Op art line design 2: garlic cloves!

You need:

1. white drawing sheet A5 size
2. fine marker
3. coloured paper for background

Draw little dots on the sheet and link them together with curved lines. Draw more and more lines, following the first one. Looks like garlic cloves!

Op art line design

With colour pencils

All credits for this lesson are for Mr. Ted Edinger. He has a good description of this lesson on his artblog, so I need only to display the results of my students. You need:

1. drawing sheet A5 size
2. colour pencils
3. black fine marker

Please look at Art with Mr. E. for the full description of this lesson and a step by step guide to get these beautiful results!

Drawn and coloured with markers, by a student of 12 years old

Poppies in the wind

You need:

1. white drawing paper A4 size
2. tempera paint
3. puppies or pictures of puppies
4. brushes

Poppies are particularly in the United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S. symbol of the First World War because they flourished exuberantly on the battlefields of Flanders. In the famous poem 'In Flanders Fields' those poppies are mentioned. At the English National Remembrance Day, poppy wreaths are laid by the queen. Not real ones actually, because poppy petals fall very quickly. Poppies in the Netherlands have no symbolic value, but they are very nice to paint! View the brought poppies or pictures of them. Discuss the features of the flower: delicate satiny petals and a dark heart that shines through the petals. Because the flowers are very light, you see them always sway in the wind. Students paint some poppies on the upper half of their sheet. Paint the steels with black paint. Draw a frame with a red pencil about 1 cm from the edge. Paste the artwork on a black background.

Artwork made by students of 9-10 years old

A day at the beach

Made by students of 12 years old

You need:

1. white drawing paper A3 size
2. markers, aquarelle pencils or colour pencils
3. water paint
4. glue
5. coloured paper for background
6. brushes
7. jar with water

I'm going to the beach and I take …… Children draw themselves on a beach towel. On the towel are also the things that they are carrying when they go to the beach: sunblock, an Ipod, a book or magazin, a ball, a can of soda etc. The towel has bright colors and is recognizable for the person on it. Start colouring with the face and body. Use waterpaint or watercolour pencils to be sure to get a good skin colour. Colour the rest of the drawing with colour pencils (press firmly)or markers to make a colourful sunny artwork.

Connected fish

You need:

1. drawing paper A4 size
2. colour pencils
3. black fine maker
4. waterpaint
5. brushes

This task seemed easier than it was ... :) Draw some simple fish, consisting of only a body and tail. See example. Some fish must overlap. Then the contour lines of the fish have to be widened to one cm. Draw and erase the overlapping fish to make the lines go up and down. Colour the contour lines firmly and colour the inside of the fish lightly with the same colour. Draw patterns with a fineliner. Paint the background with dilluted waterpaint. You may also cut out the fish. Create a sea landscape on a blue sheet and paste the fish between water plants.

Made by students of 11 years old

Butterflies like Peter Callesen

You need:

1. white copypaper (80 grams) A4 size
2. coloured paper for background
3. pencil
4. cutter
5. cutting mat
6. glue

Peter Callesen (born in 1967) is a Danish artists who cuts artworks out of simple white sheets of copypaper. He uses the two-dimensional paper with three-dimensional shapes. This 3D shapes pop up from the sheet of or fall out. He doesn't add anything, just uses the plain sheet. The three-dimensional figures who seem to appear, are made from the same background.

Look at pictures of Callesen's work on his website www.petercallesen.com and discuss them with the students. See especially the work 'Hunting', on which you see a butterfly and a spider popping up from the paper. Discuss how this butterfly is attached to the background. Are there other possibilities for the butterfly to come out of the paper? The body may be stuck, but also part of a wing. By using different ways, you get variety in your work.

Detail: butterfly whose body still stuck.

The children scetch a small number of butterflies on their white sheet. Let them not draw intricate wings, because the animals must be cut out and that is hard enough! put double lines on the places that are not to be cut. Choose different options for the butterflies: let the body be stuck, or the the lower wings.

