To begin our year, students learned how to create an optical illusion called one point perspective. Perspective allows students to draw three-dimensional forms on a flat two-dimensional surface. As students learned one point perspective, they experienced many options for their 3D shapes such as basic geometric and organic shapes, block letters, repeating shapes, and overlapping shapes. When designing and placing shapes, students were challenged to consider their composition and "balance" their shapes evenly around the page.
Once the 3D shapes were balanced, students then developed a background. Their background could have been anything from a realistic outdoor scene, to a decorative pattern.
Before coloring, students learned about color schemes. A color scheme is a way of organizing color. In the art world there are many color schemes that have specific names. Students learned about several color schemes: warm & cool colors, neutral colors, and creative color schemes. Students also had the option to use one color scheme on their 3D shapes, and a different color scheme in their background. For the creative color scheme, students could use a something they could describe as easily recognizable from the world around them; like the colors for a well known sports team, a country, or something else they could explain and give rational to.
Above is an example of a neutral color scheme; using black, white, and different values of gray.
Above is an example of a MSU colors on the 3D forms and UofM colors in the background pattern.
