This fun 3 day art lesson—- (3) 40 minute art classes—-is inspired by the book “The Big Orange Splot” by Daniel Pinkwater.
I absolutely LOVE this book!
It’s about a man, Mr. Plumbean, who lives on a street with his neighbors who all have the same exact house on “a neat street” as they say in the story.
Then one day, a big splot of bright orange paint falls on his roof. The neighbors all get annoyed by the random splot and ask him to get rid of it so they all “have a neat street” again.
Instead of getting rid of it, he adds to the splot, and paints his home with a ton of bright, vivid colors, and pictures of fun, random things ALL over. His neighbors get really upset at him and ask him why he won’t change it back to the way it was before. He declares to all his angry neighbors “my house is me, and I am it…..my house looks like all my dreams” and doesn’t change a thing.
Soon after…. one by one… the neighbors try to have a talk with him to change it back. BUT…. after talking to Mr. Plumbean, each neighbor gets INSPIRED! and ends up changing all THEIR houses to look like their own dreams!
After reading the story, we talked about how it’s important to be yourself and to not be afraid to stand out, and talked about how boring it would be if everything looked the same. Then I showed students examples of previous 1st graders artwork, as well as a few of my own, then kids got started!
I had no rules for this art lesson except to add a pattern somewhere within their work! I wanted to let them be as creative as possible with very little instruction. Kids could draw whatever kind of house they wanted! It didn’t have to be rectangular or square like most houses—it could be any shape! It could be a diamond shaped house, a slice of cake, a puppy, a cookie, a robot, a spaceship, a boat, a unicorn, slides coming from the roof to a pool in the yard….you get the idea!
Check them out below- They came out fantastic!
(Photos of students creating them below their artwork too!)
Students drew on 12×18″ drawing paper with pencil, then outlined all lines with a black sharpie, then colored in their houses with crayons. The final step was painting the background with blue (for sky or underwater scene) or black (for space or nighttime scene) using liquid watercolors.
NEXT UP FOR FIRST GRADERS……….. “WATERMELON WEAVINGS”! STAY TUNED FOR THAT POST SOON 🙂
Thanks for stopping by! I will be posting 3rd grade self-portrait artwork inspired by artist Frida Kahlo NEXT, and 2nd grade “3D Water Lilies” inspired by Claude Monet VERY VERY SOON!
Read below to find out how we created these, see step-by-step pics and watch my YouTube tutorial on this lesson!
Printmaking is one of my favorite things to teach in art. I love it because it always has an element of surprise with the results each time. Getting all the “Ooooh’s” and “Ahhh’s” after printing is so fun and magical and is always fun to see!
4th Graders used their previous knowledge on printmaking from when they were in 3rd grade when creating their “Complementary Creature Prints”. 3rd grade students used markers to print… and this time, as 4th graders… used black tempera paint to print. We used liquid watercolors to create the background before printing a symmetrical radial design on top using black tempera paint.
I love how colorful they are and loved showing students a variation in printmaking. They did a fantastic job!
This lesson took 4 to 5 (40 minute) art classes to complete.
DAY 1 – PAINTING THE RADIAL RAINBOW DESIGN
On the first day of the lesson, we reviewed symmetry(images that are the same on both sides) and students were introduced to radial design(a design that can include any lines, shapes or colors that starts in the center, and radiates outwards in a circular way). I explained we’d be making a symmetrical radial rainbow painting.
After demonstrating, and reviewing the order of the rainbow, students then measured to locate the center of their paper, using a ruler and marked the 6″ spot with pencil. From the center out, they then painted a radial rainbow design on their 12×12″ tagboard with liquid watercolors.
DAY 2 – DRAWING THE RADIAL DESIGN
Students drew curving lines (with some space between each line) on a 6″ square piece of copy paper that had been folded into a triangle, in pencil.
Then drew different lines and/or shapes between each curving line. Making sure not to draw too small or too detailed. Simple is best. They could be a pattern of lines and shapes, but didn’t have to be.
Then students opened the paper up, and traced over their pencil lines with a black sharpie.
Then students flipped up the blank bottom half over the top half that had been traced in sharpie like below.
The drawing can be seen through the paper (as shown on the picture to the right above). Then students traced over their lines with a pencil like below.
TIP: Place a sheet of white paper underneath your work while tracing so the lines can be seen more clearly. OR place the paper on a window to allow light to shine through the backside to see more clearly as you trace. OR- rather than using copy paper folded into a triangle, use tracing paper.