Cut the paper butterflies carefully. Take care that your specified 'fixed' parts are not to be cut. Paste the work on a coloured background, but do not glue behind the butterfly. Fold the butterfly wings something up, to be sure they are free of the paper and the background is clearly visible.

Made by a student of 11 years old

Op art in complementary colours

You need:

1. drawing paper 14 by 14 cm
2. ruler
3. pencil
4. piece of cardboard, 6 by cm
5. markers
6. black paper for background
7. scissors
8. glue

Check during the introduction of this lesson what students already know about primary and secundary colours. What are the primary colours? How do you make secondary colours out of them?

Show a picture of the colour circle and tell about complementary colours: the colours who are opposite to eachother in the colour circle. Blue and orange, yellow and purple, greed and red.

Divide the drawing sheet in four squares of 7 by 7 cm. Cut a shape from a piece of cardboard and trace it four times in the squares. Draw vertical lines with a pencil with 1 cm between them. Colour the shapes and backgrounds like a checkerboard with complementary colours and one in black and white. Cut the squares and paste them on a black sheet.

Colourful chicken

Made by Danjel, 12 years old

You need:

1. drawing paper A3 size
2. oil pastel
3. tempera
4. brushes
5. coloured paper for background

Children draw a horizon line on their paper. Then they draw a big chicken, partly below the horizon. They have to colour it with oil pastels in bright colours. Paint the background with diluted tempera paint.

Comic strip hero

You need:

1. picture of a comic hero on A6 size
2. drawing paper A3 size
3. ruler
4. pencil
5. markers or colour pencils
6. scissors and glue
7. coloured paper for background

Ask kids to bring a picture of their favorite comic strip hero. Bring it back or enlarge it to A6 size on a copier. Create a 1 cm on the picture using a ruler and a pencil. Number each square starting across the top from the left corner.

Draw a 2 cm grid on the large drawing sheet. Number in the same fashion all the squares. Begin drawing the line created by the picture in each square. Sometimes it helps to go over the outline of the head with a pencil so you can see the line clearly. As you do this the head will begin to show up as an exact copy of the picture. Finish the drawing this way. Use colour pencils or markers to colour it. Outline everything with a black marker.

All works are made by children of 10-11 years old

Dutch flower bulb fields

You need:

1. white drawing sheet from 20 by 10 cm
2. markers
3. fine black marker
4. ruler
5. pencil

Situated less than 30 miles from Amsterdam, the town of Lisse is widely regarded as the center of Holland's bulb district. Each spring, the area's sandy coastal plain becomes a sprawling blanket of fantastic color as millions of Dutch tulip, hyacinth and daffodil bulbs emerge in perfect rows. Show the kids pictures of these fields like these. Google on 'bollenveld'.

Draw a horzion line about 2 cm from the upper edge. Put a dot in the middle of this line, the vanishing point. Draw lines from the bottom and sides towards that vanishing point. Colour the bulb fields with bright colours. Colour walkways between the bulb fields. Colour the sky. Draw with a black fineliner some buildings on the horizon, like farms, windmills etc.

Hidden butterflies

You need:

1. white drawing paper A4 size tempera paint
2. brushes jar with water
3. paper towels
4. glue
5. scissors

Divide the paper with small stripes in different sections. Colour the sections with mixed colours using two different colours tempera and white. In the example is chosen for red and blue and white, resulting in different tints of purple and pink. Do not dilute the paint, to be sure to get bright colours.

Fold a second drawing sheet and draw one or more butterflies against the fold. Cut these butterflies. Paint them in the same colours as the background, leaving an edge from 1 cm white. When dry, paint white stripes around the body of the butterfly and around the decorations.

Paste the background on a larger piece of white paper. Then paste the butterflies. Paste only the body and fold the wings a bit up for a 3d effect.

