Sighting Based Drawing:

Course: Beginning Drawing Grade: Entry Level High School (9-12) Alex Kolbo

Belief Statement: Students will be able to gain full perspective through the use of a sighting tool. Definition: A form of drawing by measuring distances and estimating angles with a pencil, thumb, ruler, etc by holding it up at an arms length away to sight the measurements. Rationale: Students will increase their seeing skills by learning about proportion and perspective. This will further improve the students ability to accurately render an object or figure from three-dimensions to two-dimensions. Drawing has been important in the United States since the Industrial Revolution when it was established in schools in Massachusetts. Such a skill helped students to better describe created objects and was supported by Walter Smith. Now this skill can help students in a global society. Key Concepts: An artist can render proportions correctly using sighting tools. An artist can see relationships between objects using sighting techniques. An artist can render angles accurately of an object or figure using sighting skills. Essential Questions: How can an artist render proportion correctly? How can an artist see relationships between objects? How can an artist render angles of an object or figure? Goals/Standards: Students will recognize the aesthetic value of being able to see accurately. Learners will understand how drawing relates to fields of study in the past, present and future. Objectives: The learners will evaluate the success and effectiveness of the medium and techniques in their own work. Evaluate the success of their work at accomplishing its purpose. Students will be able to understand relationships and proportions between features on a figure. Students will understand how to use measuring tools in order to see. Narrative: Students will bring in three to five objects that have meaning to them and learn how to set up a still life of their own. Then, they will make a sighted drawing of the still life using the skills learned. Procedure: -Beginning of class: -State objectives and overall project -Focus activity to involve class -Demonstration: -Definition -Rationale -Connect to art history/ artist -Present examples -Show how to sight and drawing technique -Pick three main points to always measure from. Teach the student how to

use a straight edge to measure distances and angles using a fully extended arm and a utensil that is parallel to the object. -Student Practice: -Have students try it with a basic still life or two figures in simple poses. -Prompt students to think about size and location of the subject for their composition. -Move on to longer drawings of student still lifes. Students will make numerous marks and check distance and angles for relationships. - Finish the drawing by making the image clean, or the palimpsest workable with the composition. Prompts for students: -Close one eye. -Keep your wrist straight and on a parallel to the object. -Move straight to your paper to help you draw the angle. -Check again! -Re-check again! -Is your angle correct? -Is the distance that you measured with your pencils correct? -Make numerous marks off of each object or figure to discover a more precise relationship. -Draw lightly! Materials and Length of time: -Use at least one class period for practice, and about two class periods for the finished still life. -Five objects brought in by the students as well as extra objects for student use are needed as well as paper for each student and two pencilsone for measurement, the other for drawing. Assessment Narrative: Students work will be judged on the successful completion and accurate proportions of their still life. Students will be formatively assessed throughout the lesson with useful feedback from the instructor. The students will be summatively assessed using rubrics. Students will have the opportunity to re-create and correct problem areas. Extension Activity: For students having difficulty, or who would like to learn more about sighting, have the student pick a simplified still life of one to two objects to help them learn how to draw form. For further learning, the student could choose to take a picture of a still life and use it as a reference source in addition to the still life for explaining a three dimensional object in two dimensions. Resources: Drawing: A Creative Process by Francis D.K. Ching, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards, Images from the sketchbook of Leonardo da Vinci.