Assignment Learning Outcomes
1. Students will be able to utilize a grid to aid with drawing at scale.
2. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of size, scale and proportion.
Mini-Assignments
1. Watch videos that are linked below
2. Define vocabulary words listed below in your sketchbook
Materials
Paper, ruler, drawing materials, found objects
Time
9 hours
Process
1. Bring in several different objects that demonstrate a variety of texture, size and complexity. Choose the object that you are going to draw carefully. Scale can have a tremendous impact on how a viewer relates to the object. A drawing of an object at a very small scale can canote a feeling of empathy in the viewer while a very large drawing can make the viewer feel that they are being confronted.
2. Using your phone or a digital camera, photograph your chosen object (just one) from multiple angles. Carefully choose the best composition from your photographs. Crop your image to a ratio of 6″ by 8″ and print it in black and white. You can use the printer in the library for higher quality. If the image is too dark you may need to change the exposure.
3. Using 4 sheets of 18″ by 24″ newsprint, create a 36″ by 48″ drawing surface. Because we do not have 3′ by 4′ drawing boards, you may have to work in sections and pin your drawings to the wall as you work. I will go over how to scale an image in class.
This exercise should not just be a demonstration of your ability to scale an object. You should also be thinking about composition. Does your drawing create an interesting work of art in addition to following the guidelines listed above?
Vocabulary
system, grid, size, relative, scale, anamorphic distortion, ratio, proportion
Info
A “system” is simply an orderly way of doing something. Art that seems to result from the application of a specific procedure, from repeated use of a pattern or set of patterns, or from adherence to a body of rules is sometimes referred to as “systemic art” or “systems” art.
A “grid” is understood, in most instances, as a system of fixed horizontal and vertical divisions. Grids are among the most adaptable and universally applicable of all systems. Any flat shape, no matter how irregular, can be conceived of in terms of what mathematicians would call X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) axes. The regularity of a grid can be used as an aid in copying, in scale or proportional changes, or to reveal complicated relationships within a work of art.
“Proportion” is a relationship or ratio between parts of a given whole. “Size” is a quantitative description of an object that only makes sense in relationship to either another object or an agreed upon standard of measurement. (e.g., something is “big” only in relationship to something already agreed to be “small.”) “Scale” is a proportional relationship between two sets of dimensions. In general, “scale” refers to the mathematical relationship between an object and a measurable quantity. We say that an object is “full-scale” when it corresponds 1:1 with real life. If the same object is rendered such that any part of it is one-half the length of the original object, we understand this to be at “half scale” or 1:2. One quarter the length would be “quarter scale”, 1:4, or 1/4th scale.
Artists / References
Robert Lazzarini
Digital Humanities (really interesting read)
Anamorphic Drawing Example
Scale and Proportion (Reading 1)
Scale and Proportion (Reading 2)
Sculpture Forum on Scale