Made by children of 10 years old

Doodle for Google: I love football!

You need:

1. Google logo
2. colour pencils
3. markers

2010 is the year of the World Championship Football in South-Africa. So the Doodle for this year has to be a doodle for football lovers. Several countries, including the Netherlands, can send in their doodles. Price: a trip to South Africa and your doodle for 24 hours on Google sites of participating countries. That's a price all our students wanted to win! Here a few results.

Doodles are made by children of 10-12 years old

Hairstyle

You need:

1. drawing paper A4 size
2. indian ink
3. dip pen
4. drawing board
5. black construction paper

Ask children a day before you want to do this lesson, to do something special with their hair. For girls this might be easy, they can braid their hair, make a ponytail or use accessoires. But boys too can style their hair in different shapes, just using gel! In preparation for this lesson kids have to practice drawing with indian ink and a dip pen.

Children have to draw the back of another child. To organize this, they all have to sit in a row around a big table. On this table you put the indian ink bottles. For children who are lefthanded, place some stools besides them to put on their bottle of ink. See schedule.

Give all students a drawing board, drawing sheet and a dip pen. Tell them to draw the back of the classmate in front of him/her. It is important not to draw a contour line of the head, but make this contour out of as many hairs as you can!

This drawing has to be finished in one lesson, because of the fancy hairstyles! When finished, paste the artworks on a black background. Write with silver marker the artist and the name of the person who's hair is drawn.

All drawings are made by children of 10-11 years old

Special skeletons?

Made by children of 10-11 years old

You need:

1. white copy paper A4 size
2. black construction paper A4 size
3. cutter
4. cutting mat
5. glue
6. scissors

Fold the paper in half lengthways. Write your name in bubbly letters against the fold. Then cut carefully around the outsides of the name. Keep the paper folded at all times. Use a cutter for the negative areas. When finished, unfold the paper to reveal the name in reverse. Paste the name on a black paper. Dan knippen ze de naam uit - pas op dat je de vouw niet doorknipt--, vouwen de dubbele naam open en plakken deze op een zwart vel papier. Turn the sheet a quarter. What do you see? A special skeleton? You name in Chinese? Or an alien?

Turning around with circles, like Sonia Delaunay

You need:

1. white drawing sheet, cut at 21 cm by 21 cm
2. markers or colour pencils
3. coloured paper for background
4. compass
5. glue

Sonia Delaunay (Gradizhsk,1885 – Paris, 1979) was an Ukrainian-French painter, married to srtist Robert Delaunay. Her work includes paintings, textile design and stage design. In her work she used bright colors, obtained by the reflection of a prism or streetlights. This pure colours and shapes have an innovative impact, but especially an emotional power in itself. In her life she has experimented with many styles, including Orphism, cubism and abstract art. (Wikipedia).

All kids get a square drawing sheet of 21 by 21 cm. On this sheet they draw concentric circles with a compass. The eyes of the circles always have to be at the edge of the sheet. The circles are coloured with markers of colour pencils in maximum 5 colours.

When ready, cut the drawing in four squares of 10,5 by 10,5 cm. By rotating the four parts, a beautiful composition can be made. Paste those four pieces on a coloured background, leaving 1,5 cm between the squares.

All artworks are made by children of 10-11 years old

People like Joan Miró

You need:

1. drawing paper A4 size
2. markers
3. black waterproof marker
4. coloured paper for background
5. glue

Joan Miró's (Spain, 1893-1983) work contains paintings, sculptures, textile works and theatre. His paintings contain many playful and colourful organic forms. in his work you'll see basic colours as blue, green, red, black and yellow. The bright coloured surfaces are bordered or crossed by black lines. The unrealistic shapes, bright colours and lines resemble the work of children. Recurring themes are heavenly bodies and ladders. Many of the images in his paintings have eyes. In this way the work looks for direct eye contact with the one who looks at it.