Once ALL the lines have been traced, THEN unfold, by taking the bottom half out like below. You should be able to see the pencil part on top, and the backside of the sharpie part below. Here you can now see the entire design is continuous on both halves of the paper.
From here, take the paper and tape it to a 6″ square cut piece of styrofoam (the printing plate). Use clear tape and only tape it to the top in 2 areas so the paper can open and close like below. Don’t worry about the tape covering your drawing a bit.
Once the drawing is taped onto the printing plate, students started tracing over ALL the lines with a dull colored pencil. (The colored pencil lets you know where you have traced since it leaves a colored line). Press firmly as you trace. This step transfers your drawing onto the printing plate.
It’s a good idea to check to see if its transferring well enough, so flip up the taped down drawing to check how it’s coming along. As long as you can see the lines indentations on your printing plate well enough, you’re good!
Continue tracing with a dull colored pencil until the entire design is traced.
Once that’s done, students flipped over the paper they were tracing. Here you should be able to see the drawing completely transferred onto the printing plate like below.
Next, students traced over their indentations of their design on the styrofoam printing plate with a dull colored pencil. (Tracing again pressing firmly). This step is crucial and creates a nice deep indentation which creates a clear print later on. If it’s not pressed in twice (once with paper over the styrofoam, and again a second time on just the styrofoam the overall print wouldn’t be as clear when time to print.)
From here, students then colored in *some* of their shapes they created within their design with colored pencil. Again pressing firmly! Areas where it is colored in, will reveal more rainbow from the painting created. Students could fill in as much as they wanted or as little as they wanted. This step was the final step before printing, so kids were very anxious to get printing! Teacher example on left, student example on right.
Once shapes were filled in, students flipped over the styrofoam printing plate, and drew an arrow with sharpie pointing to the corner where they started their drawing.
*Technically, to print a symmetrical radial design, the arrow could be drawn pointing in ANY one chosen corner, as long as it’s in just one corner. For a complete circle design like we created, we drew the arrow in the corner where we originally started the curving lines.
HOWEVER, no matter where you place the arrow, this arrow is necessary to know where to position the printing plate on the paper each time you print. The arrow should always point to the center of the paper each time it’s printed. Doing this creates the symmetrical radial design. (More on this below). They also wrote their name and class in sharpie on the back somewhere as well.
Then the paper that was taped on gets taken off and thrown away and students were ready to print!
DAY 3 – PRACTICE PRINTING ON 12X12″ WHITE PAPER FIRST
After a printing demonstration, students created a practice print on white paper before moving onto their final copy (on their rainbow painting).
Students shared plates of black tempera paint and brayers and rolled out their brayer onto the plate of black paint a couple times. Since the paint has a slippery texture, it’s important to THEN roll the brayer onto a sheet of scrap paper to get the paint evenly distributed onto the brayer. This also gets rid of any excess paint before rolling onto the printing plate.
Then the brayer gets rolled onto the printing plate.
Once students evenly coated their printing plate with black tempera paint, they carefully lifted it up and printed onto 12×12″ white 80# paper. It’s important to have the printing plates edges lined up with the papers edges and have the arrow pointing to the center of the paper.
Then students pressed down with the flat of their hands and then used a CLEAN brayer, and rolled over the backside of their printing plate all over to transfer the design to create the first print like below.
Then, lifted it off to repeat those steps 3 more times, rotating the printing plate so the arrow pointed towards the center of their paper each time they printed.
DAY 4 – 5 FINAL STEP! PRINTING ON THE RAINBOW PAINTING!
Students reviewed the printing process and continued to print their design onto their rainbow painting that they painted on day 1!
It was fun… but very messy!!!
This is why we drew a BIG arrow! So you can see it!
If you haven’t see it yet, Here’s my YouTube video tutorial below. I hope you like it!
Hi everyone! It’s been a LOOOOoonng time since I’ve posted any new YouTube tutorials ( 5 months or so I think?) and wanted to share here that I just finished uploading this one!
4th graders are currently creating their prints for this lesson and a few students have finished printing! I will be posting the entire lesson here with photos of student artwork as well as photos of students creating their prints later this week!! I can’t wait to share!
Stay tuned for that and in the meantime, you can view my latest video tutorial below! If you didn’t know I had a YouTube channel, you can click HERE to get there to view all my art tutorials…. Slowly, but surely adding more and more… *******UPDATE******* I wanted to edit this video tutorial after watching in class with my students a few times. I wasn’t too happy with the sound quality or edits here and there…..Still learning how to create/edit in iMovie. They always take me longer than I think, and I’m always terrified to record my voice!
