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- Appropriate Grade (Course) Level(s): 4th through 12th
- Unit Theme and Instructional Concepts:
Figure Drawing and Human Proportion
- Lesson Rationale:
Traditional Materials & Techniques
At approximately 4th grade level, students need concrete instruction in figure drawing. It has been documented that if not given, students will begin to drop human figures from their visual narratives. To prevent this, we employ a concentrated unit which includes 30 second gesture drawing of fellow classmates as a preliminary exercise. Students will learn how to capture the basic position of a figure quickly without judging their work. Students will follow this up with at least two sessions of drawing wooden manikins posed on their art room tables.
Digital Technology
This three session lesson will be a follow up to two sessions of traditional gesture drawing in a curriculum which consists of one art period per week. Students will simply use the computer program Poser as a virtual manikin instead of the traditional wooden manikins.
Lesson Objectives:
Technical (plain)
- Students will learn to use the software program Poser as a resource for figure drawing
- Students will be able to change the figure to a manikin instead of the default male figure
- Students will be able to choose different preset poses and render them with shading
- Students will be able to use the posing tools to manually change poses
Formal
- Students will learn proper human proportion
- Students will notice where body parts are in relationship to each other
- Students will practice blended shading techniques and placement
- Students will gain an understanding of the underlying structures of the human body
Contextual
- Students will gain a confidence in dealing with the human body in a safe environment
- Manikins represent genderless content which may be more comfortable to students
- Students will get the concrete practical drawing practice needed so they can move
beyond the stick figure or disproportional drawing of their youth
- Students can envision a variety of settings for their figures without a preconceived notion
based on gender
Conceptual/Expressive
- Students can use the various poses in Poser to compose a fantasy drawing with the
addition of props, other characters, scenery, etc.
- Students can use the various tools in Poser to create poses from famous works of art and
draw them as manikins (for example: The Last Supper)
- Students can use the various tools in Poser to create poses from some famous historical
event and draw them as manikins (for example: landing on Iwo Jima)
Facilities: (setting, room setup)
- Computer lab with enough work stations with Poser (two students per computer is fine)
- Room technology
Required Material(s):
- Computer workstations loaded with Poser
Required Resource(s):
- Digital Camera, Color Printer
Integrated Curriculum: Integrative Aspects:
- If students are studying the human body in a science class, then the location of organs and systems can be discussed in the context of the drawing
- If students are studying a specific historical period in a social studies or religion class, then
the addition of historic clothing could be an integrated curriculum assignment
- If students are studying ratios in math, then the size of certain parts to other parts could be
worked out as mathematical ratios
Activities:
Preparation
- Students will have at least two class periods of gesture drawing prior to this lesson
- Students will take turns posing for 30 seconds for each other
- Students will have one class period to explore Poser
Motivational Strategies
- Students enjoy using the computer, so they are very open to using the virtual manikin
- Students will get a chance to use a wide variety of poses into which a wooden manikin
would not be able to be positioned
Procedures for Art-Making Activities:
- Students will bring their sketchbooks to the computer lab
- Students will be given a 6B pencil and a kneaded eraser to eliminate any erasure dust
- Students will begin with a simple, standing pose and draw it as carefully as possible
- Students will pay careful attention to the relationship of parts to each other in location and
size
- Students will complete the sketch with blended shading and then may choose another pose
- Students will take digital photos of their finished work and print them out for documentation.
- In the case of duplicating a pose from an artwork or historical photo a display will show both the original and the manikin duplication for comparison
Response from students
- Students will be enthusiastic about using this program and creating some interesting art
pieces
Evaluation Criteria/Reflection:
- Students will look over their work and be able to see where they were successful in their
judgments of size relationships
- Students will look over their work and know what they could do to fix any unsuccessful areas
- Students will discuss the difference in using a virtual manikin with how they felt when they were
drawing each other during the gesture sessions
A.R.T. for Education Research: Consulting on Digital Imaging Teacher Support
Utilizing the Art Education Electronic Instruction Media (AEEIM) Lab, UW-M
176-550 La801 Computer Applications for Art Education FALL 2001
Instructor: Curt Kass, Artisan Resource Technologist for Education e-mail ckass@wi.rr.com
Art Education Area; Department of Visual Art; Peck School of the Arts; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Olympus America Digital Imaging Teacher Support
Research into Media Integration K-12 and College Levels
How to Apply Digital Imaging in the Classroom
176-550 La801 Computer Applications for Art Education
Student Name: Noreen Strehlow Copyright November 2001