Middle School- Sketchbook Assignments

(Rubric)

Sketch #1 Color Practice

Element of Art: Color Principle of Design: Contrast

Draw the shape 10 times. Chose a simple shape that is easy to draw. Consider simplified worms, turtles, fish, or birds rather than geometric shapes. Draw your chosen shape the same size each time, and try to fill the entire sheet. Color in each shape, using one of the following color schemes in each shape. Keep coloring until you have created all ten color schemes.


  • The three primary colors
  • The six intermediate colores.
  • Three to five warm colors
  • Triadic colors
  • A gradual change from a dark vale to a light value,

  • The threee secondary colors
  • Analogous colors
  • Three to five cool colors
  • Complementary colors
  • The color spectrum (ROY G BiV)

How you apply the color within each shape is up to you: be creative!


Journal ideas: which is your favorite shape and color scheme?



Sketch #2 Circles

Element of Art: Line Principle of Design: Movement

List five round objects that can be drawn in a way that shows movement. Examples might included a basketball being bounced, or pizza dough being tossed in the air.

Make a simple drawing of each one you have listed. Add motion lines and other details to show the indicated movement.

Journal idea: Add captions to each drawing. Comment on your favorite drawing. Describe each drawing by talking about the movement.



Sketch #3 Crosshatch value scale & drawing

Element of Art: Line, Value, Form

Create ten-point value scale using crosshatched lines. Draw nine 1-inch square boxes across the paper in pencil. In the first box, using a paperclip point, put crosshatched lines very close together to create a value that appears very light. The more scratches the lighter the value. Crosshatch inside each box, gradually making your lines father and farther apart in successive boxes, until the value in the next to last box appears to be quite dark. The last box should be left black, without any crosshatches.

Underneath the value scale, draw a large fruit or a vegetable. Cut it up if you choose. Shade it to make it have form (look 3D) using crosshatching. Draw a cast shadow, too. The drawing should have all of the values shown in the value scale you created.


Journal ideas: Why did you pick this particular fruit or vegetable? What dishes can be made from it? How did this cross-hatching technique go for you?



Sketch #4 Texture

Principle of Design: Unity

Look around at your surroundings for textures. Stay inside or go outside. Touch different surfaces. Zoom in closely and draw a different texture in each rectangle. Name each texture and write it down on the blank. Examples: wood, marble, brick, carpet, etc. Use a combination of light and dark values to make your textures look realistic.

Journal ideas: Which is your favorite texture? Where did you find the textures? Do your drawings simulate the textures well? Do they look like they feel accurate?


Sketch #5 Interpret a Headline

Principle of Design: Unity

Look through the newspaper headlines. Find a headline that can be interpreted literally and would make for a silly or unique artistic composition. For example, you could use a headline in the sports section that reads “Star Player leaves Gators,” or one that read, Squad helps dog bite victim.” Create a drawing for the headline you found. Literal translations of headlines can often be interpreted in humorous ways. Create unity by cutting out the headline, gluing it down to incorporate it into your artwork somehow.

Journal ideas: What did your parents say about this drawing? How would one of your friends interpret the same headline? Describe what the article to go with the headline really was about.



Sketch #6 Shape Symmetry

Element of Art: Form Principle of Design: Balance

See sample solution

  1. Fold your paper in half so the crease runs up and down (vertical). Leave folded.

Draw shapes on punched hole side of paper. (holes on left)

  1. Hold the folded paper up to a bright window and trace the original lines onto the 2nd half of the paper.
  2. Open the paper to reveal a symmetrical design. The left side of the page mirrors the right side. This is a type of balance.
  3. Add more lines, patterns, and designs to the background. Finish using color. (colored pencils or markers) If you choose to use water-based markers, try this technique: Trace over the initial shapes with a water-based marker. Dip the a paintbrush in water and touch it to the lines, blending and spreading the color. Add final details with the markers when dry. Notice how the markers look different in wet and dry areas.


Journal ideas: What color scheme did you end up using? What does the shape you repeated say about you? What other things in the world are symmetrical?



Sketch #7 Fruit Subtracted

Element of Art: Line Principle of Design: Rhythm

Select a piece of fruit such as an apple, pear, or peach. Place it in front of you. Near the left edge of the paper, do a contour line drawing of the fruit. (A contour line drawing shows an object by drawing its edges or contours without using value or color.) When you have finished the first drawing, take one or two bites from the fruit. Next to the first drawing, draw the fruit again with the bites missing. When you have completed the second drawing, take a bite or two. Draw the fruit again. Continue in this manner until the last drawing shows only the apple core. The progression from large to small will show visual rhythm. In terms of music, you can look at the page as a decrescendo. The volume gets softer as the fruit gets smaller, or the pace gets slower as the fruit gets smaller.

You must do a minimum of 4 fruit drawings on the page.


Journal ideas: Describe the fruit’s taste; why you chose that fruit; what you think about your drawing



Sketch #8 Point of View

Element of Art: Space, Form

Look carefully at a coffee mug. Set it on the desk in front of you and do a simple contour line drawing. Things such as a mug can be seen in space from different perspectives. Now, look at your mug from a bird’s eye view; from a worm’s eye view; from eye level. What other ways can you think of to tip or angle the mug to make it more interesting? Can you isolate and enlarge a small area of it rather that drawing the entire cup? When you are satisfied with a new arrangement, do a second contour line drawing from your chosen perspective. The mugs take up the positive space and the white background is the negative space. Since you are filling the page you should have a balance of positive and negative space. Shade the 2 drawings to give them form. Make them look three dimensional.

Journal ideas: What is the best thing you like to drink out of a mug? How many cups of coffee do your parents drink in a day? What’s your reaction to your drawings?



Sketch #9 Doodle Drawing

Element of Art: Shape Principle of Design: Emphasis

Without thinking, scribble/doodle on your paper using a pen. Now turn your paper 90 degrees. Does an image appear to you? Again, turn your paper 90 degrees. Any image yet? Keep turning your paper until you see an image (or part of an image), and then work into the scribble to make the image stand out. Use pencil or colored pencil this time, instead of a pen. You can add additional lines to create shapes to enhance the image. Fill your page with at least 3 different images started by doodles. Select one drawing to create a focal point (emphasis). Color it in for more interest and/or add more fine details. The viewer will notice that drawing first because you emphasized it.


Journal ideas: Write a description of one or more of your images. Write a poem about an

image. How did you create emphasis so that your image stood out?


Contrast page: Do in class

Imagine each circle to be a design for a t-shirt. What would you enjoy showing off on a shirt?


Journal ideas: What are some contrasts you have learned about in English or Social Studies? Do any of your designs reflect these contrasts? Which is your favorite? Which was the hardest?



Sketch # 10 Negative Space Pattern Fill- In

Element of Art: Shape, Space Principle of Design: Pattern

Choose five items that you see around the room. Arrange the items in a pleasing manner (composition). Draw a contour-line still life of the items you see. Just draw the outside edges to show their shapes. Be conscious of how your still life fills the page. Don’t draw your objects so small that they appear dwarfed by the surrounding page; draw them large enough that the paper’s negative space creates an interesting shape. Now outline your still life objects with a thicker, darker line. Fill in each object (the positive space) with a different pattern.


Journal ideas: Which patterns do you like the most? Which one was the most difficult? (most of the time, that one comes out the best)