of artist/painter table numbers for my classroom. Table numbers help pupils remember where they first sit when starting a new class, they also help when allocating materials (especially dangerous items like sharp scissors or scalpels). Table numbers help keep the classroom organised, help you learn pupil’s names and help teachers, who may have to take over your class when you are off, allocate materials and be aware of where pupils are suppose to sit.
These table numbers will not only brighten up a classroom, but they can also be used for quizzes about the artists, a resource for the artist, the style or elements of the work and will help pupils become familiar with each artist name/style/image.
I advise printing the images out full size (A4) and in full colour. I would trim each artist number square out, leaving whatever space around you desire and then laminate the squares in fours leaving space around each. Trimming and then laminating will seal the edges and corners of the number for longer lasting life. Numbers should then either be temporarily blu-taced to the tables or fixed more permanently with double sided sticky tape.
The table number sheets can be downloaded from ‘The Box’ app which is featured at the bottom of the right-hand column.
Kayleigh M from St Benedicts (S1) provides this week’s ‘AOTW’. She created a coloured study of a woodlice in a single period. Her drawing was then selected in photoshop and placed on a Google Images found photo of soil. I added some shadowing to the insects to make them appear more realistic and be part of the scene.
The idea for this had been inspired by Tricia Fuglestad’s Germs unit.
This is a perfect activity for S1 or S2 this week (aged 10 – 13). It involves getting pupils into groups of four. A pupil is selected to cut the page into four parts (the page can be printed on A4 though I find A3 is much easier to use). The four parts are split between each group member. Each pupil has to think of an idea for their body piece. The only rule is that the pupils meet the connect points at the edge of each body piece so that the monster will look right when joined together again.
After pupils have finished drawing and colouring (I use pencils, black fine-liners and colour felt tips), the pieces should be sticky taped together again and then compared and laughed at. This should be completed within a 50 min period. Happy Halloween!
The stencil for this activity can be downloaded from the ‘Box’ (bottom of the right hand column).
My ‘Where the Wild Things are’ resources seem to be very popular at the minute, so I thought I’d quench your thirst with an activity sheet I made about 2 years ago. I had created this unit in advance of the movie release in October 2008, but of course it was delayed by a year. The activity was aimed towards S1 (10-12) for a 50 minute period. Most pupils did not finish the activity as they still wanted to add more movie titles and had got into a competition of who could think of the most.
This is a pleasant filler lesson teaching about movie poster elements, letting pupils practice their tonal skills, with a little movie knowledge thrown in.
Download the jpeg resource for printing from the ‘Box’ at the bottom of the right hand column.
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