So, here’s the new version….I adjusted the volume, (I have more of a quiet voice and noticed it’s hard to hear in my videos sometimes), switched out some of the music I used, and sped up the ending demonstration parts. This one is *hopefully* better than the first one I posted.
I would love and appreciate your feedback! Feel free to email me or comment below this post. Thank you!
Read below student artwork to learn how students created these, what they learned about throughout the process, and see photos of students creating!
When students came into the art room and sat down, without showing them my teacher examples, I asked them, “who can remember and tell me what the primary colors are?” (They all learned about primary colors from the previous lesson when creating secondary colors from mixing primary colors)
I was happy to see everyone’s hands shooting up in the air!
***I feel like I should explain here that Kindergarteners don’t have art class in our district, that’s why I’m teaching them about primary/secondary colors, line, shapes, overlapping etc. etc. to my first grade classes***
Then I showed them my teacher examples and explained we’d be creating artwork inspired by the artist Piet Mondrian.
From there I showed them a brief PowerPoint about his life and artwork.
Students learned he was an artist from the Netherlands, who lived from 1872 to 1944 who was and still is today, a very influential and famous abstract painter. He is known for being one of the pioneers of 20th century abstract art.
One fact about his life was that he was an elementary school teacher before creating art full time. They also learned how he painted more realistically in the beginning, then developed a strong interest in creating more abstracted images, and eventually reduced his artwork to simple geometric elements, focusing on horizontal and vertical lines. He also paired down his color palette using mainly primary colors.
Below are some screenshots of slides taken from my powerpoint I showed students.
I asked students to show me how to draw vertical and horizontal lines with their finger in the air. Then I asked them how many vertical lines there were in his paintings, and how many horizontal lines and what shapes they created.
I asked my students “who can tell me what a shape is?” Students said rectangles, circles, squares…” I said yes those are all examples of shapes you’re right, but do you know what the definition of a shape is? What is a shape? I drew on paper a random line connected end to end that resembled a cloud, and asked “ is this a shape?” They all said yes!
I explained how any lines that connect end to end is a shape.
As I motioned my hands in the air – I asked my first grade students “what happens when 2 horizontal lines connect with 2 vertical lines?” ——they knew right away! They create rectangles and squares!
Students all loved this picture with the lady on the car!
DAY 1 (OF 2)
Students used a small
rectangular piece of Styrofoam dipped into black tempera paint, to stamp one
end and print horizontal and vertical lines onto 12x 18” paper.
I explained to focus mainly on making squares and rectangles (just like Mondrian) but they could create triangles and other shapes here and there too!
I love the experimentation! Some students played around with the thickness of their lines!
DAY 2
Students colored in their shapes with primary colors using markers.
Some students took more of a Kandinsky approach to stamping their lines. I love the sense of movement these have below!
They really got into it, and some students told me they couldn’t wait to go home and create more!
Check back later this weekend for a new blog post on 4th Grade Radial Printmaking!! And check below to see 4th graders beautiful Dandelion Puffs! Thanks for stopping by!
This easy and fun 2 day art lesson focused on the elements of art; Line, Shape, Color and Value. Students also learned about a new watercolor resist technique using rubber cement before painting!
Students observed various drawings of dandelions and reviewed the meaning of composition in artwork, (composition= the way things are laid out or where things are drawn/placed on paper).
Students drew three stems spaced apart a bit coming from one side of a sheet of 9×12″ tagboard with pencil. They could be drawn coming from either side of the paper going towards the middle.
They drew a small circle at the tip of each stem for the dandelions center and then lightly drew a large circle around it to act as a guideline to where their dandelion seed heads would be drawn to, to create a full, fluffy dandelion puff.
Students drew 1 large dandelion and 2 smaller ones on either side of the large one. Then drew a variety of seed heads stemming out from the center of each dandelion. I demonstrated various seed head tips for drawing before students drew on their own papers. I also offered a handout to refer to and observe, if they wanted while drawing.
Then once all three were drawn, they added drifting seed heads blowing away from the dandelion puffs in the wind. These drifting seed heads were drawn traveling in different directions (just like in real life) and not only adds interest, but creates a nice composition with the three dandelions along the opposite side.
Then students went over their stems lines and dandelion puffs lines and drifting seed heads with a black sharpie. After using sharpie they erased any pencil lines that remained.
Once that was done, after class, (when students were no longer in my art room), I brushed on a thick layer of rubber cement where each circular dandelion puff would be, as well as on the drifting seed heads. The rubber cement was a bit stinky and isn’t healthy to breathe in, so I worked next to an open window. This is why I applied the rubber cement and not the students.
