From the Country to the City Perspective Drawing

Students discuss the elements of this picture that give it a feeling of depth.

The interactive PowerPoint tests students’ knowledge of vocabulary for the lesson.

Teacher Example

A diagram broken down step-by-step helps all learners learn the content, and is an effective classroom management tool.

Checklist for student self-assessment

This project includes built-in extensions such as drawing the dashes on the road in perspective; the setting can also be changed to driving west to the badlands, or from a moonscape to a space station.

Student Example #2

Student Example #3

Student Example #4

The premise of traveling from the country to the city invites a cross-curricular connection to students’ narrative writing.

Teacher: Michael Read

Class Length: 40 minutes

Grade: 5^th

Number of Classes: 5

From the Country to the City: Perspective Drawing

Objective:  Students will learn the technique and vocabulary to create a one-point perspective drawing based on examples of artists’ work and the narrative prompt: travelling from the country to the city.

Art S.O.L.:

5.10 – The student will use linear perspective in a work of art.

5.11 – The student will emphasize spatial relationships in works of art.

5.27 – The student will apply specific criteria to assess a finished product.

Cross-curricular S.O.L.:

6.7 The student will write narration, description, exposition, and persuasion

Vocabulary:

Horizon Line- The line that separates the earth from the sky and that is the same as the viewer’s eye level

Vanishing Point- A point in the distance on the horizon where lines appear to converge

Orthogonal- In a perspective system the lines that tell where an object is, in space, that is moving in the direction of or away from the viewer or perpendicular to the horizon line

City Skyline- The outline of a city on a horizon line

Narrative- A story or sequence of events

Foreground, Middle ground, and Background – The areas in a picture that are closest to the viewer, furthest away, and in between.  Objects that are closest will show the most detail and be the largest and also overlap objects that are behind them.  Also, the higher an object is drawn on the page, the farther away it will seem

Depth- The illusion of space in a drawing and the appearance of objects being close to the viewer and far away

2-Dimensional/3-Dimensional- 2-dimensional artworks look flat, and 3-dimensional art has the appearance of depth.  Different artists use both styles for different reasons

Perspective- Objects in the distance appear smaller and further away to the viewer than objects up close which appear larger

Cropping- Showing only a part of an object and leaving the rest outside the picture frame

Overlapping- A method of showing depth by having an object cover up a part of another

Background Information:

Linear perspective is a technique perfected during the Italian Renaissance to show depth in a picture.  Parallel lines that face the viewer appear to retreat toward a vanishing point that lies on the horizon line.  Objects that are close to the viewer appear larger and lower on the page, while those that are further away appear smaller and are higher on the page.  Diagonal lines called orthogonals trace back to an imaginary point, called the vanishing point, which can be situated by the artist anywhere on the horizon line.  Different techniques of perspective can involve multiple vanishing points.  These orthogonals serve as guides to determine the size of objects relative to one another in space.  This includes the parallel lines of a road as it appears to recede in space – perpendicular to the horizon line.

The development of perspective during the Italian Renaissance created the paradigm of painting as a window, because the experience of viewing it is that of looking through a window and seeing a world as the eye naturally perceives it.  Today, perspective is just one of many exciting options available to artists. It is also an opportunity for students to engage an interest in developing skills drawing realistically, as well as an example of one of the ways that visual art – in terms of foreground, middle ground, and background – is experienced in terms of a narrative.

Visuals:

Finished teacher example

Handouts of perspective examples

Half-way point teacher active demo

Images of city skylines

List of required elements

“Pearl Blossom Highway” David Hockney reproduction

Degas reproduction(s)

Materials:

Paper 11 ¼” x 14 ¼”

Drawing Pencils

Erasers

Colored Pencils

Sharpe Markers

Rulers

Procedure:

• Day 1: The teacher starts by introducing students to the narrative idea that they will be imagining they will be driving from the country to the city with an image via PowerPoint of a road receding in to the distance.
• The teacher will show students an image of David Hockney’s Pearl Blossom Highway, and remark what a cool work of art this is, it is actually a collage of photographs – lots of photographs put together, but it looks 3-D.  Before getting in to vocabulary, ask students to tell you some of the reasons why it looks 3-D (the road is leading our eye back in to the distance, we can see the mountains look very far away.  Tell them that because those mountains look very far away, we would say this image has a lot of depth, there are lots of places they could go into the picture – and would they agree?
•  On the next slide, overlap a city skyline onto the Hockney piece and create a perspective scene using trees, power line, car, and animal clip art.  Introduce students to the concept of a foreground middle ground and background, and ask them to point out to you the elements that are the closest.  Use animations in Power Point so that clicks to change the slide will trigger elements that are closest to exit the scene first, to confirm student right answers.  (This should be an exciting visual).
•   The next slide will show students vocabulary words they need to learn; including the horizon line, vanishing point, orthogonal, and overlap.  Go over with students the meaning of each.
• The last Power Point slide will show students the list of required elements for their finished drawing that will include:

