Study Guide for the Art 1 Final

Your final exam will consist of a portfolio evaluation, in which you will be asked six questions, each one asking you to choose a work from your portfolio to help answer the question.

For example, a question from the final exam may look something like this:

Choose a work from your portfolio that is perceptual. Identify the two most important elements of art you focused on in the artwork, and how you used a principle of design to make the composition interesting to look at.

So, you will need to study and know the elements of art, the principles of design, and the three aesthetic categories that an artwork might be classified as. See below:

Mid-term Study Guide

Sketchbook Assignment: Big Nature

Problem: Using one whole page in your sketchbook, create a drawing of a houseplant, flower, or even a plant you found outside that uses the entire page, touching at least two sides.

Your drawing should:

-Have an interesting composition (zoomed in, touching at least 3 sides of the page)

-Include 4-5 recognizable parts of the plant (leaves, flower petals, etc.)

-Demonstrate careful observation of overlapping shapes.

-Show shading and a wide range of values (darkest darks and whitest whites)

-Demonstrate at least an hour of careful study.

-Demonstrate use of varied line quality and texture.

This sketchbook assignment is DUE: Friday, June 4th

Clay Effigy and Expresive Pedestal

The Problem

You were to select a person who found to be influential or significant to you. Using brainstorming techniques such as though web, sketches, and proportional drawings you were to design how your effigy was going to look and designed your expresive pedestal. The effigy was to be representative of your chosen person either realistic or caracture. The expressive pedestal is to illustrat who your person is to the viewer (how they were influential, what they did for a career, etc.).

Clay Effigy Criteria

Inspirational Portrait

Your homework due on Tuesday April, 20th will be you need to bring in a portrait of a person who has inspired you in a positive way. This may be a person who was made famous for their fight for civil rights, an artist who influences your work, or someone you know personally. You will be required to write three complete sentences explaining why you chose this person, and what this person means to you. This assignment is worth 10 points. If you do not have a portrait on Tuesday you will have to choose from one of mine.

Sketchbook Assignment: Enlarged Figure

To practice drawing the figure, it's helpful to have a good model, in this case, one that doesn't move.

Look around to find a photo of a figure in action. This might be from Sports Illustrated, or a fashion magazine, or even from a digital photo you took.

Print this image out, it should be no larger than 4x6" or so. Cut this figure out, and then glue this image onto one page neatly. Then, using a drawing media of your choice (graphite, colored pencil, etc.) Draw this figure again, but larger, so that it fills the entire page. For an added challenge, choose a figure that shows foreshortening (showing an extreme angle that hides parts of the body, or makes them appear much larger, like the example above). Your drawing must be at least twice the size of the original, no tracing, carefully observe your example!

Grading Criteria:

Objective: Choosing an image that shows the entire figure, cut out, neatly glued in.

Scaled Up: Your drawing should be at least twice as big as the original.

Proportion: Focus on the size relationships between parts of the figure.

Design: Your drawing should go off or touch two sides of the page.

Studio Skills: Should show line quality, shading, use of value to show form and texture.

Craftsmanship; Should demonstrate at least an hour of focused study.

This assignment is due: Wednesday, April 21st.

Sketchbook #6: Doodle for Google

Doodle for Google is an annual contest that spans the entire country. Each year, students are given a challenge, to illustrate a theme within the letters of the Google logo itself. This year's theme is "If I Could Do Anything, I Would..." So think a little bit about your dreams and ambitions for the world, and create a design that modifies the Google logo to illustrate them!

There's a class link to the Doodle for Google website that explains the rules and shows winners from previous years!

I would like everyone to test their problem-solving and design skills with this assignment. Visit the website to get ideas, and think about how you'd like to solve this problem. Here's what I will be looking for:

1) Brainstorm at least 3 simple ideas first on a page in your sketchbook before you decide on one idea. The theme is very open to interpretation, so think carefully about how it relates to you personally before you begin to sketch.

2) Using one entire page in your sketchbook, create a final version of your drawing in pencil. You can download a large copy of Google's logo at the contest link for a reference. Substitute meaningful pictures for letters, and transform the logo into a picture that illustrates your idea.

3) Use colored pencil, markers, or other art materials to add color to your design, but do so neatly! Remember to use Google's color scheme. Add black outline to make your design stand out against the white background.

4) Check out the hints and tips from the original Google doodler, Dennis Hwang, recommends for strengthening your design!

I will grade this assignments based upon: How well you follow the directions, how well you integrate your idea and design into the original logo, how well you use your materials, and the amount of time and investment you put into it. Good luck!

DUE: Tuesday, March 9th

Expressive Text

For our next classwork, we will focus on how art and text can be combined together to create a form of graphic design called expressive text.

We see text everywhere in designs, billboards, television commercials, magazine covers, etc. Graphic designers are artists who work with text, imagery, and layouts to create advertisements and design.

Below are a few examples of expressive text, found in designs that are new, or you may have seen before. Check out how these artists and designers combine words and imagery in unique and creative ways!