Lesson Plan by: Michal Austin and Judy Decker
Grade Level: 7 thru 9
Unit: Drawing/Renaissance Art
Project: Grid Drawing (and Anamorphic drawing)
Project: Surrealism - Grid Drawing/Painting (below)
Anamorphic Art - Online Resources below
High School Adaptations - by James Ray - Bryan High School
Have some fun! Start with Greg Percy's song "Are You Serious?" (Dali)
These are examples of distorted grids - done by
Michal Austin's students.
This shows an
example of regular grid
drawing - no
distortion
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Information on Grid Drawing
"The underlying idea of transferring information from one grid to another has a long history in both
mathematics and art. When the blank grid differs from the original grid, for example, a drawing can
suffer intriguing distortions. In art, the result is sometimes called an anamorphic picture.
Mathematically, you're looking at the results of a type of transformation or mapping.
To create one sort of anamorphic picture, you start with a piece of paper ruled into square cells and
another ruled with the same number of trapezoids. Draw your picture on the square grid. Then
carefully copy the contents of each square of the original grid to the corresponding trapezoid of the
other grid, stretching the lines of the drawing to make sure everything fits together. You end up with
a distorted version of the original picture. Interestingly, if you now look at the final drawing at the
proper angle from the edge, it appears undistorted.
Artists have long used the same idea to create visual puzzles. In such examples, a viewer sees an
object correctly only if he or she finds the right angle at which to look at the picture. One of the most
famous examples is in a painting called "The Ambassadors," made by the German artist Hans
Holbein, the Younger (1497-1543). It shows two men standing in front of tables overflowing with
books, instruments, and globes (see http://www.mezzo-mondo.com/arts/mm/holbein/HOH006.html).
At their feet, the artist painted a weird shape that turns out to be a grinning skull when you hold the
picture at a slant and view it in the right way.
Various artists have tried more elaborate schemes. It's possible, for example, to draw or paint a
picture so that you can tell what it is only if you look at its reflection in a mirror shaped like a cylinder
or a cone. Other pictures must be reflected in shiny spheres, mirrored pyramids, or other reflecting
shapes to reveal their true identity." (This information has been copied from Science News Online
written by Ivars Peterson. Thank you Mr. Peterson - you are helping many students)
Objectives:
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Gain appreciation for Renaissance art
Develop math skills in transforming a work of art
Develop observation skills
Work on line quality
Materials:
transparencies photocopied with one
inch grid -- rulers (for making straight
line grids) -- pencils -- erasers -- 12"x18"
drawing paper --choice of medium -small art prints or photocopies
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Instruction/Motivation:
1. Present an overview of Renaissance Art (Florence: Cradle of the Renaissance is a good one)
2. Review some of the most noted artists of the Renaissance, characteristics of art, themes in
art - review what it meant to say "Man is the measure of all things" - What were Renaissance
artists trying to show in their work. (some Online resources - See also Internet Lesson: Art of
the Renaissance)
3. Show video "Masters of Illusion" - pay close attention to anamorphic art
4. Demonstrate drawing grid onto 12"x18" paper - distort with waving lines, trapezoidal shapes,
or elongated rectangles - or other distortions. (Note from Judy: for my units, students did not
distort the grid. Our grid drawings were used as a base for a Renaissance parody painting)
5. Demonstrate enlarging the postcard size print or photocopy block by block.
Procedures:
1. Select post card size print (or photocopy) for
enlarging. Tape transparency with one inch grid
over post card. Note: Student can draw one inch
grid directly onto photocopies if desired.
2. Enlarge grid onto 12"x18" drawing paper. Enlarge
at a scale of 1" to 3" - or 1" to 4". Use wavy lines
or stretch the grid for a distorted drawing
(anamorphic). Example to the right is regular grid
- a scale of 1 to 3 was used (paper was 12" x18" images at right not to scale)
3. Enlarge post card image or photocopy block by
block -- paying close attention to line quality and
make close observations what is in each block.
4. Note from Judy: In my classes, students wrote a
critique about their chosen Renaissance art work.
This drawing was used as a base for
a Renaissance parody painting.
Tip from JC (18 year old): Take a 2"
cardboard - cut a 1" square in center
with x-acto knife. Use this as a "window"
to focus on only one square at a time.
JC also suggested working with the
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original upside down. This student got
the idea for a wise art teacher.
