Sketchbook Assignments for 2nd semester
#14
6th grade: “OP Art Line Drawing”
Imagine that you are driving a car on a straight road and have to swerve to
avoid hitting an object. After swerving, you continue driving straight until
you reach your destination.
In your sketchbook, draw five circles of random size and placement on your
paper. Beginning at the top center of the paper, draw a vertical line down
to the bottom. When you come to a circle in your path, stop just before
touching it and draw around the circle.
Once you reach the bottom of the page, return your pencil to the top of the
paper. Draw another line to the right of the first one, parallel to it.
Keep repeating this process. Try to make your lines close to each other and
consistently parallel. This will make the final design more effective.
Once you have filled the right half of the paper, do the same thing on the
left side until the entire page is filled.
7th grade: “Art Idioms”
All languages use idioms. These are phrases that are familiar to people who
speak the language, but whose meaning is not in the actual words. For
example, English speakers know that “keep your fingers crossed for me”
means “wish me luck”- but the words have nothing to do with that meaning.
Other English idioms include phrases like “raining cats and dogs,” “between a
rock and a hard place,” “on the cutting edge,” and “off the top of my head.”
Think of a few idioms and what they really mean. Choose one idiom. Make a
drawing that clearly expresses the idiom that was the source of your
inspiration.
8th grade: “Artist Pets”
Choose a work by your favorite artist. Look closely at the picture you have
chosen. What is it that makes the painting style so recognizable? Is it the
way the paint is applied? The use of color? The brushstrokes? Shapes?
Assume this artist has a pet. Use a style representative of this artist to
create a whimsical portrait of the artist’s dog, cat, fish or other pet.
#15
6th grade: “Textured Landscape”
Draw a simple landscape with a distinct background, middle ground and
foreground. Use large, open shapes in your drawing, as you will be doing
crayon rubbings to fill the spaces.
Now look around the room for textures to use in your landscape. For example,
the sole of a shoe might suggest the rough side of a rocky mountain. Once
you have identified actual textures you can use, place your drawing over the
item so the textured surface is under the appropriate area of the drawing.
Rub gently over the surface of the paper with the crayon to transfer the
texture to the paper. Repeat for the other areas in your landscape.
7th grade: “Depicting History”
Many artists have chosen war as their subject matter. Some artists painted
from actual experience at the scene. Others were moved to paint as a means
of recording or dealing with a tragic event. Spanish painter Francisco
Goya’s “The Third of May” 1808 shows Napoleon’s soldiers executing Spaniards
in Madrid Spain in 1808. Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” is a huge painting, over
25 feet long, that reflects the horror of he 1937 German bombing of Guernica,
Spain. The two paintings are very different in style. But both depict the
horrors of war.
Generate a list of current events that have moved you in some way. As an
artist, how could your share your feelings about this with others? Make a
drawing of one of your ideas.
8th grade: “Futurists”
Futurist artists believed that art should be forward-looking. Their work has
the appearance of movement and speed. Look at examples of this style by
painter Giacomo Balla or sculptor Umberto Boccioni. Repeated or exaggerated
leg motions, for example, create a blur as though the figure is moving
swiftly before the viewer’s eye.
In your mind, picture an activity that involves motion, such as throwing a
ball, running, dancing and so forth. Draw someone performing the action.
Add repeated body parts to indicate motion. Does your drawing create a sense
of movement?
#16
6th grade: “Illuminated Manuscript”
During the medieval period in Europe, all books were made by hand. Artists
used their skills to decorate books, making them as beautiful as possible.
They used bright colors with gold and silver highlights. Letters that began
important passages were given special attention. These letters were often
drawn larger than the rest of the text. Some included pictures of fantastic
animals, flowers, even people.
On your drawing paper, draw the first letter of your name as large as
possible. Use a box letter or a bubble letter so that you can decorate it in
the style of an illuminated manuscript. Be sure to make the letter thick
enough so that not only can you decorate around the letter, you can also
decorate within it.
7th grade: “Photo Match”
For this assignment, you will create the missing half of a photograph. Look
carefully at the half of a magazine photograph you have been given. (If you
weren’t in class, choose a magazine or photograph of your own). Glue the
picture into your sketchbook, leaving appropriate space for the missing image
half, depending on the orientation of the image.