Show several works of Miro on the digital board. Discuss the striking things: bright colours, many eyes, forms are bordered or crossed with black lines, different lines, different forms.

Tell the students about the difference between geometric forms (forms of mathematics, such as square, circle, triangle, etc) and organic forms (natural forms, free forms) and draw examples of them on the digital board. Discuss different line types and draw them on the board too.

The task is: draw an animal or a human being with waterproof black marker. Don't sketch first, draw directly with the marker! Your figure should consist of organic and / or geometric shapes. Divide large fields in forms or make them smaller with different lines. Colour your drawing with bright colours. Decorate the background with lines, shapes and coloured eyes. Paste the work finally on a coloured background.

All works are made by children of 10-11 years old

Printed nameplate

By Anne, 10 years old

You need:

1. one piece of linoleum from 14 x 14 cm
2. drawing paper
3. lino knives
4. mat
5. block printing ink
6. flat piece of glass
7. linoleum roller
8. lino press

Children draw their name in mirror image on the linoleum. They draw something of their own choice, or decorate their name. Use lino knives in different sizes to cut away the background and lines in their drawing if necessary. Shake the bottle of blockprint carefully to be sure oil will mix with the rest. Drip the paint on the glass and roll it out with the lino roller. Make several prints of your work. Choose the best one to be your artwork.

Symmetrical flowers

You need:

1. transparent drying hobby glue
2. liquid watercolour
3. brushes
4. white cardboard cut in squares of 20 by 20 cm

After a short explanation about symmetry, students draw a symmetrical fantasy flower on their cardboard. When ready, the lines have to be traced with glue. After drying (take a day for this), the several flower parts are painted with liquid watercolour. The glue will resist watercolour.

Foodscape, like Carl Warner

You need:

1. drawing paper A3 size
2. (food) magazines
3. scissors
4. glue

The English photographer Carl Warner (click on this link and amaze yoourself!') is known for his terrific photos of landscapes who are made of food. Warner is born in Liverpool in 1963. He draws from childhood, creating imaginary worlds inspired on the artwork of Salvador Dali, Patrick Woodroofe and Roger Dean. Warner went to art academy to become an illustrator, but he realized soon that he could achieve his ideas better and faster by using photography. First he photographed landscapes, still lifes and people. Then he entered the world of advertising. He now designs and photographs food landscapes ('foodscapes') for companies in the food industry.

The ‘Foodscapes’ are made in Warner's studio in London. Warner works together with a stylist to search for the right food and to make the exposure and composition of the stuff. He works with layers, from background to foreground. Each element is then put together in post production to achieve the final image. “I tend to draw a very conventional landscape using classic compositional techniques as I need to fool the viewer into thinking it is a real scene at first glance, it is the realisation that the scene is in fact made of food that brings a smile that brings a smile to the viewer, and for me that’s the best part.”

Show several photo's of Warner's foodscapes on the digital board. Discuss those photo's: what do you see? What food do you recognize? Look especially to the photo with the rising sun: what food is used to suggest the sea? How come we sea salmon as the sea? What is the beach made of? And the mountains? After this children are going to make their own foodscape in the style of Carl Warner. Thye search for food in magazines and cut it out. Encourage children to consult each other. Sometimes you don't see anything special in a photograph, while your neighbour sees an interesting part of a landscape! Place the cut out parts on the sheet and slide it until you are satisfied and then paste all parts.

All work is made by students of 11-12 years old

A view from a porthole

Made by Selin, 8 years old

You need:

1. drawing sheet A4 size
2. black construction paper
3. markers
4. compass
5. glue

Imagine you're in a submarine and you look through the portholes... What do you see? Draw this under water scene and colour it with markers. Outline everything with a black marker. Choose the best part of the drawing and draw a circle of 15 cm around it. Cut this out. Draw circle of 17 cm on the black sheet and cut it out. Paste the drawing on the black circle. Use a silver marker to make the srews around the drawing.