8th Graders! I will be checking sketchbooks the week of: Oct13-17. You
need FIVE sketches. Each is worth 20 points. Thank you!
You need to do at least one sketch per week in your sketch book. This should
take between 45- and 60 minutes to do because the purpose of a sketch book is
to make you look harder at things, use your imagination, and explore ideas
and
techniques that interest, challenge, and stimulate you. You will find that
practice does indeed pay off and your confidence in your abilities will
increase proportionally to the amount of effort and care you put into your
work. Full shading is expected, as are details. Use of colored pencils or
other materials like pen and ink or your own favorites are fine ! This is
your
place to experiment and grow ! Remember- you're only limited by your own
imagination
Sketchbook Assignments:
Draw a portrait using light and shadow- place the light from different angles
than "normal" -under the chin, behind the head, in front of the face.
Study your feet and shoes. Draw them in different positions and from
different
angles and views.
Draw studies of your hands. Try a variety of positions or overlapping them.
Draw a figure in an environment from your observation- in motion, and
standing
still.
Draw in imaginary place- remember to show rich details.
Do a self portrait. This can be full body view or face only. Accuracy !!
Gesture drawings of people, things, or animals in motion.
Contour line drawings of figures or objects.
Draw several studies of your eyes, nose, and mouth in a variety of positions
and poses.
Focus on drapery and pattern: a shirt over a chair, a sheet around a
banister,
etc.
Draw everything you can see from where you are positioned: this can be from
imagination, like if you were in a hot air balloon, ant sized, etc.
Draw a man made object.
Draw a metallic object and everything you see in it.
Draw or design any kind of vehicle.
Draw an object of interest from 3 different views.
Draw using 2 point perspective.
Draw the inside of a mechanical object.
Filling the page with them, overlap two dimensional forms and pick a
direction
for the light to hit them from. Shade accordingly.
Draw your reflection in any shiny surfaced object.
Draw a landscape from observation. Remember to show foreground, middle
ground,
and background.
Draw your home and what's around it.
Draw family members with things that they cherish.
Draw the interior of your room and what's in it- from wherever you're
sitting:
on floor, up on bed, from ceiling looking down.
Study the forms, shapes, lines and textures and colors of trees.
Draw animals from life ( if you can't see them live, copy them from a
reference book.)
Draw a plant with as much detail as possible using line contour and line
variation.
Arrange a still life and draw it with shading.
Draw bottles and cans- have the cans crunched up for lots of detail and
contrast to the bottles' smoothness.
Draw dishes in a drainer, with shading.
Create a fantasy building and landscape.
Create a series of positive and negative space designs.
Draw a piece of furniture and use color to show the textures and shadows.
Draw a still life with one to three pieces of patterned cloth in it. Show
color and patterns.
Focus on textures in a drawing.
Using color (no black) and light (white) create a Impressionist style
landscape drawing- remembering to optically mix colors by placing compliments
next to each other.
Transform an object from a realistic view to a Cubist representation (using
several different view points within the same frame) in a progression of 4
steps.
Draw yourself using a strong light on one side or angle of your face,
focusing
on the shapes of the shadows of your facial features- excellent shading
practice.
Try several studies of DRAPERY- a towel, shirt, or blanket draped around or
on
another object to create lots of wrinkles; focusing on shapes of folds and
creases and the shadows that are created by them.
Advanced drapery- try the same exercise with a patterned cloth in color.
Take out a library book on any artist of your choosing and duplicate their
art
work. Please make a Xerox copy of it for my reference.
Create a series of drawings of people in motion- playing sports; doing
housework; etc. Try to overlap several views of the action as it progresses-
use light sketchy lines; it will help.
Draw from imagination with as much rich detail as possible- if you were
awakened by a crash in the middle of the night; what would it be from ??
Draw yourself 50 years from now; including your surroundings, possessions,
etc.
Illustrate a favorite story of yours told by a grandparent; uncle, or other
relative.
Design a CD cover for a musical group (school appropriate please!)
Draw your greatest fear; your biggest hope; or your dream for your future.
