International School of Luxembourg

Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

AlbrechtDurerRobeStudy,1508

Observational
Drawing
 Elementsand
Principlesofdesign Elementsofdesign

Space
Nomatterifyouarelookingatapainting,
Shape
drawing,sculptureorbuilding,thereare
alwayscertainaspectsthatarealwaysthe Form
same.ThesearecalledthePrinciplesand Line(andPoint)
ElementsofVisualDesign. Value
Colour
Theelementsofvisualdesignarethe Texture
buildingblocksofanyartwork.Ifyoulearn
tospottheprinciplesandelementswith
theproperartterms,youwillfindout
moreabouttheartworkitself.

Throughouttheupperschoolthese
elementswillbetaught.Everyyearyou
Principlesofdesign
willbeapplyandexploretheelements
thathavebeendiscussedinthisbooklet.

Pattern
Contrast
Thisbookletisforyoutokeepasa
referenceforthefuture. Rhythm
Balance
Movement
Unity

 ExamplesofdrawingsfromstudentsatISL

Grade6

Grade8

Mainelements
ofdesign:
Form
Value
Texture

Grade10
 Grade10

Grade8

Grade9


Value VisualElement

Value is used to suggest light and

shadow. The value you use will
emphisize the volume and texture
of your ceramic scuplture.
You can use value for any drawing
of any three dimensional object.

Shadow, shade The part of the

object which is furthest removed
from the light source.
Mid tones The part of the object that is not completely in the shade,
nor completely in the light. Its half light, half dark.
Highlights The part of the object that is turned to the light source.

Cast shadow The shadow of an object onto another object. EG the

shadow of your soft toy on the table.
We use pencils to make the drawing. Normal graphite pencils are
available in several variations of hardness. The hardest ones hardly leave
a mark and are excellent to draw a preliminary sketch. The softer pencils
are great for adding shade to the drawing.

Placement H or F pencils
Proportion
Guidelines
Texture 2B pencil
Marks
Value Shadows 4B pencil
Value Mid tones 2B pencil
Value Light tones, Highlights HB pencil

Material
Placement 4H or F Decide where to place each element of
Pencil your sculpture Make tiny marks where
the object will go

Proportion How big is every element in comparison

to one another?

Guidelines Use guidelines throughout. Guidelines will

have to be erased where they are too
visible

Texture 2 B pencil Determine the texture of your piece.

Marks Follow the form to replicate your form

Value Shadows 4 B pencil Start with the deepest shadows and work
your way to the mid tones.

Value Mid tones 2 B pencil The mid tones make up for the most of
your drawing. The shade of grey lies in-
between the darkest shadows and the
highlights.

Value Light tones, HB pencil or The highlights of a drawing are the

Highlights leave the lightest areas of the drawing. Drawing on
paper white white paper leave the paper visible. Even
though the areas are light, it still looks
nice if you very gently add a tint to the
highlights.

 HomeworkPart1

In the grid below create a range of values going from very light grey to
very dark grey. You should be able to see a contrast between each
square.

Example

Graphite Carbon. Graphite is used to

make a pencil drawing. It is the grey
material in your pencil that makes the
drawing.
H pencils The higher the number on the
H scale, the lighter the mark will be. H
pencils are perfect for sketches
HB pencils Are the exact middle of both
the H and B scales. If a pencil is not
marked with a scale, the pencil is an HB
pencil. HB pencils are all-round fine pencils.
Good for both sketching and shading.
B pencils The higher the number on the
B scale, the darker the mark will be. B
pencils are perfect for shading.
F pencils This pencil will sharpen to a
fine point. Perfect for fine details.
Mark making

Hatching Cross Hatching

Vertical Line Zig zags

Stippling Dashes

Scratchy lines Spirals

Smoothness When you are drawing a smooth surface, you might be

tempted to rub out all the pencil marks with your finger to create a
smooth surface. Dont do that. Resist the urge. Youre smudging the
paper, and it hardly ever looks nice. Instead:
Use very light pencil marks going in several directions on top of each other
to create a smooth surface which is consistent in value. Try and create a
smooth consistent grey block down below.
HomeworkPart2
Craftsmanship
1point 2points 3points 4points
Addvalueintheshapessoathree
dimensionalobjectappears.
Usetheexamplesbelow,youcanalso
makeupyourownmarks.Payclose
attentiontothehighlights,midtones
andshadows

Examples
Rubricforobservationaldrawings

Thepurposeofthisdrawingistocontinuetodevelopyourunderstandingofcommunicatinginthetwo
dimensions.

SUCCESSCRITERIAFOROBSERVATIONALDRAWINGS.

Studentsshouldcreateadrawingtoexplorethequalitiesoftheitemtheyaredescribingwhichinclude:

Theproportionsoftheobjectshouldbeobserved

Theworkshoulddemonstratethestudentsabilityincreatingarangeofvaluestocreateform.

Usethedrawingmediumtocreatetexturetodescribetheitem.

Rubric ObservationalDrawing
SubjectSpecific
Criteria 5 4 3 2 1
Clearlyidentifies, Proficiently Some Attemptsto Limitedabilityto
Identifythe
elements:value, identifies, competencyin identify identify
elementsand
form,and elements:value,identifying, elements:value, elements:value,
principlesofart
texture. form,and elements:value, form,and form,and
toexpressan
texture. form,and texture. texture.
intendedidea
texture.
Manipulatethe Highly Proficient Some Attemptsto Limitedabilityto
elementsand accomplished manipulationof competencyto manipulateof manipulateof
principlesofart manipulationof value,and manipulateof value,and value,and
toexpressan value,and texture. value,and texture. texture.
intendedidea texture texture.
Highlyeffective Proficientlyuse Some Attemptstouse Limitedabilityto
Createworksof useofthe ofthemediumto competency ofthevarious usethemedium
artthatreflect mediumto representthe usingthe mediumto torepresent
refinementof representthe object mediumto representthe object
technique object representthe object
object
Highly Proficient Somecompetent Attemptsto Limited
accomplished explanationof explanationof explainown explanationof
explanationof ownworkits ownworkits workits ownworkits
Explainworks
ownworkits successesand successesand successesand successesand
ofart
successesand weaknesseson weaknesseson weaknesseson weaknesseson
weaknesseson Blog Blog Blog Blog
Blog
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
03 45 68 911 1214 1517 1820

 Selfreflection

What did you think of the assignment/project that you have just
completed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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In this piece I think I did very well with . . . . . . . .

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The part of this work which I could improve is . . .
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