Elements of Art:
Line
Shape
COLOR
Texture
Value
Space
Form
The Elements of Art ~
Standard Curriculum
Since Utah schools will remain closed through the end of the year, I will be adding much of my standard curriculum that teaches the elements of art. I hope this will help students who did not get to complete (or begin) their Art Brain Booster rotation. Please check back regularly for more lessons and activities.
There are some specialty materials that I use in school, such as oil pastels and texture plates, that students may not have access to while working from home. In these cases, I will make adaptations that will hopefully teach the same principles with materials that are easier to find in most households.
Artist Rules
Art is about discovery and self-expression. It's not about whether or not you feel like you are already artistic. Anyone can learn to draw. Anyone can create. If you can follow the simple guidelines we discuss, then you can consider yourself an artist.
Remember to:
A - Always do your best
R - Respect each other
T - Take care of materials
I - Imagine, create, and explore!
S - Spotless cleanup
T - Turn mistakes into *masterpieces*
Lines and Dots ~ part 1
"The Dot" by Peter Reynolds
One of my favorite stories about young artists is "The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds. As you listen to this book, think about ways that you might relate to Vashti and her experience.
Lines and Dots ~ part 2
Line is one of the elements of art that is basic to all other foundational principles. In the story of Vashti and the dot, she says "I can't draw, but I can sign my name." If you can write your name (which is really just lines), then you can make it into a work of art.
Geometric & Organic Shapes ~ part 1
Square by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen
Square does not consider himself an artist. His friend Circle thinks he's a genius. See what you think, especially considering the artist rule of "turning mistakes into masterpieces."
Geometric & Organic Shapes ~ part 2
The world around us is made of shapes of many kinds. Learning to see shapes is essential for doing art. This project is a type of build-your-own shape hunt created from geometric and organic shapes.
Value Scales ~ part 1
"Kitten's First Full Moon" by Kevin Henkes
This book won the Caldecott Medal in 2004 (best picture book of the year). It's beauty is in its simplicity of shape and color. It's an excellent example of how you can make your artwork interesting with a basic understanding of VALUE, or in other words, a range of light to dark shades. Try making your own four-tone value scale, which you will use in the project below.
Value Scales & Atmospheric Perspective ~ part 2
When we see objects in the distance, they appear to be lighter (and often bluer) than those that are closest to us. Objects nearer to the viewer usually appear darker. This is called ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE (or sometimes aerial perspective). Using your four-tone value scale as a guideline, try making some scenery pictures in single colors. After doing some easy hills, try challenging yourself by adding the silhouettes of buildings or trees.
For a more detailed and scientific explanation about atmospheric perspective, The Helpful Art Teacher blog is an excellent resource.
You can also see photography examples below of beautiful aerial perspective shots.
Linear Perspective
One method that artists have used for hundreds of years to make their paintings have a realistic depth is called LINEAR PERSPECTIVE We will do some simple exercises with single-point perspective. This technique makes use of a horizon line and a vanishing point. Be sure to connect all of your lines to the vanishing point to make everything in your drawing look like is is disappearing into the distance.
Regatta on the Grand Canal (1740) by Canaletto
In the above images, you can see how this artist represented depth in his painting through the use of linear perspective.
Also recommended: "Journey" by Aaron Becker
In the photo on the right, it is easy to see the vanishing point where all the lines of the road, striping, grass, and telephone poles & wires converge at the horizon. Notice that the poles seem to appear closer together the closer they appear to the horizon.
After doing some simple boxes drawn above, below, and on a horizon line, try variations of this project by moving the horizon line up or down the page, using other objects such as letters, or even doing a view from the air with only a vanishing point. Notice in the last sample that the buildings with windows have the spacing of them closer together toward the vanishing point.
All About Color!
Energy and Light
We see the world through color. It is so common to our perception that we may not have thought about why we see color or how.
In simplest terms, light is made of energy particles. Imagine the energy that comes from the sun. The energy travels in waves. Some waves are as long as a football field and others are as small as an atom. Our human eyes can only see a small part of that range which is called the Electromagnetic Spectrum. We call the part we can see 'white light.' You can get an idea of how small the range of visible spectrum white light is in the chart on the right.
For an excellent explanation about the Electromagnetic Spectrum, see this YouTube Video called "What Is Light?"
Light and Color
Now, let's talk about white light and color. Have you ever seen a prism? Very often, this is a clear crystal-type object that has angled sides. When white light passes into it, the individual wavelengths travel through it at different rates and separate so that you can see all the colors of the rainbow passing through the other side, as seen in the images to the right.