The rubber cement was left to dry until the next class. (BTW- This doesn’t take up much rubber cement at all- I used about 3 small jars for 4 classes (roughly 24 students per class).
I used an old tempera brush rather than the rubber cements brush that it comes with. I found it was much easier to spread that way.
DAY 2
Before applying paint to our drawings, we reviewedwarm and cool colors.
I had ice cube trays filled with liquid watercolors (one end with warm colors (warm colors=reds, pinks, oranges and yellows) and the other end with cool colors (cool colors= blues, greens and purples).
We also reviewed the wet-on-wet watercolor technique before painting. After demonstrating, students applied water only to 1/2 their paper quickly with a watercolor brush. THEN applied dabs of either just warm colored paint OR just cool colored paint onto the wet areas using one color at a time.
Students noticed how the paint spread outward from where they dabbed little bits of paint over the watered down paper. The water helps spread the paint and it also changes the value of the color making the color lighter and less vibrant (value= the lightness or darkness of a color).
Then once one 1/2 of their paper was painted, they dabbed the painted section with a paper towel while still wet, to help soften the color and spread the paint even more.
Then painted the other 1/2 of their paper with water only and applied paint to that wet area then dabbed off with a paper towel.
Once paintings were dry, the rubber cement was rubbed off, revealing the white dandelion puffs!
Thanks for visiting my blog!! Check back soon for new 1st grade artwork! Next week!
This art lesson took about ( 3) 40 minute art classes to complete. Students learned about foreground, middle ground and background and how it creates a sense of space in artwork.
Read more below students artwork to find out how they were created!
DAY 1 – Creating the birch trees
After introducing foreground, middle ground and background to students, showing them multiple student artwork examples from previous years, and demonstrating the steps for day 1 of the lesson, students got to work creating their birch trees. We used 12 x 18″ medium weight tagboard for the paper.
Students drew 1 large tree in the foreground (area closest to the viewer- with objects drawn LARGEST along the bottom of the paper to show this) going all the way to the top of their paper.
Then drew a land line in the middle ground –(area in artwork that is placed in the middle of the paper or canvas, with objects drawn a bit smaller in this area, to show it is a bit further away from the viewer.) I demonstrated to make sure that they jumped over the tree as they drew the middle ground! Then proceeded to draw 2 slightly thinner trees from the middle ground up to the top of their paper.
Then they drew another hill / land line to show grass and trees growing in the background. This line was drawn near the top of the paper to show objects that are the furthest away from the viewer. Objects along this area are drawn the smallest to show they are the furthest things away in the artwork.
Once these areas were drawn with largest to smallest birch trees, going from the bottom of their paper to the top, students used a small piece of recycled currugated cardboard dipped into black paint to create the birch tree bark.
Dipping the currugated side of the cardboard into a small amount of black tempera paint, then scraping from one edge of the tree to the other, students created the black lines within their birch trees. ***It’s important to tap off extra black paint on the paper plate, before scraping, otherwise sometimes too much black paint can create larger black blocks of sections as opposed to black “lines”.
After creating the black lines for the birch bark in each tree, we created 1-2 branches for each tree by tilting the cardboard diagonally along the edges of our trees, and dragged the cardboard downward.
DAY 2 – Creating grass, flowers and painting the landscape
Students drew grass blades within their landscape using 2 different shades of green crayons and yellow. They pressed HARD as they drew the lines– It’s important to press hard not lightly here because the crayon bits would be painted over in the next step (creating a “crayon wax resist” technique with watercolors).
I showed kids how to hold all 3 crayons in one hand, drawing vertical and diagonal lines for the grass. (Doing this makes it easier and faster!) Some students held all 3 ok, and some preferred holding 2 then drawing the rest with the 3rd crayon after.
Then they drew a variety of flowers using crayons within each grassy section.
I love the triangular shaped crayons Crayola makes! They don’t roll off the tables!
Once complete with grass and flowers, students painted the grass and sky with slightly watered down liquid watercolors! Creating a crayon wax resist.
DAY 3- ADDING THE WOODLAND ANIMALS TO THE LANDSCAPE!
Students referred to a variety of “step-by-step” how to draw animals that I had created and stapled together into packets to draw at least 1 animal to add to their landscapes.
Foxes, squirrels, owls, skunks, bunny’s, racoons, deer, and wild horses (which could OF COURSE be made into unicorns!) were in the packet.
Students chose 1-2 animals to draw, and used their observational drawing skills to draw them, color in with colored pencils, cut them out and glue onto their beautiful landscapes!