Lesson Plan by: Michal Austin
Unit: Surrealism/Painting
Project: Surreal landscape with
distorted
self-portrait
Objectives:
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Preparation: Take digital pictures of students while
they are working on previous project
Instruction:
1. Present Surrealism (some Online resources)
2. Demonstrate grid distortion - and demonstrate
composition requirements. (for Michal: The
background had to have something melting or
dripping, something flying, and a vanishing point.
Gain an appreciation for Surreal
art
Use math skills in transforming
an
image
Use imagination - develop
problem solving skills - utilize
elements/principles of design
Develop painting skills -- color
planning
Vocabulary:
Surrealism, distortion, abstract,
vanishing point, perspective,
anamorphic, grid transformation
Materials:
digital pictures of students,
transparency grids, tempera, mixing
trays, brushes,
heavy drawing paper, water dishes
Procedures:
Place grid over photograph (if desired - grids could be drawn directly on print)
Draw a distorted grid on 12 x 18 paper. Make lines wavy and change distance between lines
Enlarge photograph block by block - observe closely what is in each block
Plan the remainder of composition - Create a Surreal landscape. Requirement: Have
something melting or dripping, something flying and have a vanishing point.
5. Plan colors - limit color palette.
6. Select colors for painting - begin painting background areas - vary the value of the paint.
1.
2.
3.
4.
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7. Paint portrait showing highlights and shadows.
See the Ugly Zoo - animals and people manipulated with Photo editing software. Some wild
creations. Try this with your students. Corpse Cards comes to mind too.
Submitted by Mark Alan Anderson
UNIT: Grid Drawing - Surrealism
Lesson: Altered Grid-Twisted Reality
Grade Level: middle school and up
Objectives
MoSTEP
Standards
TLW develop hand/eye coordination and improve observational drawing skills. TLW make
intentional choices from random relationships of objects. TLW visually articulate the abstract
concept of Surrealistic form.
FA1 Process and techniques for the production, exhibition or performance of one or more of
the visual or performed arts. FA3 The vocabulary to explain perceptions about and
evaluations of works in dance, music, theater and visual arts.
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Vocabulary
Materials
Procedures
Surrealism, Contour Drawing, Grid, Altered Grid, Cool & Warm Colors, Complementary
Colors, Organic Shape, Line, Space
Pencil, kneaded eraser, ruler/straight edge, 12” x 18” white drawing paper, access to a digital
camera, computer, and printer. Optional: various paint or drawing medias of the student’s
choice for completion of the work.
Reproductions of various Surrealist works are hung around The Creativity Lab. We
begin with an exploratory discussion of the reproductions,
specifically: “What do you see?” As with Cubism, be prepared for
laughs and confusion, but usually students are fascinated with
artists like Dali.
Surrealism is a tough nut to crack with learners if you want to get into many of the actual
motivating factors of the original Surrealist groups. I like using this lesson to bridge the gap
between observation and initial understanding of the Surrealist concept. (Plus, it’s a lot of
fun!) This is a twisted way to approach a standard grid-drawing exercise. Before beginning,
learners should already be familiar with (and probably already bored with) grid-drawing.
1 Using a digital camera, learners will make close-up portraits of each other. In Photoshop
(or similar), open each image, use the “posterize” feature to separate the image into layers of
flat values. Print out in black and white.
2 Using a ruler, measure and mark a grid onto the surface of the print. Make sure that each
grid is an equally sized square. I find that it’s easier to mark each line along the top with a
number or a letter and each line along the left hand side with a number or a letter. Like the
game of Battleship, this makes locating intersecting lines much easier and more accurate.
3 On the 12” x 18” drawing paper, mark off an equal number of measurement marks along
the top and left hand edge. Be sure that you make the same number of marks on the top and
left as you did on the gridded print – just larger. What we want to do is to enlarge the original
drawing to the maximum size it can be on the 12” x 18” drawing paper. Make the
measurement marks but DO NOT create the grid yet!
4 Here’s the twist: Instead of making perfect horizontal and vertical grid lines, lightly draw in
your grid lines in a very loose and organic manner. They can be as close or as far apart as
you wish so long as you do NOT allow any horizontal lines to cross over another horizontal
line; do NOT allow any vertical lines to cross over another vertical line. When you are finished
you’ll find that everyone has a different looking grid.
