Students will hone visual recognition skills by paying close attention to details of shape, line, and texture as they create a complete ink drawing of one or more natural objects.
By Christina Eosco [Christine is an Arts and Crafts co-specialist at Sharon Country Day Camp (Sharon, Massachusetts, USA) and an Early Childhood Education graduate student at Boston University.]
Vocabulary:
Medium this is the means you are using to create your art. Examples are drawing, painting, pen & ink, sculpture, etc.
Mixed-Media is the term we use to describe an artwork using more than one medium. For example, a mixed-media collage might use magazine cutouts, paints, and found objects like feathers or playing cards.
Shading The darkness caused by rays of light. When you shade, you are trying to create the differences between dark and light areas.
Hatching A shading technique that involves drawing lines in the same direction, evenly spaced, and of equal weight/width.
Cross-Hatching A shading technique that is just like hatching except you also add lines going in an opposite direction. This creates a darker, “shadier” effect.
Stippling A shading technique that involves dots instead of lines. First “outline” your subject with dots. Then add more dots to the areas that should be darker.
En plein air This is a French term that means you are creating your art outside.
Objectives:
Identification:
- Students will be directed to recognize the shapes and lines inherent in the objects and world around them.
Creation:
- Students will hone visual recognition skills by paying close attention to details of shape, line, and texture and will create a complete ink drawing of one or more natural objects.
Appreciation:
- Students will learn to appreciate the details in the world around them, as well as their own visual and artistic skills in capturing those details on paper.
What You Need:
Choose one or more:
- Waterproof ink & reed pens/nib/fountain pens/skewer sticks, etc.
- Calligraphy Pens
- Different width black pens and markers (i.e. Sharpies)
and
- Any kind of paper for practicing
- Thicker paper for final work
- A drawing board and clips or something to lean on
What You Do:
- Introduce the medium of pen & ink. i.e. “Today we’re going to draw using only one color-black.” Also introduce the materials you will be using.
- Introduce the biggest challenge of this medium-shading using only black.
- What is shading?-Creating the differences between light and dark areas.
- Why is shading especially challenging when we only have black?-We cannot use shades of gray or other colors to show the differences.
- What techniques can we use instead?-heavier or lighter marks (partially determined by the width of the pen, distances between the marks (closer together or farther apart)
- Introduce the techniques of hatching, cross hatching, and stippling.
- HATCHING-Hatching involves drawing lines in the same direction, evenly spaced, and of equal weight/width.
- CROSS-HATCHING-This is just like hatching except you also add lines going in an opposite direction. This creates a darker, “shadier” effect.
- STIPPLING-Stippling involves dots instead of lines. First “outline” your subject with dots. Then add more dots to the areas that should be darker.
- Practice the different techniques and shapes of marks on scrap paper. What shapes would you use for:
- A tree trunk?
- Willow tree leaves?
- Dandelions?
- Grass?
- Water?
- Sand?
- Time to draw en plein air. Wander around for a minute or two until you see a subject you’d like to draw. Pick a spot to sit down with your drawing board, thick paper, and different pens.
- Take a good look at your subject. Which areas are in the shade? Which are in the sunlight? Decide which part of your drawing is going to be the darkest, which areas are the lightest, and which sections will be somewhere in between.
- You can sketch your drawing lightly with a pencil first, but try to avoid outlining everything. Instead use dots or dotted lines. Go to it! Don’t worry about making mistakes-there is no “wrong way” to do this. Experiment with different marks and shapes, and try to use some of the different techniques. Remember to use the white spaces to your advantage-keep the paper white in areas where the sun hits your subject. But above all, find your own style!