Draw a series of animals in motion.
bookmarks for the school library
- junk food with wrapper
- part of a vehicle
- instead of a hand... your foot ( no socks or shoe)
- something not pretty
- an interior of something
- inside of closet
- 3 unlikely objects together
- your Mother's or Father's Brother/Sister choice
- part of any object ( mystery draw)
- a scene that depicts peace
* Illustrate your favorite poem
* Draw the contents of a trash can
* Drawing of a house plant (real or artificial)
* Draw an object with a surface texture.
* Draw tools used in certain professions
* Draw a tennis shoe
* draw a grouping of leaves
* Draw something you might find in a department store display
* Draw a large jar and fill it up with something (candy, toys,
rock, etc)
* Design a school desk
* Draw your favorite snack food
* Draw an object melting
* Draw a bowl of fruit, shade it.
* Draw hands holding something
* Draw a mechanical object
* word picture: select a word that bring to mind a mental picture,
Draw the word as the shape of the object. such as the word
apple in the shape of an apple, or apples spelling out the word.
* Draw popcorn
* Keyhole: what would you see through a key hole
1. Draw the inside of your closet
2. Draw the contents of your desk drawer
3. Just before your mom, dad, or housekeeper cleans your room, draw it
4. Draw the contents of your refrigerator
5. Draw the contents of your medicine chest
6. Draw the contents of your garage
7. Draw your dad’s work table after he’s worked on a project
8. Before the dishes are washed, draw them
9. Draw a pile of laundry waiting to get washed
10. If you have an octopus for a furnace, draw it
11. Draw a pile of bicycles on the sidewalk
12. Draw the guests at your parents dinner party
13. Draw yourself in a mirror
14. Draw yourself brushing your teeth
15. Draw your brother/sister practicing his/her instrument
16. Draw your friend shooting hoops in the driveway
17. Draw yourself painting your toenails (if you do)
18. Draw your hand in multiple positions
19. Draw your hand holding a variety of objects
20. Draw your hand against other parts of anatomy (chin, knee, etc.)
21. Draw your bird, cat, dog, fish, snake, leopard, lobster doing something
strange
22. Draw what is in the rear-view mirror of your car
24. Draw a flower growing next to a turned over garbage can
25. Draw raw chicken parts; cooked parts; after eaten parts
26. Draw a piece of cake and make it look delicious
27. Draw 2 eggs in the shell, fried, over easy
28. Draw one popcorn kernel, draw a bag of popcorn
29. Draw a raw steak, steak bones
30. Draw moving water, still water
31. Draw a wet object, make it look wet
32. Draw an object when looking through a tube (microscope)
33. Draw an object seen through glass (how does the glass make a difference)
34. Draw something floating
35. Draw a dark object in a light environment
36. Draw a dark object in a dark environment
37. Draw the contents of a light room when sitting in a dark room
38. Climb a ladder, draw what is below
39. Climb a mountain (hill), draw what is below
40. Lie on the floor, draw what is eye level
41. Dig a hole, put a whole in the hole, draw what is in the hole
42. Fill in the hole, cover up the whole, draw the covered hole
43. Find a quiet place in a crowd, draw the crowd
44. Find a quiet place, draw the quiet
45. Find a noisy place, draw noise
46. On the school bus, draw your friends on the way to school, draw your
friends on the way home. Is there a difference?
