Realism to Abstract

We've all been there...a fresh group of students and a desire to find out what their skill level is. Sometimes I'll go right for clay, but most of the time I find starting with a drawing project really let's me see just where all my student's capabilities falls. Composition, shading, line quality, etc. All important parts of creating and a good foundation for moving into more complicated materials. 

My 6th graders come fresh from the elementary schools ready to create and full of energy. This project is not necessarily innovative but the students really enjoyed showing off their skills both observational and creative. 

We started by learning how to draw from reference (NO GRIDS ALLOWED!!!). I teach measuring, finding angles and part-to-whole contour for drawing. We also learned how to use a reference as inspiration for graphic/abstract artworks. Finally a little shading demo in both pencil and colored pencil made for this fantastic project. 

I present realism to abstract....

Students also studied various artists that work in different levels or realism. The three biggest were Chuck Close, Picasso and Kandinsky. 

I was very happy with how most of these projects turned out. It definitely posed a challenge for my students in time management. I discussed each techniques every few days as a reminder but students were able to bounce from drawing to drawing as they chose. 

Hope you enjoyed!