5 For the drawing, follow standard grid-drawing procedures: observe and compare each
grid section of the original print, translating the information onto the enlarged grid drawing
paper (make a contour drawing use a light pencil stroke at first). Because you are transferring
to an altered grid, your will be engaged in both observation and translation. Your
completed contour drawing may look similar to mine (see example at top right.)
6 From here, the art teacher has a lot of choices. The resultant drawing is an altered view of
reality so I like to point out that it looks very unlike reality (especially to those kids for whom
“real” seems to be everything!) and to complete the work in very unreal colors. Because the
posterized print has been separated into various flat values, you can use this as a reference
point to divide colors or patterns in a way that represents more of a surface design than a
rendering. Or have the drawing competed in a single, bright monochromatic approach. Or
use some other specified color scheme.
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7 I like that this lets kids stop focusing on “real” and just enjoy the process of artmaking. I
think you’ll get into it as much as they do!
Assessment
Did the learner effectively use color, line, and shape expressively in their art making?
Does the learner use subject-specific language to communicate and inquire? Does the
learner demonstrate greater confidence and/or facility in observational sketches?
© 2005 Mark Alan Anderson - lesson can not be published elsewhere
Submitted to Getty TeacherArtExchange by James Ray - Bryan High School, Texas
Some High School Adaptations for Grid Drawing
Here is a distorted drawing of one of James' students.
He designed a four by four grid over the picture.
Then made a distorted circular grid.
Four circles by four pie shapes.
Materials: Quality drawing paper, choice of pen and ink
or drawing pencils.
Extension: Include a value study in this project.
From James:
Some of my students are Distorting the grid into a
circular grid. Where the rows are the overlapping circles
and the columns are the pie shapes. (some examples of
circular grids may be found on the Math connections site
listed below)
Option 1: Simple Enlargement Create a collage of 4 to 10 pictures. Student independently chooses
subject matter. Draw grid on collage into equal spacing. Enlarge grid to fit on 18x 24 drawing paper.
Transfer picture by drawing to scale. Match value and texture of the original.
Option 2: Foreshortened View Find a source of interest. Draw a grid on source into equal spacing.
Design a distorted grid by making the spacing uneven or parallel. Using the correct proportions.
Match value and texture of the original.
Option 3: Blotchy Distorted View Find a source of interest. Draw a grid on source into equal
spacing. Design a distorted grid by DELETING spacing and enlarging details of deleted section or
enlarging other sections to fit in empty space. Change the order of the tiles. Draw picture to fit into
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the grid using the correct proportions. Match value and texture of the original
Option 4: Wavy Distorted View Find a source of interest. Draw a grid on source into equal spacing.
Design a distorted grid by making the rows, columns or both making the straight lines wavy. Design
the grid into a circle where the circles define the rows and the pie shapes for the columns. Draw
picture to fit into the grid using the correct proportions. Match value and texture of the original.
From Kevan Nitzberg - High School Another subject that worked with high school students was one that initially was
based Chuck Close and his video on his portrait paintings that are based the grid method. I took digital pictures of my
students that were quite good (digital cameras have come a long way since they originally were introduced to the
scene), and printed them out on regular copy paper. Using acetate from a roll that normally is used for protecting art
work in a mat, I used a fine point permanent marker to create a 4 X 5 inch grid (1" squares) for each student to place
over their printed out self portrait. They then had to blow up their image 400%, so that each grid on the final drawing was
4" square (4:1 ratio). The students had to first draw the outline of their heads keeping track of where the line that
denoted the resulting shape existed in each of the squares that it ran through. Once the outline was done, they then had
to look for the highlights and the shadows and draw them lightly as additional shapes in their compositions. The lightest
and the darkest areas were noted to provide them with a range of contrast from light to dark. As the background in each
portrait was dark due to the lighting that I used in the initial taking of the pictures, their backgrounds were also to be
done dark to increase the contrast in the drawing. The assignment was done in pencil, working with a range of HB to 6B
leads. The results of this assignment were quite good, but I wanted my students to push the portrait idea further and so
a 2nd assignment was to be attended to where they had to concentrate on the emotional aspect more than the likeness
in the composition. Rather than simply using pencil, they used pastel chalks to work on this assignment. I retook their
pictures having them express the emotion that they wished to convey in their drawings, and then had them work with the
grids again, but this time they had much more openness in terms of how they wished to deal with the images. In
preparation for working on this assignment, they had to create a collection of portraits done by other artists using the Art
Collector feature in Artsconnected (http//:www.artsconnected.org), and see how a variety of artists used
exaggeration of various elements and principles of art to convey feeling. The results of this assignment were
extraordinary as students used color, line, repetition and exaggeration of features, 'styling' suggestive of other artists'
work (most notably Picasso), and even collage to create the 2nd portrait. The freedom to express and create that was
unleashed in this assignment paid off huge dividends in terms of the results that were realized. The excitement of the
students from being able to successfully complete both of these assignments was quite tangible. Kevan Nitzberg
Distorted figure study from Carolyn Patton:
I spend a good deal of time working with my Art II students to help them master drawing the human
form and face. This is an assignment my students enjoy. Once the distorted figure is drawn, the
project can be developed in several different ways.
