Line Designs with Shading
- White paper
- Black “F” Sharpies
- Colored pencils
Directions:
1. Draw a curvy line across your paper.
2. Make about 8 dots, unevenly spaced, on your line.
3. Next, connect the dots with curved lines. (The lines from the dots at each end should go off the paper, rather than curve back down to the line.)
4. Then, from each of these curved lines, build up a “column” of more curved lines (or “rings”), stacked on top of each other. Build one complete column at a time across the top half of your paper. If your columns start to slant or get smaller or larger, all the better! We found it easiest to develop every other one, and then connect the spaces in between. (When you fill in these “in-between” columns, make sure that each successive “ring” that you add connects at its ends to the ring below it.)
5. When the top half of your paper is finished, spin your paper around and repeat steps 3 and 4 until your entire paper is filled and all your columns are connected.
6. Finally, choose a color scheme (I chose “color families”, above) and color each of your columns, pressing harder on each side and lighter in the middle, to give it more of a 3D look!
My students had fun brainstorming possible names for the “column-like things” in these drawings…. they came up with names like “tornadoes”, “arms”, “roots”, “Dr. Seuss towers”, and “chubby caterpillars”! So, what would YOU call them???
Looks great! :) Glad the kids love it!!!!!
These look wonderful- I had a go myself inside a circle- looks great too. Very addictive!! Thanks for sharing!
Jenny Kay
harika çal??malar ve harika payla??m…
Te?ekkürler, Alanay!
I like your circle idea, Jenny Kay! I'll have to try that!!
i am soooo trying this with my students next yr!
My bilingual fifth graders are STILL working on this project. . . you should see how long we've just been working on the shading concept. The thing is they love to start things. . .hate to finish them so I've been rewarding anyone who sticks with it and finishes their shading. . . lame I know! But it's the last few weeks. It would totally go over well with another class I'm sure. I hope they feel proud when they see what they've created. . . we'll see.
Hang in there, Art Project Girl! I'm sure your students will be proud of their finished projects! None of my students finished in one (50 min.) class, either. But most were motivated to finish it on their own, since that was our last art class for the year. I think their classroom teachers were happy for them to have a quiet activity (shading their drawings) they could keep in their desks and pull out as they finished other stuff!
I'm with Lori – I definitely want to do this next year – it's already bookmarked.
K-Sue of
http://k-sue-smarties.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the moral support! I won't let them abandon this because at this point I think they need to feel pride in finishing:) I'm usually not a stickler but. . . It is artWORK not art recess right?
Hahaha! I love that, Art Project Girl!! I will have to remember that quote next year for my students… “It is artWORK not art recess right?” Brilliant!! :)
So cool! I'm going to get my own kids to try these this summer.
Hello, I am Lynda, an art teacher from Australia. i have just had a good look around your blog and feel very inspired by it. So, I am now following. I hope you can visit my blog too and see some of the things I do with my boys. By the way have you done any Chinese artworks with you classes?
Hi Lynda! I enjoyed looking around your blog, too! I found some great ideas I'll definitely be trying out! As for projects inspired by China, I have two right now: http://teachkidsart.blogspot.com/search/label/China
Stay tuned for more to come!!
I had all three of my kids try this last week- my 11 year old loved it the most and finished but even my 6 year old tried his hand at it. I saw tubular critters in the design and added eyeballs which made it a whole different creation. Thank you for sharing! Let me know if there is a way I can share their work with you…
Love this and I want to try it myself. I have a degree in Art Ed, but I am a stay at home mom and photographer. I love these ideas for my kids. I gave your blog an award on my artblog today. GO check it out!
Christine, I would LOVE to see your kids' work!! You can email me at cbtrowbridge[at]gmail[dot]com. And Danett, I enjoyed looking through your blog – what a beautiful family! So glad you can share the joy of art with them!! :)
were you all talkin turkey up there?? I lived in Istanbul for a summer…loved it!!
Haha – yes, Mr. E.! Thanks to Google translator!! :)
We made these at a Music Theatre Summer Camp, the kids loved them!!! thanks!
I will have my kids work on these next week! Can't wait to share their creations with you. I picked up your email address from a few comments up. :)
Your blog is so well organized and VERY inspiring!! Thank you for sharing your ideas and talent!
Monica
Great stuff. Gonna try it!
Doing this tonight with my new art students, just trying it myself and it's fun! I say they look like stripy socks. Thanks for a great blog. Blessings. x
Hi Cheryl,
Really enjoyed doing this my Gr. 6-7 students (and doing it myself). I appreciate your excellent directions, too. Here are the results of our efforts (and your teaching!) on
our class blog.
Thanks again for sharing so generously,
Jan
Jan, your students did a great job! Thanks for sharing!!
Saw this on Mr. E's blog after finding it on Pinterest (LOVE!). I teach Middle School Art and the students love/hate this project. They love the way it looks and how complicated it SEEMS, but I have them do it on a large scale, as an extra credit assignment to work on whenever they finish their current project. IT's very time consuming, which is great because it keeps them busy for a long time. They refer to it as the “Tornado” drawing, or “worms” or even “tornado worms”. Love your blog btw!
I really like this for my 5th graders who work on 3d looks all year. I call it “Giant Snails and Dragon Tails.”
I love that name, Stephanie! Great idea!!
i think they should be call stalagmites (for the ones that go up) and stalactites (for the ones that go down) after the rock formations that form one “drip” at a time. these are formed similarly – one line at a time :)
Good idea, Kim!
This is so cool I did it with my fith grade class this week.
That’s awesome, Colin! I’m glad it was a hit with your students!