Hand drawing with text

Reprinted from the web by Dave Haines, Grafton High, Grafton, West Virginia
Unit: Contour Drawing - Art with Text
Lesson Plan: Contour Hand Gestures with text
Grade Level: High School (adaptable to middle school)
Alternate Lesson: Hand with sign language

 
Examples are 18 inch square with drawing 16" square

Objectives: Students will

  • draw hands from close observation
  • develop 3-D volume with cross contours
  • work with blind and semi-blind contour drawing
  • create a composition that works for all directions - combined with text - emphasizing design principles of balance, contrast and repetition
  • appreciate use of hand gestures in art to show emotion - symbolism

Materials:

handouts of various fonts
newsprint, pencils, erasers
Seral transfer paper
Canson drawing paper (or other fade resistant colored paper)
Tempera paints, brushes
Ultra fine point Sharpies

Vocabulary:

Symbolism, gesture, contour, cross contour, blind contour, semi-blind contour, fonts, serif, san serif, book, Old English, gothic, Roman (etc).  Balance, repetition, contrast, variety, positive/negative space, figure/ground

Resources:

Lettering books and computer fonts (many web resources are available for fonts)

Hands online lesson http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/hands.htm

Preparation:

Look through an art history book for paintings that show the hands. Scan in the paintings - then blow up the section that shows the hands. Find examples through the course of art history (from all time periods). Put these images into a PowerPoint. Look up symbolism of hands. Address hands as a symbol of protection and a sign of identity.

 

Procedures:

  1. Develop good 3-D quality contour drawings of 5 different hand poses you can use the blind and contour drawings we did a few weeks ago.  We do these on newsprint and go through the stages of blind contour, continuous line and modified contours. 
  2. The five best drawings are assembled onto a newsprint 'working drawing' composition (cut out newsprint drawings close to the contour of hands and arrange - tape in place when satisfied). Wrists should run off edge of paper - fingers touch - connect or overlap. A goal of this arrangement is to break up the background space into
    interesting negative shapes that are fairly evenly balanced.      Note: contour drawings can be enlarged slightly larger than life with photocopier.
  3. Letters (student name or initials) are developed from various font resources (lettering books, etc.)....These are added to the negative space. Students make patterns to trace. Letters can overlap and go beneath the hands; also run partial letters off of the edge of the format around the composition.
  4. This composition is transferred onto tracing paper in pencil  and then transferred to a board
  5. Color is painted with tempera (the negative spaces and letters) by mixing colors that provide a nice contrast with the chosen paper color. Two coats may be necessary for negative space background. Use a thinned paint to cut in close to hands - for sharper edges. Mix about 1/3 jar of color in a baby food jar for negative space background color.
  6. Once completed, outlining is done with fine point Sharpie.

(note: no obscene gestures permitted)

Evaluation: Did students

  1. Show understanding of importance of hand gestures through personal research?
  2. Demonstrate skill in observational drawing by drawing a minimum of five contour hand studies - showing volume through cross contours.
  3. Show understanding of principles of design in completing composition.
  4. Demonstrate craftsmanship in painting

Sample Rubric (adapted from Marianne Galyk)

Assessment Rubric

Student Name:

            

Class Period:

Assignment:

Date Completed:

Circle the number in pencil that best shows how well you feel that you completed that criterion for the assignment.

Excellent

Good

Average

Needs Improvement

Rate Yourself

Teacher’s Rating

Criteria 1 – Developed five contour hand studies with cross contours to show volume

4

3

2

1

 

 

Criteria 2 – Arranged hands in a well balanced composition - with expressive qualities.

4

3

2

1

 

 

Criteria 3 –  Designed letters to enhance composition and add meaning - selected colors for variety and emphasis/contrast.

4

3

2

1

 

 

Criteria 4 – Effort: took time to develop idea & complete project? (Didn’t rush.) Good use of class time?

4

3

2

1

 

 

Criteria 5 – Craftsmanship – Neat, clean & complete? Skillful use of the art tools & media?

4

3

2

1

 

 

Total Possible: 20

 

 

 

 

YOUR TOTAL

Grade

Student comments: