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Exploring Art Techniques Lesson 4 Grade 8 Visual Arts
Critical Learning
Guiding Questions
•• Art techniques help tell the story in comic strips or pages
•• What makes comic art comic?
•• How do art techniques help tell a story
effectively?
Curriculum Expectations
Creating and Presenting
D1. apply the creative process (see pages 19-22) to produce art works
in a variety of traditional two- and three-dimensional forms, as well
as multimedia art works, that communicate feelings, ideas, and
understandings, using elements, principles, and techniques of visual arts as
well as current media technologies
1.2 use a variety of materials, tools, techniques, and technologies to determine
solutions to increasingly complex design challenges
Learning Goals
(Unpacked Expectations)
•• Understand effects created by a variety of
techniques
•• Use these 15 techniques
Instructional Components
Readiness
•• Skimming and scanning
•• Art terminology
•• Scripting
•• Story elements, e.g., character, setting,
plot, problem/conflict, theme
•• Story structure, e.g., beginning, middle,
end (sometimes called 3-Act structure)
•• Elements of art: line, shape and form,
space, colour, texture, and value
•• Principles of design: contrast, repetition
and rhythm, variety, emphasis,
proportion, balance, unity and harmony,
and movement
•• Knowledge of value scales when
working with pencils and coloured
pencils
Terminology
Materials
•• Thumbnail sketches (see Glossary, The •• Exploring Art Techniques handout
Arts, Grades 1-8, 2009, p. 206)
•• Books, DVDs, and other illustrative
examples of comic art techniques
•• Elements of Design: line, shape, colour,
texture, space, value, form
•• Samples of techniques
•• Resources on comics, e.g., Scott McCloud
•• Principles of Design: movement,
(2006) Making Comics (New York:
emphasis, contrast
Harper Collins, ISBN-10:0-06-078094-0
•• Art Techniques:
and ISBN-13: 978-0-06-078094-4) and
-- Expressive lines
(1994) Understanding Comics (New York:
-- Contours (shapes)
HarperCollins, ISBN:0-06-097625-X),
-- Cross-hatching and/or shading
www.scottmccloud.com
-- Font (upper and lower case)
•
•
National Association for Comics
-- Speech balloons and text boxes
Art Educators
-- One-point perspective
•• Websites for ‘how to draw a cartoon face
-- Two-point perspective
from the word boy’ :
-- Foreshortening perspective
http://www.howcast.com/
-- Bird’s eye perspective
videos/5456-How-To-Draw-a-Boy-- Worm’s eye perspective
Using-the-Word-Boy,
-- Transform the word
http://www.ehow.co.uk/how
-- Character movement
_8590917_draw-faces-words.html,
-- Panels and gutters
http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-- Monochromatic colour
to-draw-cartoon-face-from-word-- Signs and symbols
boy-084156/
See Glossary, The Arts, Grades 1-8, 2009,
pp. 187-207.
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Exploring Art Techniques Lesson 4 Grade 8 Visual Arts
Minds On
Whole Class ➔ Creating a Character’s Face
Add ‘drawing techniques’ to the ‘What do you need’ list from Lesson 1 as needed. Tell •
students that they will experiment with techniques that can help them tell their story, •
i.e., share learning goals. (See Differentiated Instruction Assessment Cards, Identifying
Learning Goals and Sharing and Clarifying Learning Goals.)
Distribute postcard-sized paper to each student. Direct students to print the word ‘boy’ •
in lowercase on the paper, leaving space between the letters. Orally provide directions •
to transform the word (See websites listed under Materials) into a boy’s face.
(See Exploring Art Techniques Handout, #11.) Facilitate a discussion of (1) attributes
that make the face comic, e.g., simplified shapes, focusing on select details, exaggeration, •
and (2) how a character’s face can help tell a story, e.g., through expression or size (taking •
up an entire panel).
Action!
Individual ➔ Exploring Techniques
Students practise drawing thumbnail sketches of other faces from words like ‘girl’ or ‘smile.’ •
Prompt individual students to consider application of the discussion, e.g., how to render
faces comic, how faces could be used to tell their story. Explicitly encourage exploration/
experimentation by referring to the Creative Process.
Review ‘Exploring Art Techniques,’ noting connections with art elements and principles •
of design. Use Traffic Light to check understanding. Explain that they completed #11,
which they label, e.g., ‘#11 - Character’s face from a word .’ Students skim and scan the •
handout, highlighting words and phrases that might need clarification. Add vocabulary and
terminology to the Word Wall.
Students experiment with remaining 14 strategies. Place 2-3 techniques from ‘Exploring
Art Techniques’, examples of each technique, and paper at activity centres. Student groups
rotate through centres. They label each page, and fill the page with thumbnail sketches that
demonstrate exploration and understanding of that technique. Provide one-on-one or •
small-group instruction, as necessary, e.g., on scale values using pencil or crayon.
Pause and Ponder
QuickTip
Templates with starting points
and missing pieces may also
provide starting points for
students who struggle with the
blank page. •
QuickTip
Display ‘How the Elements
of Design help to create the
Principles of Design’, from
Think Literacy SubjectSpecific Examples:
Visual Arts, Grades 7-12, p. 13.
(1) Model effective
feedback. (2) Encourage
students to provide similar
feedback to one another.
(3) Record feedback on the
Feedback Log, Lesson 4.
The feedback logs in this
unit are adapted from
Differentiated Instruction
Assessment Cards
Feedback Logs.
Consolidation
Whole Class ➔ Debriefing
Referring to an example from Our Comic World Wall and ‘How the Elements of Design help to
create the Principles of Design,’ discuss how to apply techniques: How can this technique be •
used in your/a comic strip/page? How can this technique help tell a story? Summarize learning •
in ‘Learned’ column of the K-W-L chart.
Do a Gallery Walk in which pairs respond to Critical Analysis Process question prompts:
How effectively does the artist select and combine elements to achieve an intended effect in •
this work? What works? What doesn’t work and why? Has your point of view shifted from your
initial reaction? If so, how has it changed? Is this an important work? Why?
Individual ➔ Reflecting
Students self-assess progress on the ‘Exploring Art Techniques’ handout. (Leave the right-hand
column until Lesson 6.) Students organize their thumbnail sketches, e.g., by folding the handout
and placing postcard pages inside, and hand them in.
Students self-assess
technique exploration and
execution on handout.
Checkpoint #2
Assess understanding of
techniques. Address gaps
between teacher and selfassessment. Review art
techniques, with individuals •
or groups as necessary •
(guided practice).
Home or Next Lesson Connection
Students (1) continue to collect and post comic strips or pages on ‘Our Comic World Wall’ and (2) bring in a newspaper/tabloid •
for Lesson 5 activities.
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Exploring Art Techniques Lesson 4 Grade 8 Visual Arts
Instructional Components and Context
Skimming and Scanning
Skimming and scanning are reading strategies. They differ from ‘normal’ reading and from each other.
Skimming is reading rapidly to obtain a general overview or gist, e.g., when previewing a text. When skimming, readers make
use of headings, bold face text, and key words. Skimming is inappropriate for complex texts that require careful reading.
Scanning is reading rapidly to locate specific details. Effective scanning also depends on using key words and organizational
cues, e.g., headings. To scan effectively, readers must know what they’re looking for.
T-Charts can be used for a similar purpose.
Action!
Creative Process
The creative process is intended to be followed in a flexible, fluid, and cyclical manner. As students and teachers become
increasingly familiar with the creative process, they are able to move deliberately and consciously between the stages and to
vary their order as appropriate. For example, students may benefit from exploring and experimenting before planning and
focusing; or in some instances, the process may begin with reflecting. Feedback and reflection can happen throughout the
process.
“Research clearly shows that the exploration and experimentation phase is a critical phase in the creative process. Students
should be encouraged to experiment with a wide range of materials, tools, techniques, and conventions and should be given
numerous opportunities to explore and manipulate the elements within each art form.”
The teacher might highlight a particular stage of the process:
Stage of the Process
Student
Teacher
Revising/Refining
– s hares preliminary work with peers;
invites outside opinions; develops
and refines the formal concepts
(elements, techniques, conventions,
principles, as appropriate for each
strand)
– r eworks the piece, building on
strengths and incorporating feedback
– d evelops and modifies initial idea;
makes choices, adapts, and shapes
– c ontinues to ask questions about
meaning and intended audience
– c ontinues to provide numerous
learning opportunities that are
varied, and supports the learning
needs and experiences of the
students
– o bserves and provides descriptive
feedback; encourages students to
look for alternatives and give reasons
for decisions
– p rovides time and opportunities for
reflection and revision
See The Arts, Grades 1-8, pp. 19-22.
Traffic Light
See Differentiated Instruction Assessment Cards, Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting. Develop this strategy as a
classroom routine to obtain information about understanding immediately and efficiently from students.
This strategy also helps students develop metacognitive awareness. See the Metacognition Guide.
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Exploring Art Techniques Lesson 4 Grade 8 Visual Arts
Action!
Word Wall
Build a word wall of key vocabulary and terminology. Add words during the unit.
A word wall is an organized array of words important to the topic being studied. To be effective, •
word walls must be:
• • visible
• • accessible
• • selective
• • incremental, adding only 5–7 words at a time
• • explicitly taught.
A word wall can serve as:
• • a focus for vocabulary building
• • a scaffold for conversation and reading and writing activities
• • a visual map to show relationships among words.
Teachers need to incorporate words regularly into instruction, cue students to use the word wall, and integrate the •
word wall into vocabulary building activities. The word wall is an interactive tool that can be maximized by creating
laminated word cards that can be moved around, removed, and used.
For an arts example, see Think Literacy Subject-Specific Examples: Music, Grades 7-10, pp. 2-7
One way to practise and review concepts is Share One-Get One. Prepare cards with terms or symbols on one side and
informal explanations on the other. Each student draws one card. On a signal, students mingle and on a second signal, •
meet a partner. One student asks the other the term; the partner responds. The first student either confirms or provides •
the answer. Partners reverse roles and exchange cards. Repeat.
The Share One-Get One strategy is a low-risk activity that can be used to review terminology and energize students •
in 3-4 minutes.
Vocabulary
Effective vocabulary-building practices include:
• • knowing a definition is not synonymous with understanding a word
• • building word knowledge incrementally
• • limiting words to those essential to the unit and to those students will use during teaching learning activities
• • using proper names
• • using words in context - students need to hear words used in context and to practise using words themselves •
in context about a half-dozen times
• • pronounce multi-syllabic words clearly while cueing students to word parts visually so that students both •
hear and see words
• • associating words with visual symbols and with words students already know
• • using color and clustering, e.g., concept maps and mind maps to show connections between words
• • gradually building understanding of the multiple meanings of words
• • using semantic maps to focus on related words, explanations, what it isn’t, word roots, prefixes and suffixes, •
and word history (how it came to mean what it does)
Resources for vocabulary building:
Allen, Janet (1999). Words, Words, Words: Teaching vocabulary in grades 4-12. Stenhouse.
Marzano, R. J. (2004). Building background knowledge for academic achievement: Research on what works in schools.
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Assessment for Learning:
Teachers can gather information about learning by:
• • designing tasks that provide students with a variety of ways to demonstrate their learning;
• • observing students as they perform tasks;
• • posing questions to help students make their thinking explicit;
• • engineering classroom and small-group conversations that encourage students to articulate what they are
thinking and further develop their thinking. (Growing Success, 2010, p. 34) L I T E R AC Y G A I N S T R A N S F O R M I N G I N S T R U C T I O N A L P R A C T I C E S U P P O R T S G R A D E 8 V I S UA L A R T S
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Exploring Art Techniques Lesson 4 Grade 8 Visual Arts
Action!
Feedback
“As part of assessment for learning, teachers provide students with descriptive feedback and coaching for
improvement. Teachers engage in assessment as learning by helping all students develop their capacity to be
independent, autonomous learners who are able to set individual goals, monitor their own progress, determine
next steps, and reflect on their thinking and learning.” (Growing Success, 2010, p. 28)
Feedback provides students with a description of their learning. The purpose of providing feedback is to reduce •
the gap between a student’s current level of knowledge and skills and the learning goals. Descriptive feedback
helps students learn by providing them with precise information about what they are doing well, what needs
improvement, and what specific steps they can take to improve. According to Davies (2007, p. 2), descriptive
feedback “enables the learner to adjust what he or she is doing in order to improve.”
Ongoing descriptive feedback linked specifically to the learning goals and success criteria is a powerful tool for
improving student learning and is fundamental to building a culture of learning within the classroom.
As the teacher provides feedback, and as the student responds to it, the assessment information gathered is used
to improve learning as well as instruction. Multiple opportunities for feedback and follow-up are planned during
instruction to allow for improvement in learning prior to assessment of learning (evaluation). The focus of the
feedback is to encourage students to produce their best work by improving upon their previous work and, at the
same time, to teach them the language and skills of assessment, so they are able to assess their own learning and
that of their peers.” (Growing Success, 2010, p. 34)
Consolidation
Our Comic World Wall
In this adaptation of a word wall, the teacher and students post examples of illustrated storylines and comic art
throughout the unit. These examples are used as points of reference in subsequent lesson activities, e.g., Gallery
Walks. This wall is distinct from the Word Wall of key vocabulary and terminology.
K-W-L (I Know-I Want to Know-I Learned)
The Know-Want to Know-Learned strategy (Ogle, 1986) is linked to the before, during, and after framework. K-W-L
is a generative strategy that structures thinking processes.
The “Know” column prompts students to activate and inventory prior knowledge. It can be completed individually
or collaboratively.
The “Want-to-Know” column prompts students to generate inquiry questions that provide a purpose, e.g., for
reading, discussion, study. It provides an opportunity to anticipate learning, to focus on inquiry as a habit of mind,
and to learn about and practise posing effective questions. Learning about question can be scaffolded, e.g., by
working with the categories of Bloom’s taxonomy or by providing question words, question prompts, or a question
matrix. These scaffolds could be posted in the classroom as anchor charts.
The “Learned” column prompts students to summarize and consolidate their learning. K-W-L’s can be completed
individually or collaboratively at various points in the unit.
KWL variations include:
• • reconfiguring the usual 3-column organizer as a 3-part square, with “Know” across the top and “Want to
Know” and “Learned” juxtaposed beneath
• • adding columns, e.g., “Future” (“How I will apply this learning in the future”).
Link to prior learning by connecting the activity in this lesson to previous use of the K-W-L strategy. Doing so
explicitly helps students recognize how the thinking structure in the strategy transfers to other situations, critical
aspects of becoming a self-directed and self-regulated learner.
The K-W-L strategy reflects key Literacy GAINS parameters, e.g., exposing and evoking students’ thinking in order
to respond with appropriate levels of challenge and support. The strategy also supports an inclusive classroom
environment and differentiated instruction by permitting a range of access, or entry, points for students along a
continuum of difficulty, depending on the questions asked.
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Exploring Art Techniques Lesson 4 Grade 8 Visual Arts
Consolidation
Gallery Walk
A Gallery Walk is a flexible strategy for having students respond to a range of texts. In a Gallery Walk, students
explore multiple texts posted around the room. Texts can include: print, images, historical and contemporary texts,
draft or completed texts, professional or student texts.
Often, this activity is cooperative and structured by question prompts that require students to observe, discuss,
and reflect. Because students move physically, it can appeal to kinaesthetic learners and provide variety in
classroom activity. The activity can be used at various points in the lesson, e.g., as a community builder, a warmup, source of debate, or consolidation activity. The debriefing focuses on key ideas and synthesizing observations,
responses, and thinking.
To ensure that ‘Our Comic World Wall’ is a rich source of texts encourage students to continue to post examples
from their own experience.
Reflecting
Point out to students that reflecting is one component in the Creative Process. See The Arts, Grades 1-8 (2009), pp. 19-22.
See also the Metacognitive Guide and Differentiated Instruction Assessment Cards, Metacognition.
Assessment as Learning
Teachers engage in assessment as learning by helping all students develop their capacity to be independent,
autonomous learners who are able to set individual goals, monitor their own progress, determine next steps, and
reflect on their thinking and learning. (Growing Success, p. 28)
Students’ interest in learning and their belief that they can learn are critical to their success. After reviewing the
impact of testing on students’ motivation to learn, Harlen and Deakin Crick (p. 203) recommended the use of
assessment for learning and as learning – including strategies such as sharing learning goals and success criteria,
providing feedback in relation to goals, and developing students’ ability to self-assess – as a way of increasing
students’ engagement in and commitment to learning. (Growing Success, p. 29) The emphasis on student self-assessment represents a fundamental shift in the teacher-student relationship,
placing the primary responsibility for learning with the student. Once students, with the ongoing support •
of the teacher, have learned to recognize, describe, and apply success criteria related to particular learning •
goals, they can use this information to assess their own and others’ learning. Teachers help students develop
their self-assessment skills by modelling the application of success criteria and the provision of descriptive
feedback, by planning multiple opportunities for peer assessment and self-assessment, and by providing
descriptive feedback to students about the quality of their feedback to peers. (Growing Success, 2010, p. 35)
See also the Metacognitive Guide and Differentiated Instruction Assessment Cards, Metacognition.
Assessment for Learning Checkpoint
Metaphorically, checkpoints occur at borders, where successful passing of an inspection or examination allows
one to cross into a new territory. Similarly, at Assessment Checkpoints, teachers ascertain whether students have
achieved the necessary standard of knowledge and/or skills to proceed to the next leg of the learning journey, the
destination of which is success on the final evaluation.
Assessment Checkpoints are examples of Assessment for Learning. “Assessment for learning is the process of
seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in
their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there.” (Assessment Reform Group, 2002, p. 2, quoted
in Growing Success, p. 32). Assessment Checkpoints should inform instruction, indicate which students need
additional practice and support.
Guided Practice
In the gradual release of responsibility model, guided practice bridges from modelling (I do, you watch) and
shared practice (I do, you help) to independent practice (you do, peers and I help as necessary). Often guided
practice occurs in small, flexible groupings in which peers help one another apply knowledge and skills that
have been explicitly taught. Guided practice can also be used to provide specific, targeted support to specific
individuals. See the Strategy Implementation Continuum. L I T E R AC Y G A I N S T R A N S F O R M I N G I N S T R U C T I O N A L P R A C T I C E S U P P O R T S G R A D E 8 V I S UA L A R T S
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My Comic World
Exploring Art Techniques
page 1 of 2
Self-Assessment
(Lesson 4)
Techniques
Understand…
Explore…
I explored…
1. Expressive lines – types of lines: wavy, curly, jagged, dashes, fat, thin, etc. These Fill your page with as many types of lines as you can.
often suggest emotion.
Repeat each type several times. If a line suggests an
emotion or event, record the emotion or event beside the
line.
2. Contours (shapes) – contour drawing is another name for drawing an outline. Use different line weights to draw the contours of objects
When contour drawing, focus on the edges and the outside of an object. The
around you.
weight of a line will make the line jump out from the paper if it is dark and thick,
or sink into the paper if it is light and thin. Varying the weight is useful for giving
the impression of something being closer or further away.
❏ Some effects
❏ Many effects
3. Cross-hatching/shading – parallel line, drawn close together, usually at an
angle.
❏ Some effects
❏ Many effects
4. Font – a specific typeface, size, and style of lettering.
Draw some objects around you. Add shadows by using
cross-hatching, shading, and a combination of crosshatching and shading.
Practise different letters in a variety of fonts. Remember to
use both lowercase and uppercase letters.
❏ Some effects
❏ Many effects
❏ Some effects
❏ Many effects
5. Speech balloons/text boxes – shapes that surround text in comics to indicate
thoughts or spoken words.
6. One-point perspective – drawings that explore space using a horizon line and
one vanishing point. (Perspective means that objects which are nearer to us
will look larger, while those which are further away will look smaller. In comics
perspective can be exaggerated and distorted.)
Activity - Put parts of a conversation into speech balloons ❏ Some effects
❏ Many effects
with a variety of shapes.
Activity - Draw a background using one-point perspective. ❏ Some effects
7. Two-point perspective – drawings that explore space using a horizon line and
two vanishing points.
Activity - Draw a background using two-point perspective. ❏ Some effects
8. Foreshortening perspective – objects which are closer to us are drawn larger
than those further away.
Draw a ball as if it is coming towards you. Fill in the
background with smaller objects and people to get the
idea of depth.
❏ Some effects
❏ Many effects
9. Bird’s eye perspective – view of an object from above, as though the
observer were a bird.
Draw a scene as though you are a bird flying above.
❏ Some effects
❏ Many effects
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❏ Many effects
❏ Many effects
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My Comic World
Exploring Art Techniques
page 2 of 2
Self-Assessment
(Lesson 4)
Techniques
Understand…
Explore…
10. Worm’s eye perspective – view of an object from below, as though the
observer were a worm.
Draw a scene as though you are lying on the ground
looking up.
❏ Some effects
❏ Many effects
11. Character’s face from a word – use a word as a starting point for creating a
comic drawing.
Print the word “boy” in lowercase. Leave space between
the letters. Make the jaw line by connecting the bottom
of the letter ”y” to the back stroke of the letter “b”. Make
the hair by connecting the top of the letter “b” to the top
right of the letter “y”. Use different lines to make different
hair. Draw the hairline. Draw eyes, nose, and mouth. Add
details like eyebrows.
❏ Some effects
❏ Many effects
12. Character movement – an illusion that characters are moving and coming
to life from panel to panel and pose to pose created by moving and distorting
basic shapes from which a character is built.
Draw a character built from basic shapes. Draw this
character in a variety of poses by distorting and moving •
the basic shapes.
❏ Some effects
❏ Many effects
13. Panels and gutters – story movement is usually conveyed through varioussized panels, or boxes, in a grid format. These shapes can vary according to the
story or message. Gutters are the spaces between the panels.
Create a variety of layouts for comic panels and pages by
experimenting with different shapes and sizes for panels
and different widths and shapes for gutters.
❏ Some effects
❏ Many effects
14. Monochromatic colour – shades, tones, and tints derived from a single colour.
Experiment with your pencil to create different
values. Experiment with a variety of colours to create
monochromatic schemes.
❏ Some effects
❏ Many effects
15. Signs/symbols – graphics that replace text and represent ideas or emotions.
Sketch familiar signs/symbols, e.g., flammable, slowmoving vehicle. Create new symbols. Ask yourself: Are
these signs/symbols easily recognizable and understood
by others?
❏ Some effects
❏ Many effects
L I T E R AC Y G A I N S T R A N S F O R M I N G I N S T R U C T I O N A L P R A C T I C E S U P P O R T S – G R A D E 8 V I S UA L A R T S
I explored…
My Comic World
Feedback Log, Lesson 4 — Assessment for Learning Checkpoint
Techniques
1.  Expressive lines
Understanding of
Art Technique
J
K
L
2. Contours (shapes)
3. Cross hatching and/or shading
4. Lettering/fonts, including lower and upper cases
5. Speech balloons and text boxes
6. One-point perspective
7. Two-point perspective
8. Foreshortening perspective
9. Bird’s-eye perspective
10. Worm’s eye perspective
11. Character’s face from the word “boy”
12. Character movement
13. Panels and gutters for story movement
14. Monochromatic colour
15. Signs and symbols
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Understanding of
Comic Rendering
J
K
L
Understanding of
Effect on Story
J
K
L
Feedback Given