47. Shine a light through an open weave structure, draw the cast shadow
48. Draw an object that is lit by the light coming through Venetian blinds
49. Draw a portrait that is lit by the light coming through Venetian blinds
50. Draw an object that is lit by a candle
51. Draw a figure that is lit by a candle
52. Draw your sister/brother by the light cast by the Saturday morning
cartoons on the TV
53. Draw your father/mother by the light cast from the TV news
54. Draw an apple, pear, banana
55. Draw an apple, banana, and a wrench
56. Draw a scoop of ice cream and an old shoe
57. Draw an apple, a vacation photo, a hammer and a gold fish
58. Tighten a C clamp on a banana, draw it
59. Draw an apple, pear, and a banana that is tightly wrapped in aluminum
foil, plastic wrap
60. Draw an apple, pear, and a banana that is tightly wrapped in string
61. Copy the Mona Lisa
62. Rearrange the Mona Lisa to suit yourself
63. Rearrange the Mona Lisa to suit your art teacher
64. Put Mona Lisa in a contemporary setting
65. Copy any work of art older than you
66. Remake the above work of art in your way
67. Make a drawing that says something about the environment
68. Make a drawing that says something about the world situation
69. Make a drawing that is pure propaganda about any issue you feel strongly
about
70. Make a drawing that is totally truthful
71. Make a drawing that lies all over the place
72. Make a drawing that is completely impossible
73. Draw a portrait inside out
74. Draw an apple, pear, banana inside out
75. Look out your bedroom window, draw what you see
76. Look out your bedroom window, draw what you would like to see
77. Draw an apple, pear, banana that is wrapped in an apple, pear, banana
78. Draw a form fitting case made of steel that would fit an apple, pear,
banana
79. Draw two squares of a sidewalk and make it look interesting
80. Make a detailed drawing of five square inches of grass
81. Make a detailed drawing of five square inches of hair
82. Make a detailed drawing of five square inches of a feather
83. Make a detailed drawing of five square inches of a dollar bill
84. Make a drawing of grass, hair, feathers and a dollar bill
85. Draw an insect under a magnifying glass
86. Rearrange, redesign the insect
87. Change the size relationship (scale) of the insect and something else
(i.e. building, ships, cars)
88. Draw a portrait of your best friend as an insect
89. Draw a self portrait of you as a beautiful insect
90. Draw a family insect portrait
91. Copy Copley’s Watson and Shark
92. Change the figures depicted in the Copley painting to people you know
93. Rearrange Copley’s painting Watson and the Shark to work on dry land
94. Crumple a magazine ad, draw it
95. Crumple a photograph, draw it
96. Crumple a drawing, redraw it crumpled
97. Cut out a photo into small pieces, rearrange the photo in some other
order, draw it
98. Make a drawing that looks sticky
99. Make a drawing that oozes
100. Make a drawing of a mechanical structure or machine
101. Make a drawing of a machine that oozes
102. Make a drawing of a machine so that the parts are sticky
103. Make a drawing of a fine mechanical instrument (camera) under water (use
your imagination)
104. Draw the Brooklyn Bridge
106. Draw a form fitted case made of wood and lined with velvet for an apple,
pear, and a banana
107. Draw a chair
108. Draw the concept of the uses of a chair (sitting) without the chair
109. Draw a bed
110. Draw the concept of the uses of a bed without a bed without the bed
111. Make a drawing that illustrates the phrase “I have come to a juncture in
my life”
112. Make a drawing that illustrates the phrase “There is an insufficiency of
intellect”
113. Make a careful drawing that illustrates the word “Haste”
114. Draw the imaginary skeleton of an apple, pear, and banana
115. Draw a monument for a bagel
116. Draw a photograph of an apple, pear, and banana at an angle tilted away
from you
117. Draw a portrait of you and your friends as cards; the queen, king, and
jack of spades
118. Draw a slice of the best pizza you have ever seen
119. Make a drawing of all your drawing materials
120. Make a detailed drawing of a rock
121. Make a drawing at McDonalds
122. Draw the reflection from light bouncing off a motorcycle
123. Draw your portrait from the reflection of a shiny chrome object i.e.
toaster, bowl, spoon
124. Draw the reflection from a body of water
125. Draw the reflection from a store window
126. Draw the reflection of reflection
127. Reflect on your drawing of reflection, draw your retrospection
128. Draw an aerial view of your back yard
129. Draw a transparent object
130. Draw a translucent object
131. Draw a translucent object that is inside a transparent object
132. Draw a translucent apple, pear, and banana
133. Draw a building in which you would like to live
134. Make a drawing using a map of the USA as a motif
135. Make a portrait of yourself as you see yourself in twenty years
136. Make a pastoral drawing
137. Draw life in the city
138. Draw a mysterious doorway or staircase
139. Drape a mysterious object in cloth, draw it
140. Draw a moving object
141. Draw an empty room, make it interesting
142. Draw a woman wearing a big hat
143. Draw a masked man (not the lone ranger)
144. Draw a sleeping person
145. Draw a flower, make it appear dangerous
146. Draw a person looking out a window
147. Draw a person looking in a window
148. Draw a person reading a letter
149. Draw an apple, pear, and banana in outer space
150. Draw a detailed drawing of a nut and bolt
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Thank you to http://www.princetonol.com and
http://www.nisk.k12.ny.us/departments/art for these great sketchbook ideas!
