Creative Sketching

Objective

Students will understand the fundamentals of building drawings, including perspective, architectural elements, and scale. They will create their own sketches applying these principles.

Curriculum Area

Visual Arts - High School (Grades 9-12)

Level

Proficient (Grade 11, 4th Form)

Standards

• VA:Cr1.2.HSII: Shape an artistic investigation of an aspect of present-day life using a contemporary practice of art or design.
• VA:Cr2.1.HSII: Through experimentation, practice, and persistence, demonstrate acquisition of skills and knowledge in a chosen art form.
• VA:Cr3.1.HSII: Apply relevant criteria to examine, reflect on, and plan revisions for works of art and design in progress.

Materials

• Sketchbooks (one per student)
• Pencils (2H, HB, 2B)
• Erasers
• Rulers
• Printed handouts of building blueprints
• Projector and computer for presentation

Lesson Breakdown

Introduction (5 minutes)

• Objective Overview: Explain to students the focus of today’s lesson: the basics of building drawings and translating those elements into their creative sketches.
• Warm-up Discussion: Ask students to share what they know about building drawings. Highlight terms like perspective, architectural elements, and scale.

Presentation (15 minutes)

• Perspective Drawing:
  • Explain one-point, two-point, and three-point perspective.
  • Show examples using slides.
  • Demonstrate drawing a simple structure in each perspective on the board.
• Architectural Elements:
  • Discuss key architectural elements like windows, doors, columns, and roofs using examples.
• Scale and Proportion:
  • Describe the importance of scale.
  • Explain how to use a ruler to maintain proportion in drawings.

Practice (15 minutes)

• Guided Drawing:
  • Hand out small building blueprints.
  • Ask students to pick a blueprint and start drawing it in their sketchbooks using the principles discussed.
  • Walk around the room offering assistance and ensuring students are on track.

Activity (25 minutes)

• Creative Exercise:
  • Instruct students to imagine an original building.
  • Have them sketch a one-point perspective drawing of their building, ensuring to include at least three architectural elements discussed.
  • Encourage creativity and personal expression while maintaining structural integrity.
  • Remind students to use rulers for scale and proportion.

Review and Feedback (5 minutes)

• Peer Review:
  • Pair up students to review each other's work.
  • Ask pairs to provide constructive feedback focusing on perspective, architectural elements, and scale.

Reflection (5 minutes)

• Class Discussion:
  • Have a few students share their sketches and the challenges they faced.
  • Discuss as a class what they learned and what they might try differently next time.

Conclusion (5 minutes)

• Wrap-up:
  • Recap key points: perspective types, architectural elements, and scale importance.
  • Assign homework: Complete the unfinished drawing and create a small description of their building design.

Assessment

• Continuous Observation: Throughout the class, assess students on their engagement and ability to apply the discussed principles.
• Completed Sketch: Evaluate the final sketch for understanding of perspective, inclusion of architectural elements, and appropriate scale use.
• Peer Review: Listen to feedback provided during peer review sessions to gauge comprehension.

Extensions

• Digital Sketching: Introduce basic digital sketching tools in a future lesson for creating building designs.
• Field Trip: Plan a visit to a landmark building for students to practice sketching from real-life structures.

By the end of this lesson, students should have a better grasp of building drawing fundamentals and feel confident in their ability to translate these principles into creative sketches.