1. A road

2. A city skyline

3. Trees, telephone poles, and other scenery

4. A sign that says where they’re going,

1. Two different kinds of animals
2. Something in the sky like a bird, a plane, or hot air balloon
3. A car parked on the side of the road
4. Something they add that is not on the list

 

• The teacher shows the students an example of a finished project
• The teacher will outline the expectations of the day to draw a horizon line, a road, and city skyline.  The teacher will point out the variety of the city skyline in the example and refer students to reference sheets at their tables.

 

• Students are called to the demonstration table, and the teacher will demonstrate using a ruler to draw with the edge flush to the side of the paper, a horizon line across roughly the center of the page.

 

• The teacher will make a vanishing point roughly in the middle of the page and using a ruler draw lines branching out in a “v” shape to the bottom edge to make the road.

 

• The teacher will begin drawing a city skyline before sending students to their seats to work on their own.  The teacher will monitor student progress reminding them of each step and providing them with assistance as needed.

 

Conclusion: The teacher will ask a student to repeat what a horizon line is.  The teacher will recap that today everyone should have a horizon line, city skyline, and road on their paper and the next time they will learn some more perspective techniques to draw the vertical elements around the road like telephone poles and trees

 

Day 2:

• The teacher will begin the class by showing students a new example of perspective in art.  The teacher will explain that today students will be using orthogonal lines above the horizon line to help them size and space vertical elements beside the road that will be the scenery and make up much of the middle ground of their drawing.
• At the demonstration table, show students how to construct a row of vertical elements using orthogonal lines.  In addition to correct size and space relationships, stress overlapping and include the idea of changing from trees in the country to telephone poles as they near their skyline.
• Tell students they should be able to draw all their scenery beside the road that day, and the next class they will work on cars and animals.

Conclusion: Ask students to explain for you what an orthogonal line is, and what it is used for.  Congratulate them on their work; ask them if their drawings are starting to look 3-D.

Day 3:

• Begin the class with a paper prepared on the board that shows the progress of students to date.  The day’s goal will be giving students strategies to draw things like animals and cars in profile, and to demonstrate to them techniques of scale, cropping, and positioning on the page to create a drawing that conveys a convincing experience of depth.  Consider using a such as vine charcoal that is easily erased and drawn back into over a permanent media, or draw with a white board marker over a projected image.  Vocabulary students should be concerned with are overlapping, and cropping.  Use examples of Degas’ artwork to show the powerful effect of cropping of objects in the foreground to create depth.
• Have the list of required elements for the students’ narrative posted and tell them they should have all of them in their picture by the end of class so they can start coloring the next time

Conclusion:

Ask students if they can tell you 3 techniques they can use to make an object appear larger or smaller in a perspective drawing – (cropping, overlapping, size, orthogonal, position on the page).  By now students should have included an item that was not on the list -ask them what it is.

Day 4:

• Begin class with David Hockney’s “Pearl Blossom Highway” projected.  Use the opportunity to talk about the light colors in the piece -the light colors of the sky and the road.  Point out the many different shades of blue of the sky.  Explain to students that they should be finished drawing and will be coloring today with colored pencils, and since they spent all that time drawing they will want to color carefully, and it would be a good idea to color lightly to preserve the lines of their drawing.
• Demonstrate for students coloring building and sky and some foreground elements.  Show them how to use lighter pressure and color for areas that are further away and darker for those that are closer.
• If students finish coloring that day collect their work and review the vocabulary and congratulate them on all their hard work.  Monitor student progress, depending how the drawings are turning out consider whether outlining with Sharpe maker would be appropriate.

 

Day 5

• Start the day with a street drawn in one-point perspective.  Have students fill in the appropriate vocabulary words for the vanishing point, orthogonal, horizon line, and overlapping.  Ask a student to tell you what the story or narrative of the drawings they are doing is.
• After the review of terms and theme, get students to their seats to finish coloring and outlining on their last day of work on their country to city perspective skyline drawings.

 

Conclusion:

• Host a critique where students say something that they like about each other’s work, and why, using vocabulary they learned.