LOVE her Amelia Earhart outfit! Some 2nd graders were doing book report presentations on this day in their classrooms!
And there you have it!! Beautiful work everybody!!
This is a new lesson I started this year and I’m SO in love with them!! My 5th graders at Roosevelt just finished these yesterday and I couldn’t WAIT to post them to share!! Thank you Laura (Paintedpaperart.com) and amymcreynolds (Instagram) for the inspiration!
Finished artwork is 9×12″ with an 11 x 14″ white paper border hot glued to the back. Read more below to see how these beauties were created with steps and photos!
Here are some close ups!
This 4 day (four 40 min. art classes) lesson focuses on 6 of the 7 Elements of Art; Form, Line, Shape, Color, Texture, and Value.
We used white Modelite modeling material, printmaking with bubble wrap, splatter painting with watercolors, liquid tempera paints to paint the flowers, bubble wrap and flower’s stems and leaves, railroad board paper, 80# white drawing paper, and scissors and glue sticks to create these mixed-media flowers.
DAY 1
Students each received a small cut section of Modelite modeling material to make 5 flowers. This air hardening, super soft material is SO easy to manipulate and shape. If you’ve never used it, it’s very similar to ModelMagic. I found that (4) 8 ounce packages are more than enough for 1 class of about 25 students. I put each section in a plastic ziplock baggie ahead of time so they wouldn’t dry out and make passing out the materials for class easier. Then I just reuse the bags for the next class.
I demonstrated under the document camera ways to create a few different flowers, but students could make any kind they wanted.
Students rolled a small chunk of material into a small ball, about the size of a ping pong ball, then flattened the ball with their palm a bit (to about the thickness of an oreo cookie. Then used scissors to make cuts towards the center all the way around, then cut small triangle sections out from those cuts to separate and create the flowers petals. From there they used their fingers to shape and point the ends if they wanted, or leave them more straight on the ends. The leftover clay from the triangle cuts were balled up to make the flowers center. Other small balls of material were made into tulips, circle “button” flowers, and daisy’s and many other fun creative flowers! Kids got really creative! Take a look below!
For any students out there reading this, it’s important to keep them separate on the plate so they don’t touch one another. This material is very sticky and will dry stuck together.Students could create a variety of 5 flowers, or they can all be the same flower!One day in school, I realized I didn’t have plates for them ( I don’t know how, since I make like 500 trips to dollar tree for this kind of stuff each week!!!) BUT… the cafeteria staff came to the rescue!! These lunch plates were perfect! 5 separate sections!
Flowers were stashed away to dry until the next art class (I see each class once a week). To completely harden it takes 72 hours.
DAY 2
Students painted their flowers with liquid tempera paint. I put the paints in ice cube trays as seen below to separate colors. What a game changer!!! I had never thought of using these until THIS YEAR?!? Super cheap to buy at the Dollar Tree (pack of 2 for $1)!
Students could paint their flowers any colors they wanted! Kids started on the petals first, leaving the center last, in order to hold them down while painting. They rinsed their brush well in water and wiped on a paper towel between changing colors. Kids did a great job of keeping the colors clean! Trays were covered in tinfoil and stashed away until the next class.
Love all the colors, and layering of color! Flowers were left to dry until the next class!
DAY 3
Students created 2 different painted papers for their table and vase. First, they created a print using bubble wrap. They painted the bubble side with liquid tempera and could use any colors they wanted from the trays. Once painted, they laid a sheet of 80# drawing paper on top, rubbed their hands over the paper and then peeled the paper off revealing their print!
Even if the print produced some areas with less color, students could use other sections of their print to cut out and create their tables and vases.
After they printed, they did some fun splatter painting with watercolors on a separate sheet of 9×12″ paper. Kids LOVED this and had a blast!
Paintings were left to dry until the next class!
DAY 4
On the final day students assembled everything together! To prep, I hot glued all students 5 flowers onto a sheet of 9×12″ railroad board (like bristol board with both sides colored). Teachers out there reading, this took a bit of time (about 1 hour per class of 27 students). I picked out the color for the paper, and had 2 hot glue guns going as I worked, then wrote each students name on the bottom of the paper. After, I placed all their papers with flowers in a large cardboard mason box to disperse in class later.
I demonstrated to students under the doc camera to measure one of their selected painted papers using a ruler. They measured 4″ from the bottom of their 9×12″ sheet, making 3 marks. Then they draw a straight horizontal line using the ruler along those (3) 4″ marks. Then cut along the line and glue with a glue stick and apply to the bottom of their railboard paper to create the table.
