An assignment I half stole borrowed from Pinterest in a panic, trying to find something to fill in the gap for an assignment on color and value that the kids had done (mistakenly!!) last year. The only source I could find was in a language that uses the Cyrillic alphabet, so I have no idea about the origins.
Kids pick out a sneaker of choice (they were VERY excited about this), render part of it with only graphite pencils, and then use markers to color in the rest:
The assignment every one of my scholars dreads (I would have too, if I had to do a self-portrait in 8th grade), and yet the one they usually end up most proud of. This is one of the rare assignments where I allow my students to trace (if desired), but depending on your philosophy or skill level, you do not have to follow this.
Below is the teacher example I made, featuring my late hamster, Gogurt (yes, I brought her to work with me a few times). This project combines the previous two in this unit (Comic Strip and Celebrity Half-Portrait), and is meant to help students see that there are many ways the human body can tell a story.
Another assignment passed down from the art teacher before me.
The emphasis for students in this assignment is COLOR, value, texture, and shape. They select a colorful background/backdrop/environment from an animated (preferred) television show or movie they like (minimal characters/figures unless they want a challenge) and replicate it using pointillism in the medium of oil pastels. Concept Art is also very acceptable.
In my experience, unless there's proper preparation (in IB education, we call them Formatives), this is a very frustrating assignment for students. Especially if they are impatient or are not good with menial tasks. It's a lesson in patience and finding one's zen. Below, you'll find examples of past students' work as well as the training/pre-work that I recommend in order to have a successful result.
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| One of the best ones done last semester (Fall 2023). Look at that optical mixing!! |
An assignment passed down from the art teacher who came before me (she resigned half-way through the year I was hired, those 8th graders were rough), which was adapted from an art assignment she found online. I do not know her source, but after some digging, I believe it can be located here. I, myself, have made my own alternations to the assignment, namely going over the element of art, Space, in much more detail before starting.
The idea is for kids to understand depth and how to render it on a 2D surface.
An inherited project from the previous art teacher that I try deeply to enrich and align with IB... And yet it still feels too simple and ...