Project: Distorted figure study
Select a head or figure study that you have drawn previously. If you have no drawing that you wish
to work with, begin by creating a new drawing. On the original work establish a grid. To do this fold
the image in half horizontally, then in half again horizontally. While folded, fold it in half vertically,
then in half again vertically. This will establish a grid. On a new sheet of paper that is either wider
or taller but not the same, fold the same grid as you did on your original piece. It will have the same
number of squares as the original piece but they will be shaped differently. Begin your new work,
drawing what you see in the first square on the original piece, in the first square of the new piece,
stretching it to fit. Continue this process until you have the whole distorted figure reproduced. Your
drawing may be shaded as a value study, or painted in your favorite medium. Specific palettes using only warm colors or cool, primary or secondary or monochromatic, make an painting
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assignment and add to the distorted feel of the figure.
Anamorphic Art Online Resources
"ANAMORPHIC IMAGES are those in which the painted image of an object has been distorted in
such a way that the object becomes recognizable only by viewing it at an oblique angle or in some
curved reflecting surface. Anyone who has visited the National Gallery in London might have seen
Hans Holbein's painting "The Ambassadors," in which an odd shape at the bottom of the canvas is
seen to be a skull when viewed almost edge-on. Anamorphic images were something of a rage in
the Renaissance, and Leonardo and Durer tried the technique as part of their studies of perspective.
An eighteenth century innovation was to create anamorphs of paintings by famous artists. A
seventeenth century book by Jean-Francois Niceron worked out the geometrical algorithms for
producing anamorphic art (the planar and conical cases are pretty easy but cylinders are quite
challenging), but this mathematical connection was lost through the centuries. Now, scientists at
Guelph University (Ontario, Canada) have re-derived the transform equations needed for producing
anamorphs. (Hunt, Nickel, Gigault, American Journal of Physics, March 2000" (from American
Institute of Physics )
NOTE: These links were all active when lesson was put online. Report broken links and suggest
additions.
"Masters of Illusions" video: information
Art of Anamorphosis
Anamorphic Art What is Anamorphic Art? Make Anamorphic Art from Kettle Moraine Lutheran High
School.
Anamorphic Art from CountOn.org
Math Connections: Math Year 2000
Math Year 2000 - Anamorphic Art
Plane Amorphic Art
Grid warping:
Albrecht Durer - grid warping
Op Art
Hans Holbein "The Ambassadors" high quality image
What is an anamorphic image? uses a poor image of the Ambassadors
More info on Hans Holbein's The Ambassadors:
Hans Holbein: The Ambassadors lengthy critique
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Erhard Schon - Vexierbild or Puzzle Picture (1535). a plane anamorph
István Orosz Hungarian artist Click on images See Art of Orovitz (Orosz)
Scroll down on this page for another example by Itsván Orosz - "The Well" reveals a portrait of Escher
Getty Devices of Wonder (using a cone shaped mirror)
Cone shaped mirror image (Getty Devices of Wonder Exhibit )
Angel image plane anamorph. From the Community Bridge mural project in Frederick, Maryland,
near Washington D.C
Art of Kelly Houle contemporary artist
Art and Optics: Sidney Perkowitz page: Shows example is "St. Jerome Praying" (scroll down)
Some examples of Plane Anamorphic art
A book you might want to look up:
Sandburg, Carl. Arithmetic. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Javanovich, 1993. ISBN 0-15-203865-5.
Ted Rand has illustrated Carl Sandburg's poem for children, Arithmetic, as an anamorphic
adventure. The images in Arithmetic can be seen normally by viewing them from an indicated angle
or by viewing their reflection in a cylinder.
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