Then they choose another section of painted paper to create their vase. I suggested they use both painted papers (one for the table and a different one for the vase) for more visual interest, but they could use the same paper if they really wanted.
I created 4 different vase example drawings and photocopied them on cardstock to use as either a visual aid to observe and draw from, cut out as a tracer then trace on their painted paper, or they could create their own vase entirely. I wanted to offer a variety of methods, and including a tracer was helpful, since getting the sizing right to fit the paper under their flowers might of been a bit tricky.
For a final step, students used 2 different shades of green liquid tempera to paint flower stems and leaves.
The student above, on the left discovered how cool the BACKSIDE of his splatter painting was and decided to use that side instead for his vase! And look at that gorgeous rose on the top right! Beautiful!
The student above wanted to outline her vase and add black details with oil pastel! LOVE LOVE LOVE! It reminds me of Matisse!
They all turned out so lovely! I love the variety of flowers, textures, colors AND unique artistic decisions!! I can’t wait to mount them all on white paper and display them in the halls!
Thanks so much for stopping by! Check back soon for more artwork by 2nd grade, 4th grade and 1st grade!!
3rd graders did such a fantastic job printmaking!! Take a look below!
(Read more below the pics to find out how they were created, and to view my YouTube tutorial on this lesson!)
This lesson took about 5 (40 min.) art classes to finish, and create three prints of one drawing. We used markers and styrofoam printing plates to create our prints.
DAYS 1-2
On the first day of the lesson, I showed students prints students created from previous years as well as my own examples. Then I showed them the first portion of my video tutorial and discussed what printmaking was. The book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak was inspiration for this lesson.
Kids then got to work drawing their own made up creature on 8.5″ x 11″ regular printer/copy paper with pencil. The goal was to create a unique creature, large on the paper, with simple lines and details. I explained their creature could consist of a combination of animals, aliens, monsters, inanimate objects, people, sea creatures, food, fantastical creatures….whatever they wanted! Something that was from their own imagination.
(I didn’t get a chance to take photos of kids drawing so this pic and the next few with the pink background are ones I created for my video tutorial)
My example drawing
Once drawn, students then taped their drawing onto a sheet of styrofoam (the printing plate) to trace. Being sure to tape it to the top in two areas where there wasn’t any image, so the paper wouldn’t move on them while tracing.
Then using a dull colored pencil; not too sharp (if its too sharp, it could tear or puncture the styrofoam) they traced over all their lines pressing firmly but not super hard, to transfer their image to the printing plate underneath. I have them use a colored pencil so they can see where they’ve already traced over their pencil lines.
Below you can see the image has transferred to the styrofoam plate.
Once that’s done, students trace over all their lines indented in the styrofoam plate. They used a colored pencil for this step as well. The reason they trace twice (once with their drawing over the styrofoam and once on the styrofoam only) is so the indentations are deep enough for printing a crisp, clear image of their drawing.
Styrofoam plate all ready for coloring in with markers!
DAYS 3-5
Students learn what complementary colors are, (colors opposite one another on the color wheel and consist of one primary color and one secondary color. (red + green, blue + orange, and yellow + purple).
Students learned that when complementary colors are used next to one another in artwork, it makes an image pop and helps make the artwork stand out.
On the styrofoam using regular washable Crayola markers, they colored their creature with one set of complementary colors, and then their background with a different set. It’s important that the markers are juicy (aren’t dried out) for this. (I saved and set aside a large box of markers for just this lesson, to ensure students would have juicy markers!)
After the styrofoam is completely colored, they take off their taped on drawing and sprayed a sheet of 9×12″ 80# drawing paper using water from a spray bottle. (For the spray bottles, I just use recycled empty spray cleaner bottles after thoroughly rinsing out).
They sprayed the paper 6 times- two on top on either side, two in the middle on either side and two along the bottom on either side of the paper.
Then using a damp sponge, they hold down the paper along the bottom, and gently wipe going away from their fingers in one direction to help spread the water evenly all over the paper.
They then lay their colored styrofoam, color side down, onto the wet paper. They press all over the back of their printing plate using the flat of their hands to help transfer their image to the dampened paper. After pressing all over for about 10 seconds, they used a brayer (which is like a mini paint roller except it has a rubber roller) to roll over the back of their printing plate to help further push and transfer the marker to the damp paper to create their print.
(I explain to students it’s VERY important to always have one hand holding down the styrofoam plate, while pressing with their other hand or using the brayer, so they don’t move their styrofoam which would smudge their print, thus creating a blurry one).
