Arresting Motion

Practical Observational Drawing Curriculum for 6th to 12th grade

Brighton Smith Studio Art Teacher, Great Hearts Academies

“The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life” -William Faulkner

Line and

Shape

Shape into form

Contour Line Drawing

Form and ValueDirect Light- Where is it coming from?Core Shadow- What is the darkest area on

the object?Reflective Light- What happens as the form turns away from us? Cast Shadow- How is it created? Do we need it? What would it look like without the cast shadow?

Multiple Solids

Complex solids / “REAL” objects

Hand Drawing

Folded Paper

Transition to Fabric

7th Grade Fabric Drawing 3 hours24x18 in

12th Grade Student 8th Grade Student

Transition from Objects to Figures

Have the students draw from the human skeleton as it is a still life object. Place a light on the skeleton and have students do a variety of different views of the skeleton.

THRUST and DIRECTION also called FORCE

GESTURE and FORCE

Building Anatomy

Anatomy for Drawing

Portraiture

Once students understand the “General to Specific” standard they can look at any object, any figure, any person’s face and depict a likeness with a faithful rendering of light and shadow.