Projecting through perspective

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will ...

* learn the vocabulary of perspective.

* create an interesting composition using techniques that will give the illusion of spatial depth through placement, overlapping and foreshortening.

* use color to suggest receding and advancing objects, and light and shadow to convince the viewer of a sense of depth.

* demonstrate their understanding of linear perspective.

* experiment with colored pencils, and warm and cool color.

MATERIALS

* Perspective worksheets

* Prismacolor[R] colored pencils

* Black construction or Canson paper

* Plastic rulers or triangles

The semester's basic-sketching class was loaded with students who wanted to satisfy their fine-arts requirement toward graduation, but were uneasy about taking our fundamentals course. Most seemed to be interested only in the "drawing" aspect of the visual arts, and none had any previous art classes in high school.

The majority in the class were freshmen, so I tried to give them a strong basis of drawing skills, compositional techniques and a variety of media, some of which might be included in my beginning drawing class, and a few concepts included in our introductory-art courses. In doing this I hoped they'd become more interested in art, move on to enroll in our fundamentals courses and eventually sign up for advanced classes in areas of their interest.

I was cautious not to give them too much variety. This course was a watered-down version of our drawing units in our art-introduction class, so, to give them too much could possibly overlap what we teach in the art-introduction classes. I didn't want them to feel they had learned everything they needed to, or think they'd be bored in our other classes (which would never be the case).

This course was tailored to offer basic skills to students who came to it with few, if any, skills and for some, little or a lot of interest. It's a unique dilemma: how to make things challenging for students who should have been put into a higher-level fundamentals class to begin with, and yet easy enough for those who needed to be in this version of a drawing course.

Students had been given a visual "pre-test" the second day of class, which I stowed away for a later date--that later date being the final-exam period--when they had to again draw something in the room. Although I looked at the pre-test drawings several times during the semester to assess growth and decide where I needed to focus on any weaknesses, the difference in the skills at finals time was impressive. The students also were satisfied with how much they had developed their drawing skills.

GETTING TO THE "POINT" After the "visual quiz," handing out supplies and other beginning-of-the-semester necessities, I started right in with concepts that artists constantly consider in their work: the illusion of spatial depth on a flat surface, how to suggest form, shading/modeling, basic drawing skills like blind contour-line drawing, continuous-line drawings, sketching, rendering, shading techniques, color and, eventually, perspective.

I teach the basics of one- and two-point perspective and show examples of three-point perspective, then add a couple of homework assignments. One such assignment is for students to draw a closet or bathroom in their house. I give this to them right away before we really get into perspective in class--this way they will always see improvement, which bolsters their confidence.

Another is to cut a picture of a room out of Architectural Digest or an interior-design magazine, then find the eyelevel/horizon line and plot all furniture, paneling, molding, paintings, rugs etc., to the vanishing point. One-point perspective is easier for the students on this assignment. Before they get started, I demonstrate how to do this on a picture that I've chosen so they see how to find the eye level.

We don't get too involved with the technical aspects, but the students understand the concepts and use them when needed. In fact, I preface the study of perspective with the definition of it: the art and science of depicting a three-dimensional object on a two-dimensional surface. I tell them it is a visual tool to use when appropriate.

The following scenario works well as an example: "You see a picturesque winding road with small cottages on both sides, and really want to paint this charming scene. But, how does one draw it? To complicate the picture, the road is wet with rain and the cottages are reflected on the road. Would you stand there and plot the many vanishing points and diminishing lines, or would you draw what you see?"

They understand then that the knowledge of how to use linear perspective becomes a tool in their skill box, and that it will help them draw better. They won't necessarily need to plot lines anymore, but they will know when a line doesn't "look" right and they'll fix it.

CROSSOVER TEACHING When I start a perspective unit, I take advantage of what I call "crossover teaching." I believe we should use these opportunities to engage students, breaking down the walls between various disciplines. When they realize there's a correlation between English and art, for example, it makes the connection more real for them.