Colors of the Rainbow
Water can act just like a prism. Because it is clear, white sunlight can pass through it and separate into the various wavelengths of colored light.
When there is a lot of water in the air, such as after a rainstorm, we can often see a rainbow if there is enough sunlight to shine through the water droplets. Notice that the sun will usually be to your back when you are looking at a rainbow.
Occasionally, you may see a double rainbow. In the chart on the bottom, notice how the light is bright enough and angled correctly to reflect a second time through the same water droplet. Because it is a reflection, the colors of the second rainbow will appear in reverse order.
Color and Vision
So why do we see things in color? The simple explanation is that most substances both reflect and absorb color. In the picture on the right, we see that grass absorbs all of the colors contained in white light, except green. That color reflects into our eyes so that it is the color that we see.
If you've ever wondered why the sky is blue (or sometimes red in the mornings and evenings), it has everything to do with what light particles are passing through the atmosphere. Blue is most likely to be scattered into the sky during a sunny day, so the sky appears blue.
Blue is also the color that tends to travel farthest when we are looking into the distance, which is why objects far away from us appear more blue. (See the atmospheric perspective lesson.)
This video explains more about the absorption of light.
White Rabbit's Color Book
by Alan Baker
This story is a simple introduction to color mixing and what happens when all colors are mixed together.
COLOR ACTIVITIES
Elements of Art:
Line
Shape
COLOR
Texture
Value
Space
Form
The Elements of Art ~
Standard Curriculum
At Midvale Elementary, students had art classes in rotations throughout the year, and two groups of students never got art at all when schools shut down for the pandemic. These lessons were shared here to give them the opportunity to learn the basic building blocks of art that I taught that year. A few of these lessons may look familiar to some Dilworth students. :) These lessons were posted with some adaptations where specialty materials were involved, such as oil pastels and texture plates, that students may not have had access to while working from home.
Artist Rules
Art is about discovery and self-expression. It's not about whether or not you feel like you are already artistic. Anyone can learn to draw. Anyone can create. If you can follow the simple guidelines we discuss, then you can consider yourself an artist.
Remember to:
A - Always do your best
R - Respect each other
T - Take care of materials
I - Imagine, create, and explore!
S - Spotless cleanup
T - Turn mistakes into *masterpieces*
Lines and Dots ~ part 1
"The Dot" by Peter Reynolds
One of my favorite stories about young artists is "The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds. As you listen to this book, think about ways that you might relate to Vashti and her experience.
Lines and Dots ~ part 2
Line is one of the elements of art that is basic to all other foundational principles. In the story of Vashti and the dot, she says "I can't draw, but I can sign my name." If you can write your name (which is really just lines), then you can make it into a work of art.
Geometric & Organic Shapes ~ part 1
Square by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen
Square does not consider himself an artist. His friend Circle thinks he's a genius. See what you think, especially considering the artist rule of "turning mistakes into masterpieces."
Geometric & Organic Shapes ~ part 2
The world around us is made of shapes of many kinds. Learning to see shapes is essential for doing art. This project is a type of build-your-own shape hunt created from geometric and organic shapes.
Value Scales ~ part 1
"Kitten's First Full Moon" by Kevin Henkes
This book won the Caldecott Medal in 2004 (best picture book of the year). It's beauty is in its simplicity of shape and color. It's an excellent example of how you can make your artwork interesting with a basic understanding of VALUE, or in other words, a range of light to dark shades. Try making your own four-tone value scale, which you will use in the project below.
Value Scales & Atmospheric Perspective ~ part 2
When we see objects in the distance, they appear to be lighter (and often bluer) than those that are closest to us. Objects nearer to the viewer usually appear darker. This is called ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE (or sometimes aerial perspective). Using your four-tone value scale as a guideline, try making some scenery pictures in single colors. After doing some easy hills, try challenging yourself by adding the silhouettes of buildings or trees.
For a more detailed and scientific explanation about atmospheric perspective, The Helpful Art Teacher blog is an excellent resource.
You can also see photography examples below of beautiful aerial perspective shots.
Linear Perspective
One method that artists have used for hundreds of years to make their paintings have a realistic depth is called LINEAR PERSPECTIVE We will do some simple exercises with single-point perspective. This technique makes use of a horizon line and a vanishing point. Be sure to connect all of your lines to the vanishing point to make everything in your drawing look like is is disappearing into the distance.