Observe your half photograph carefully. Use your imagination to complete the
other half of the photograph. Try to capture the colors and textures as you
see them. Blend to get appropriate values and intensities where necessary.
The best results will be achieved through careful observation.
8th grade "Monsters"
Draw 2 monsters.
#17
6th grade: “Roy Lichtenstein”
Much of this Pop artist’s work was inspired by the art of commercial comic
strips. His color application is bold, the images often drawn dramatically
cropped, more than life size. He covers areas with the type of dot pattern
seen in newspaper images under magnification.
Try turning one ordinary activity that you have done today into a frame of a
comic strip. Use size, perspective, cropping and color contrast to portray
the ordinary as if it were extraordinary. Dramatize each aspect that you
draw.
7th grade: “Blind Contour”
To create a blind contour drawing, draw while looking only at the object you
are drawing, not the paper.
Hold your sketchbook still. Carefully observe your hand. Note which fingers
are higher or lower. Observe the placement of the knuckles. How are the
fingernails situated at the tips of the fingers?
Put your hand in a comfortable but interesting pose. Make a blind contour
drawing of your hand. Be sure to focus on your hand and not on your drawing.
When the drawing is complete, look at it. How does it look to you? Write
one or two sentences about how you feel about the results.
8th grade: “Cityscapes”
Place your sketchbook in landscape format. Begin by drawing a horizon line
somewhere in the lower third of your page. On this line, draw a series of
tall rectangles, making sure to leave spaces between them. Feel free to vary
the heights and widths of the rectangles and the spaces between them. To
show depth in your city, add some more rectangles that appear to be behind
the others. Do this by starting a line at the center top of one of the
rectangles. Then draw straight up, across, and come down on the center of
the next rectangle.
Think about what features you can add… heliports on tops of buildings,
penthouse gardens, hotel signs. Have fun creating a city scene, adding
taller and taller buildings as you see fit.
#18
6th grade: “Faith Ringgold”
In class, we looked at Faith Ringgold’s story quilts. She has chosen cloth
as her artistic medium. Quilts have been created by hand for centuries.
Their primary function, as beautiful as many of them were, was utilitarian:
to keep people warm. Ringgold’s story quilts cross the boundary between
functional and nonfunctional. Her biographical work speaks to current
history yet seems connected to the past because it is created through
quilting.
Think of an important event from your past- perhaps a special gift you
received, or the birth of a sibling. Create a drawing to represent the
event. Give the drawing a quilt-like border using symbols or shapes that tie
in with your overall design.
7th grade: “Imaginary Space”
Sit up, plant your feet squarely on the floor and close your eyes. Take a
deep breath and slowly exhale. Do this a few more times, focusing solely on
your breath. Now begin to imagine a microscopic version of yourself, taking
a journey inside of your body. Use your mind’s eye to explore your
bloodstream, blood vessels, muscles, organs. Choose one area to focus on.
Now draw a picture of the area you focused on. Remember that your viewpoint
is from a microscopic size, so the area you “explored” was comparatively
large. Try to focus closely and re-create the details that you “saw.”
8th grade: "Take a Bite"
Place an apple or other snack in front of you. Divide your page into at
least 8 sections. Draw the apple in the first box. Take a bite and draw it
again in the second box. Continue like this until all you have left is the
apple core.
#19
6th grade: “Allover Pattern”
Choose one or two objects to draw. Draw the objects quickly without laboring
over detail. Place the objects on the page randomly. Continue to add
objects to you appear f or five minutes.
After the five minutes of drawing time, stop and look at your drawing. Is a
pattern developing? Can you find areas of regular pattern? Is the pattern
completely random? Color in areas of your drawing to enhance the pattern
quality.
7th grade: “Logo Design”
Use your name or initials to create a logo for yourself. The logo should say
something about you or what you like. If you play sports, how might the logo
represent the sport you play? If you enjoy a certain style of music, how
might you use your name or initials to represent that music?
After you have designed the logo, add color. Choose colors that are eye-
catching that say something about you.
8th grade: “Metamorphosis”
Divide your page into four equal sections. Draw one form of your choice
(cone, cube, etc.) in the first section. Look at the form you’ve drawn.
Imagine that there is something inside of the form. There is no way for
the “thing” to get out except by pushing its way out of the shape. For
example, imagine what it would look like if a turtle pushed its way out of a
cube.
