by Dan Frenette BS (Art Education), MA
People see space and discern what is near and what is far in a variety of ways. I’d like to share a few ideas you can use to help young people develop an ability to see and use pictorial space. In this article I will introduce five ways we see near and far and I will address one in greater depth. I hope to be able to address the other four in greater depth in future articles on the same topic.
Five ways of seeing near and far are:
Overlapping (placing one object in front of another); Diminishing size (drawing distant objects smaller); Placement (placing distant objects toward the top of the page); Color intensity (brighter colors appear closer); and Detail (items with a large amount of visible detail appear closer).
To me the most important spatial idea for younger students is overlapping. Overlapping is achieved by stopping the lines of one item at the edge of another item and restarting them on the other side. If you simply put one arm in front of another you can clearly demonstrate to your student the fact that the arm closer to them blocks the other arm from their vision.
Once your student sees how the lines stop at the edge and come out on the other side have them try to use the idea in their drawing. Watch closely while they draw and make sure they stop the lines at the edge of the item that is in front. In my overlapping video I suggest having fish weaving in and out of seaweed but there are really an infinite number of possible subjects. Some ideas that I have seen work well include keys, shoes, pencils, and hats. Your student really has a chance to be creative in their choice of subject matter but if they have a bit of a creative block I suggest you have them try an underwater scene with fish weaving in and out of seaweed.
This type of assignment has value beyond the simple fun of drawing (not that the fun of drawing is insignificant). This type of assignment helps the student develop spatial awareness and an understanding of how they perceive the world. If we can direct our students’ drawing activities into meaningful developmental avenues we will be well on our way to creating a generation of creative capable artists!
Be certain to view the lesson on overlapping that this article references. It can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6i-aLP_ueY .Also take a minute to peruse the other art instruction videos at Dandanart here: http://www.youtube.com/dandanart.
People see space and discern what is near and what is far in a variety of ways. I’d like to share a few ideas you can use to help young people develop an ability to see and use pictorial space. In this article I will introduce five ways we see near and far and I will address one in greater depth. I hope to be able to address the other four in greater depth in future articles on the same topic.
Five ways of seeing near and far are:
Overlapping (placing one object in front of another); Diminishing size (drawing distant objects smaller); Placement (placing distant objects toward the top of the page); Color intensity (brighter colors appear closer); and Detail (items with a large amount of visible detail appear closer).
To me the most important spatial idea for younger students is overlapping. Overlapping is achieved by stopping the lines of one item at the edge of another item and restarting them on the other side. If you simply put one arm in front of another you can clearly demonstrate to your student the fact that the arm closer to them blocks the other arm from their vision.
Once your student sees how the lines stop at the edge and come out on the other side have them try to use the idea in their drawing. Watch closely while they draw and make sure they stop the lines at the edge of the item that is in front. In my overlapping video I suggest having fish weaving in and out of seaweed but there are really an infinite number of possible subjects. Some ideas that I have seen work well include keys, shoes, pencils, and hats. Your student really has a chance to be creative in their choice of subject matter but if they have a bit of a creative block I suggest you have them try an underwater scene with fish weaving in and out of seaweed.
This type of assignment has value beyond the simple fun of drawing (not that the fun of drawing is insignificant). This type of assignment helps the student develop spatial awareness and an understanding of how they perceive the world. If we can direct our students’ drawing activities into meaningful developmental avenues we will be well on our way to creating a generation of creative capable artists!
Be certain to view the lesson on overlapping that this article references. It can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6i-aLP_ueY .Also take a minute to peruse the other art instruction videos at Dandanart here: http://www.youtube.com/dandanart.