Regatta on the Grand Canal (1740) by Canaletto
In the above images, you can see how this artist represented depth in his painting through the use of linear perspective.
Also recommended: "Journey" by Aaron Becker
In the photo on the right, it is easy to see the vanishing point where all the lines of the road, striping, grass, and telephone poles & wires converge at the horizon. Notice that the poles seem to appear closer together the closer they appear to the horizon.
After doing some simple boxes drawn above, below, and on a horizon line, try variations of this project by moving the horizon line up or down the page, using other objects such as letters, or even doing a view from the air with only a vanishing point. Notice in the last sample that the buildings with windows have the spacing of them closer together toward the vanishing point.
All About Color!
Energy and Light
We see the world through color. It is so common to our perception that we may not have thought about why we see color or how.
In simplest terms, light is made of energy particles. Imagine the energy that comes from the sun. The energy travels in waves. Some waves are as long as a football field and others are as small as an atom. Our human eyes can only see a small part of that range which is called the Electromagnetic Spectrum. We call the part we can see 'white light.' You can get an idea of how small the range of visible spectrum white light is in the chart on the right.
For an excellent explanation about the Electromagnetic Spectrum, see this YouTube Video called "What Is Light?"
Light and Color
Now, let's talk about white light and color. Have you ever seen a prism? Very often, this is a clear crystal-type object that has angled sides. When white light passes into it, the individual wavelengths travel through it at different rates and separate so that you can see all the colors of the rainbow passing through the other side, as seen in the images to the right.
Colors of the Rainbow
Water can act just like a prism. Because it is clear, white sunlight can pass through it and separate into the various wavelengths of colored light.
When there is a lot of water in the air, such as after a rainstorm, we can often see a rainbow if there is enough sunlight to shine through the water droplets. Notice that the sun will usually be to your back when you are looking at a rainbow.
Occasionally, you may see a double rainbow. In the chart on the bottom, notice how the light is bright enough and angled correctly to reflect a second time through the same water droplet. Because it is a reflection, the colors of the second rainbow will appear in reverse order.
Color and Vision
So why do we see things in color? The simple explanation is that most substances both reflect and absorb color. In the picture on the right, we see that grass absorbs all of the colors contained in white light, except green. That color reflects into our eyes so that it is the color that we see.
If you've ever wondered why the sky is blue (or sometimes red in the mornings and evenings), it has everything to do with what light particles are passing through the atmosphere. Blue is most likely to be scattered into the sky during a sunny day, so the sky appears blue.
Blue is also the color that tends to travel farthest when we are looking into the distance, which is why objects far away from us appear more blue. (See the atmospheric perspective lesson.)
This video explains more about the absorption of light.
COLOR ACTIVITIES
White Rabbit's Color Book
by Alan Baker
This story is a simple introduction to color mixing and what happens when all colors are mixed together.
Like white rabbit, you are going to start with only red, yellow, and blue, which together make the PRIMARY COLORS, or in other words, the colors that essentially make up all others.
Try coloring a rainbow with ONLY the three primary colors.
Secondary & Tertiary Colors
If you were successfully able to mix orange, green, and purple, congratulations!! You have now created what are called the SECONDARY colors. Think of 'second' meaning two ~ it takes two primary colors to make each secondary.
So what happens when you mix a primary (1) and a secondary (2) color? You have a mix of approximately 3 colors, which are called TERTIARY colors. All other colors we see can be considered tertiary colors.
If you understand the science of light as explained above, think of it as choosing which combined wavelengths of light you want to show your viewer.
Tertiary Color Wheel
Plan a Plaid
A Pocket Full of Colors:
by Amy Guglielmo & Jacqueline Tourville, illustrated by Brigette Barrager
Mary Blair was an extraordinary artist whose vision and artistic concepts were ahead of her time. Her legacy still lives on today. Try discovering new colors as you mix a plaid from primaries, secondaries, and any pre-made tertiaries of your choosing.
As an extra challenge, try creating a picture that you make entirely from blended colors. If you add a little color mixing into every piece you do, your art will have greater interest and impact for your viewer.
The Black Rabbit
by Philippa Leathers
Rabbit may not have understood where the black rabbit came from or why he was being followed, but you as a reader can easily see what he didn't.
Now that we have discussed light and color, we are also going to explore shadows. In simplest terms, a shadow is what occurs when light is blocked by a solid object and light cannot reach the surface that it would otherwise touch.
Did you know that shadows look different based on how solid the object is? Watch this VIDEO to learn about transparent, translucent, and opaque objects and how their shadows differ.