Do three more drawings (one in each section) of your form with the “thing”
trying to push its way out. Each drawing should emphasize the look of
the “thing” pushing out. Your original form will become less and less
distinct. By the last section, your “thing” will have completely undergone
metamorphosis, taking the place of the original form that you drew.
8th grade "Haunted House"
Draw a haunted house.
#20
6th grade: “Emphasis”
Write the word EMPHASIS so that it fills the page. Write the letters as
block outlines, with plenty of white space inside the outlines.
Now, choose a part of the word to emphasize. It could be one or more
letters. It could be part of a letter. How will you emphasize this part?
Will you use color, pattern, tone, or a combination of techniques?
Finally, use pencils or markers to color in the whole word. Make sure the
emphasis remains on the area you chose.
7th grade: “Crowd of People”
Draw 6 large ovals near the bottom of your page. These will be heads. Draw
6 different facial expressions on each of the different heads. Add hair,
hats and any other details you feel these people may need. Add heads in the
background, leading to the top of the paper. Heads should be attached to one
another, with none hanging in space.
8th grade: “Drawing from Observation”
Draw something that runs on batteries. Look closely at details. Spend at
least 15 minutes on this. Add shading, lettering, specific shapes, textures,
etc. Examples would include a flashlight, electronic game, camera, cd
player, etc.
#21
6th grade: “Handprint”
Rachel Scott, of Rachel’s Challenge, traced her hands and wrote, “These hands
belong to Rachel Joy Scott and someday they will touch the lives of millions
of people.” And she has.
Trace your hands on your sketchbook paper. Write, “These hands belong to”
and then write your full name. Follow with, “and someday they will” and
finish the sentence. Illustrate your words with drawings either inside or
outside of the handprints.
7th grade: "Gumball Machine"
Fill a gumball machine with something unexpected.
8th grade: "City of the Future"
Draw a city in the future. How will it look? How will people live?
Travel?
#22
6th grade: “Losing the State Championship”
Draw the effects of losing the state championship. You decide the
competition event. Illustrate with facial expressions of the coach, players,
schoolmates, and people of the community. Make this a complete picture and
make sure the emotions surrounding losing are apparent.
7th grade: “Billboard”
Draw a view of a billboard as seen from a highway. The size of the billboard
will determine the distance at which it is situated. Include on your
billboard the type of service, location of business and hours of service.
8th grade: “Bus Ride”
Draw a bus ride in a single picture. It may be a school bus or a charter bus
or any other kind of bus you can think of. Make something unexpected
happening. Draw close enough so that the viewer can tell what is going on.
You may draw either the inside view or outside view of the bus.
#23
6th grade: “Winning the State Championship”
Draw the effects of winning the state championship. You decide the
competition event. It does not have to be the same as last time. Make sure
this is a complete picture and the emotions surrounding winning are
apparent. Show the faces of the coach, players, schoolmates and community
members.
7th grade: “Games/Sporting Events”
Draw at least 10 different sporting events in one single picture. You might
consider showing the sky, sea and land to incorporate many types of sporting
events. The number of activities must make sense as to season as well as
composition. Remember, this is to be a single picture including many
different ideas.
8th grade: “Telephone”
Draw a telephone. It may be a cell phone, but the phone has to be open. Pay
close attention to all details.
#24
6th grade: “The Four Seasons”
In a single picture, draw the four seasonal changes of the year. Try not to
separate your picture into four different sections. Instead focus on how the
seasons effect things in nature such as trees, flowers and animals.
7th grade: “Modes of Transportation”
Draw in a single picture as many different types of transportation that you
can think of. Each mode must be an important part of the picture. There
should be a story-type sequence to the picture (it should make sense). You
do not have to draw people.
8th grade: “Graduation”
Draw a graduation ceremony. Focus on the line of students waiting to
graduate and a few students in particular. Concentrate on facial
expressions. You must also have a background.
#25
6th grade: “Dalumph”
What is a dalumph? Draw the picture that pops into your mind when you see or
hear that word.
7th grade: “If I were President”
Draw in a single picture the changes you would make if you were President of
the United States. Draw the single most change you would make that would
enhance the lives of all Americans. Any other changes should also be
considered.
8th grade: “Source of Light”
Draw a light source. Examples would be a candle, table lamp, lantern, etc.
Focus on shading.
