Low Relief Project

My Example made from cardboard.

The Assignment

1. Each student will create a 9x9 inch relief sculpture.
2. Use your two initials as the shapes and repeat them throughout your square.
3. Use two sizes of at least one letter.
4. Change the orientation of the shapes. (upside down, sideways etc.)
5. Cut your shapes with scissors or x-acto knife.
6. Organize and glue the shapes down with white glue.
7. Pick one area of your design to emphasize with color. Paint it in a primary color.
8. Your design must be at least 3 layers deep.

Some Considerations

• Use brown cardboard or white and black matte board.
• Think about the concept of “Gradation”. Change the size of your letters to add interest.
• Remove the top layer of corrugated cardboard to reveal the texture beneath.
• Cut away from your hand when using an x-acto knife. Scissors work well except when cutting out the negative space from a letter. (ie. The inside of a B)
• Use a cutting board.
• Use a very thin layer of glue. Apply it with your finger.
• Toss your scraps back in the box. Someone else could use it.
• Use your negative cutouts.
• How does your image look when lit from the side. What kind of shadows does it create.

American Flag Re-design

Our first flag was the "Grand Union Flag" which was used by our troops in the American War for Independence. It predates the "Betsy Ross" flag which many people associate with the Revolution. Since then the American Flag has gone through many transformations.

Grand Union Flag

At first any manipulation of the Flag was considered sacrilege. Over time peoples attitude about the Flag has changed and it is often used in advertising, satire and clothing. Our assignment is to redesign Old Glory to make a social or political statement about the United States today.

This is a mixed medial assignment. Most students will choose to use tempera paint, but colored pencils, magic markers and collage are all viable options.

• Use a 12x18 inch piece of White Oak Tag. You may cut the flag into a different shape if your desire.
• The flag must maintain some semblance of stripes. The repeated hot dogs create an "implied line" or stripe on the flag below.
• At least one star should adorn your flag. (The project below failed to place a star in their composition.)
• The flag must include red, white and blue, but other colors may be used as needed.

Obesity Flag American Flag

No Smoking American Flag

Unity American Flag

Lino-cut Playing Card

Create a fantasy version of a playing card.

• Cartoons work best for subject, remember that it’s a portrait.
• Trace your image and transfer it to the lino.
• The working area is 4x5 inches in size.
• Carve out the areas that you want to remain white.
• Be extremely careful when cutting your lino. Always cut away from your hand. Use a “benchhook” for for safety!
• Make an edition of 3 perfect black and white prints. (C grade)
• Improve your grade by printing on colored paper, making mult-colored prints and offsets.

New Animal Scratchboard

If you could be any animal in the world, which would it be - a horse, a monkey, maybe a bear?

• Make a lost of your three favorite animals.
• Collect photo references for each animal. (3)
• Create your composite animal by tracing. Start with the main body and add different parts. (ie. antlers)
• Draw in an environment.
• Draw contour lines on the animal to assist in shading.
• Scratch out the outline of the objects.
• Shade using the crosshatching technique (other techniques can be used).
• Be careful when using scratch tools, they are sharp.

Example of "Hatching"

Example of Cross Hatching

Camera Drawing

Our final drawing will use Oil Pastels and be rendered much larger.

Procedure:

• Do a quick blind contour of the camera.
• Draw a simple line drawing on white paper.
• Draw your final image on large "Bogus" paper. The bogus paper and a rough tooth that will allow the oil pastels to adhere to it.
• You can blend the pastels with your finger, paper towel or a s "stump".
• Pay particular attention to the highlighted areas on the camera. 

Can (Ellipse) Drawing

Circles drawn in perspective are "ellipses". By stacking ellipses you can create cylindrical objects. For this drawing you will select an energy or soda can and draw it with a cast shadow.

Some considerations:

• Each can consists of 4 stacked ellipses.
• Maintain a consistent angle when drawing the can. 
• Text should curve as well.
• Use "Greeking" for very small text.
• The shadow is the darkest area.
• Shading should curve with the shape of the can.

Shoe Drawing

Everyday objects are perfect for practicing your drawing. Our first drawing will be of a shoe. You may pick from the collection or use your own shoe. You will need to wear that shoe for several days. You can not draw from memory. You must have the shoe in front of you!

Drawing 1 

Start by doing a blind contour drawing. This is a loosening up exercise that will help improve your observation. Use newsprint. Remember to only look at the shoe and not your paper. The objective is to see all the detail on the shoe. Don't worry if it looks good. Here is my example.

Blind Contour Drawing

Drawing 2

Using an 12x18" piece of white drawing paper. Draw the show as a line drawing. Include all the detail. Try to draw the show as realistically as possible, but don't shade it.

Drawing 3

Your final drawing should be your best. You've drawn it twice already and know it's detail and proportions. Use  Prismacolor to shade it. You are not coloring! Different colors can be "built up" by blending one color over the other. Remember that dark areas appear to recede.

Shading Detail

Pointillism

In this project we will look at he progression of artistic style from Neoclassicism, to Impressionism. There is a huge shift from the tight controlled work of Ingres, to the loose style of Claude Monet.

In Ingre's portrait of Madame Moitessier, we see the muted colors and realistic style that is typical of the neoclassic period. The severe and unemotional form is a reflection of ancient Greece and Rome.