Shadow Pictures
This project works best if using black paper. Since our focus in on shadows, and shadows have a blackness to them, we will be coloring in everything except for the shadow. Oil pastels show up best on dark paper.
If you do not have black paper, you may also try using the same silhouettes on white paper, just remember to color the shadows in black.
Easy Silhouettes:
house, snail, squirrel, cat, car
Harder Silhouettes:
kangaroo, dog, llama, hedgehog
Challenge Silhouettes:
lion, dinosaur, horse, elephant
Shadows in Science
Did you know that we can learn a LOT about the world around us thanks to the mathematical nature of shadows? Scientists, astronomers, and mathematicians have been studying the world around us for centuries based on their observations of the shadows that are cast by the sun.
Direction and Time
Since we know that the sun moves from East to West AND that a shadow is cast in a direction opposite to the light, we can make a compass simply by placing a stick in the ground. By watching the direction that the light moves, we can tell where the sun is in relation to our location. (see image on top-left)
If direction identifies location, combining that principle with the length of a shadow can tell us the time. The lower the sun is to the horizon, the longer the shadow will be (as seen in the image on the right). The higher the sun is in the sky, the shorter the shadow will be. Try experimenting with a flashlight and an object at home to better understand this principle.
Sundials have been used for centuries to help people tell time. Notice the spacing of the numbers in the one on the left. The numbers are closer together during the middle of the day to account for shorter shadows.
Phases of the Moon
Have you ever wondered why the moon looks different from night to night? It's another example of shadows in action!
As the earth revolves around the sun, the moon rotates around the earth. The sun is so big and so bright that it is always lighting up the side of the moon that faces it, much like the earth having a "day side" and a "night side."
From earth, we can see the moon as the sun lights it up, sometimes even during our daytime. It takes almost 30 days for the moon to cycle around the earth. People have been using the phases of the moon (as seen in the image to the right) to keep their calendars for thousands of years!
Lunar Eclipse
Every so often, the earth passes directly between the sun and the moon. When this happens, the shadow of the earth blocks out the moon for about two hours in various phases, as seen in the photos below.
Solar Eclipse
A lunar eclipse may happen 2-3 times per year, but a solar eclipse is rarer to see. This happens when the moon passes between the earth and the sun. Because the sun is so large and the shadow created by the moon is so small that a total eclipse can only be observed by a small area on the earth when it occurs ~ see the focal point of the umbra shadow. Areas in the penumbra shadow can still see a partial eclipse, but it won't entirely block out the sun.
If you ever get the chance to watch a solar eclipse, be sure to wear special protective glasses designed specifically for watching them so that your eyes will not be harmed by the sun's rays.
August 21, 2017
A total solar eclipse was visible in Idaho on this day. Some of my family traveled north to watch this rare event. Enjoy the timelapse video that my brother took. This was in the middle of the day. Notice the red horizon from the penumbra glow in the distance.
Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, India
This incredible site of 19 astronomical instruments was completed in 1734. The large scale allows the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye. For nearly 300 years, these exceptionally accurate tools have helped scientific observers better understand the earth and the heavens.
Please visit jantarmantar.org for descriptions of each of these instruments and their functions.
The Samrat Yantra
Or in other words, "The Supreme Instrument" is the world's largest sundial! Standing approximately 90 feet tall, it shows accurate movement every two seconds! You can actually watch the shadow of the peak move if you stand and watch for just a few minutes. Due to its age, visitors cannot climb to the top, but they are allowed closer inspection of some of the smaller instruments, such as the zodiac scope in the photo below.
The Jai Prakash
This may well be Jai Singh’s most elaborate and complex instrument. It is a hemispherical sundial and uses an intricate system of shadow tracking to understand the placement of the sun in the heavens. A small metal suspended disk casts a shadow of the sun onto the inverted sphere below the ground.
You can watch time-lapse videos of the Samat Yantra and The Jai Prakash on the Jantar Mantar website link above.
A Pocket Full of Colors:
by Amy Guglielmo & Jacqueline Tourville, illustrated by Brigette Barrager
Mary Blair was an extraordinary artist whose vision and artistic concepts were ahead of her time. Her legacy still lives on today. Try discovering new colors as you mix a plaid from primaries, secondaries, and any pre-made tertiaries of your choosing.
As an extra challenge, try creating a picture that you make entirely from blended colors. If you add a little color mixing into every piece you do, your art will have greater interest and impact for your viewer.