Students roll the brayer over the entire backside of their plate for at least 15 seconds. Then while holding down a corner with one hand, they lift the opposite corner with the other hand to check if there are any bald spots. If there are any bald spots (where their isn’t any color), they roll over that area again and/or use their fingers to press into any smaller detailed areas where needed.
Once they check all areas, they lift off the styrofoam plate to reveal their print!
There are a lot of steps involved in creating these prints, which can be tricky to remember! So I have students watch the printmaking steps of my video tutorial in the beginning of the first couple of art classes when they have begun printing, to review and help them remember!
I’m so glad I decided to make that video for this lesson! Students find it helpful to watch and such a time saver from constantly having to set up and waste paper and marker ink each time as I would while demonstrating…. and since it’s recorded- I don’t ever have to worry about forgetting to tell them something!
Once they print their first print, they repeat the process of coloring their printing plates and wetting their papers to print, and pressing to create 3 prints of the same image total. This way, students have some practice with printing and have the opportunity to create a good, clear, colorful print!
Here is my video tutorial on this lesson!
https://youtu.be/njw-xLPtq_k
Thanks so much for stopping by! To view other art tutorial videos I’ve made click on “Art Instruction Videos” under the drop down menu or visit my YouTube channel!
I couldn’t resist posting these adorable and amazing drawings my first graders did before adding the balloon for their bubble gum! (I will be adding the balloons to them next week to display in the hallways!)
This was a really fun lesson where first-graders learned the difference between a self-portrait and a portrait! This lesson took (3) 40 minute art classes to finish.
Students not only learn how to draw the face and facial details, but we also talk about color matching and trying to best match our own unique skin colors, eye colors and hair colors using crayons. We focus on the Elements of Art (Line, Shape, Color, and Form), as well as use (Principle of Art) Pattern in the background!
DAY 1
First, students viewed a variety of self-portraits from first graders from previous years in my Powerpoint, as well as my own example drawings hanging on the board.
Students then watched while I demonstrated under the document camera how to draw the head by drawing an upside down egg shape. Then how to draw two curving lines for the neck and shoulders with the arms going off the page at the bottom.
I discussed how the drawing would be close up and not show the entire body, (like in their school photo that gets taken in the beginning of the year which I think helped them understand better).
They learned how to draw facial features in correct proportion and learned that eyes are drawn like the shape of almonds/footballs or lemons. I talked about how everyone’s eyes are different, but in general, that’s the basic shape of the eye. I also discussed how we have the iris (colored part, and the pupil, the black circle that allows us to see). And that the pupil is ALWAYS in the center of the iris, no matter what direction we are looking in! As I demonstrated how to draw eyelashes I talked about how we ALL have them, to help keep dust and dirt out of our eyes and to help protect them from direct sunlight, and showed them how they are more of a slight curving line rather than straight lines.
I demonstrated a few different ways to draw the nose, which students could choose what they felt they liked best for their drawing (as long as they tried drawing the more “realistic” looking nose (explaining as I demonstrated to to draw “a c shape, curving line up, a “u” shape, then a backwards c shape, as one continuous line), as well as how to draw a more realistic looking mouth, simple “c” shapes for the ears and curving lines for the eyebrows through a demonstration under the document camera.
Kids had a tricky time drawing the nose and lips the most, but they did a fantastic job!!
Once they finished their self-portrait in pencil, students added a pattern of circles in the background, by tracing a circular jar lid, then traced over all their lines with a thick black sharpie to make their lines stand out more.
DAYS 2-3
On the second day of the lesson students began coloring in with crayons.
I explained to look for a crayon or two that would best match their own unique skin color. We discussed how people’s skin have a variety of colors in the world, and that they are ALL beautiful!!
I talked to them about how it’s important to appreciate each others differences and how boring the world would be if we were all the same skin color! Students agreed it would definitely be a boring world if we all looked the same!
Students then found a crayon that best matched their own unique skin color, eye color and hair color and colored in their self-portraits. I demonstrated that they could combine and layercolors to create the colors they needed if need be. I encouraged students to press hard when coloring and to try to color in completely so no white paper showed through.
For a final step, I will poke holes in their papers using a pencil and a pre-tied balloon will be attached to their self-portrait using masking tape on the back! Like in these photos below from last year!
1st Grade Bubblegum Blowing Self-portrait
Students did a fantastic job creating their self-portraits! Balloons will be added soon and displayed in the school’s hallways!
Another blog post tomorrow! Check back sometime then to see! Thanks for stopping by!
I loove how all these houses are all so unique and students really put their effort into creating them with lots of detail!!