Monet's Impression Sunrise shows the loose, almost abstract imagery, of the impressionist movement. They did away with the control which was the hallmark of the earlier work. Artists left their studios and painted "En Plein Air".

The Pointillist style is a combination of ideas whose roots are two completely different styles. Our paintings will be a hybrid of both Impressionist and Pointillist ideas. Here are some examples from last years classes.

General Instructions

We’ll use Q-tips as our brushes.

Our painting will be a hybrid of impressionist and pointillist brush strokes.

Horizontal strokes work well for water.

Your can change the size of a round brush stroke by using either side of the wooden Q-tips. (wood end makes small dots.)

Use cardboard pallets to mix paint.

Use paint sparingly.

We'll be using white acrilic paint, do not get it on your clothing.

Step by Step Procedure:

St

1. Choose a landscape, cityscape, or a seascape.
2. Choose a good reference image. This is critical to a successful project.
3. Don’t bite off more then you can chew! Sometimes less is more!
4. Roughly sketch out your image on grey "bogus" paper. Don't put in minor detail, just the basic shapes of objects.
5. Color Key the Image – Use light tints to show where the basic colors are located.
6. Start adding darker values.
7. Add Complimentary colors to give the image “pop” (simultaneous contrast)
8. Use darker colors in the foreground to create the illusion of depth. (atmospheric perspective)
9. Continue to add detail and layers of color.

This isn’t coloring, it’s painting! By developing layers of color we create depth in the image. 

Extraterrestrials

Are we alone in the universe or do creatures and beings live in the far reaches of the galaxy? What would these creatures look like? Would they have bodies like our own, or would they be reptilian or insectoid? How would they live? What type of character traits would they posses: evil, compassionate, hostile, or congenial? What would their home world be like? Would their culture be dominated by males or females of the species? Are there males and females? We can only guess and wait for visitors.

The Assignment

Draw what you think an extraterrestrial would look like. Use color markers, pencils or even crayon Consider physical characteristics, the habitat the being would live in and the culture it lives in. Write a paragraph describing each of the areas. (Minimum of three sentences.)

The inspiration for this assignment comes from Barlowe's Guide Extraterrestrials.

Mr. Boccini's Alien 2015

Equilonians

Physical Characteristics:
The Equilonians are a humanoid species that exhibit qualities of earth horses. They stand approximately 10 feet in size on strong legs supported by a large hoofs. Their bodies are covered in coarse brown hair. Males often have distinguishing white spots on their backs. Their tall alert ears warn them of danger. They take special pride in their long flowing manes. The males will spend hours preening their mane in order to attract eligible mates. Their long snouts encase large carnivorous teeth that allow them to quickly devour their prey.

Habitat:
Equilon is a planet in the Xenon Solar System. It's surface is covered in tall grasses that sustain the many small animals the Equilonians use for sustenance. Most life is centered around the huge plains near the planets equatorial region. Water is plentiful.

Culture:
The Equilonians are a nomadic people. They live in small herds that move across the vast plains following their food sources. They live in temporary huts made from thatching long grasses. Each "herd" is lead by a matriarch on whose council the herd depends. Small herds peacefully coexist and gather annually for the "Great Dividing" where young males are mated with females from other herds. This ensures genetic diversity and strong offspring.

Ex

Color Harmony and Repetition

1. Develop several simple 3x3 inch designs. The designs must be asymmetrical and have areas to place at least 3 different colors.  Your design should touch the edges of the square on at least two sides. Many people choose to create an image out of their initials.
2. Using a T-square and triangle, divide a piece of white oak tag into 16 3x3" squares.
3. Trace your design on a piece of tracing paper. Trace the same image on the back and use it as carbon paper to transfer your design on each of the 16 squares. Rotate or position each group of 4 squares to create different and unusual patterns. Use the four examples below.

Paint each group of four squares in a different color harmony.

• complimentary
• split-complimentary
• analogous
• triadic

Carry one color throughout the whole project.

Value Project

Exploded Action Figures

Value project using Analogous Colors

The work of Joseph Albers and his series Homage to the Square utilizes size gradations and value changes to create an optical illusion. Our Action Figures will incorporate the same ideas.

Vocabulary

• Value - the lightness or darkness of a hue. (color)
• Tint - Adding white to a hue.
• Shade - Adding black to a hue.
• Gradation - The progressive change of color and or shape within a composition.

Process

1. Trace a photograph of an active sports figure or an equivalent action image.
2. Transfer the outline of the image to a 12x18 inch piece of white oak tag.
3. Draw lines around the figure that make the spaces get wider as they go toward the edges. (See example at the top of page.)
4. Constrict the shapes in some places to add interest and variety.
5. Paint the spaces with progressive value changes, starting with a light value and working toward black. A sensation of vibration should develop.
6. make sure that you have a piece of newspaper under your project as you work.
7. Take only the amount of paint you need, no more or less.  Mix colors slowly. Start by adding small amounts of the darker color to the white. Then add more as needed.  Make sure that you finish a complet color before the period is over. It will be difficult to mix th same color again.
8. Clean Up!! Cardboard pallets and newspaper go in the trash. I will wash the brushes for you, but you are responsible to sponge off your table.
9. Place your wet work on the drying rack. Dry work should be placed in your folder.

Considerations

You must have 10 different values!

Consider using two complimentary colors.

Use your original image in the center of the composition.