MORE AMAZING HOUSES —STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION!……. 🙂
4th graders did such a wonderful job creating these Victorian houses! They worked so hard coming up with their own individual, unique style Victorian house!
This lesson took (6 ) 40 minute art classes to complete. I think absolutely worth every class though! Students took their time carefully crafting their beloved houses and I wanted to give them the time!
I love incorporating a unit on Architecture!
Some of my students share that their parents work in the architecture field and I hope many of my students are inspired from this lesson and discuss their knowledge on architecture when they get home.
I wouldn’t doubt that I have a bunch of students that will someday be an architect themselves, designing amazing buildings in their future!!
DAY 1:
Students learned about Victorian Architecture and learned about some of the common characteristics found within the Victorian architectural style, (i.e., gables, turrets, towers, bay windows, fish-scale shingles, brick and stone details, decorative wood carved “gingerbread” details etc.) and were challenged to envision and create a drawing of their own Victorian style house that included some of these elements.
I showed students a powerpoint of various Victorian homes which pointed out these particular elements. I also showed students a variety of Victorian house drawings students created from previous years, as well as my own examples, to view for inspiration.
Students then were asked to share what similarities they noticed in a side by side viewing of two different Victorian homes on the whiteboard. These images did not include the arrows with descriptions on each house as previous slides depicted.
I wanted to see how much they remembered from viewing the previous slides and through discussion. Students always impress me when they raise their hands to share what they saw, noticed and recalled!! There’s a ton of slides (about 15??) that I go through and discuss before this point. It makes me so happy to see students so engaged!!
Students then practiced drawing these various Victorian elements on a worksheet after doing a demonstration on each.
We also reviewed the Elements of Art and how students would be utilizing 6 out of the 7 elements of art to draw their homes. Line, Shape, Color, Space, Texture, and Value!
Each student received a “step-by-step” how to draw packet (that I created) to look at, if they needed to refer to while drawing.
DAYS 2-3:
I demonstrated to students under the document camera how to begin drawing their homes. FROM THE ROOF DOWN– Starting with the rooflines for the gables. I also demonstrated again how to draw details step-by-step like the bay window, 3D stairs, fish scale shingles, bricks, stone work, gables, and turrets and towers.
I explained (as well as posted on the whiteboard) what Victorian elements/details were needed to be included in their home, but besides that, they had free rein to create their homes any way they wanted!
Students began drawing their Victorian homes on a sheet of 9×12″ 80# drawing paper.
As mentioned above, I had handouts to refer to with photos of various victorian style homes (not to copy exactly!! but to use as reference and be creative!! ), as well as step-by-step drawing packets to use as reference while they drew.
These handouts are print outs from my powerpoint I previously showed them in the last class. ****TEACHERS— I HAVE A FREE DOWNLOAD OF THIS FURTHER DOWN IN THIS BLOG POST!!! BOTH MY STEP-BY-STEP DRAWING HANDOUTS, AS WELL AS THE POWERPOINT, (WHICH ALSO CAN BE PRINTED AND STAPLED TO MAKE PACKETS)*****
Students were instructed to use a ruler to draw any straight lines (just like an architect!) within their work.
DAYS 4-6
Once finished drawing their houses, students carefully colored in their unique Victorian homes using colored pencils.
I demonstrated how to color in the chimney’s bricks (or other brick details within the house) using a variety of reds, browns, tans, and pinks and suggested to stagger the same color. Just like in real chimneys!
I also reviewed/ demonstrated that they could alter the value of the color by pressing lighter or harder (students did this in a previous lesson in the beginning of the year).
Students were also shown how to color in areas showing any stone detail. Neutral colors like: Greys, tans, dark browns, black, white, cream colors were staggered within those areas.
Students could color in the rest of their houses any way they wanted! In previous years I asked them to use a Monochromatic color scheme. BUT—since we already learned about that with their “mini- monochromatic self-portraits” (you can find that one through search section of my blog) they had the freedom to color them they way they pleased! Students were quite happy with that!!!
Students did such an incredible job creating these drawings! They worked very hard and I’m very impressed!
Teachers / educators and anyone really! CLICK Here to a link to download my own drawn FREE step-by-step Victorian detail drawing handouts on my Teachers Pay Teachers page as well as my own Victorian Architecture Powerpoint (which can be printed out to use as a packet for reference!) YAY!
I hope you find them useful and enjoy using them!!! If you choose to download and use them….. I’d love to hear from you and learn how it worked for you in your classroom!
Thank you for stopping by!! Check back VERY soon for a new blog post on…….
