Art I

As we begin some work using principles of linear perspective (both one-point perspective and two-point perspective, you will find it very helpful (I hope!) to refer to the resources just below. Each of the first three following files will walk you through a different perspective-related concept, or set of concepts. I strongly suggest creating the drawing you'll make using the first file (Floating Boxes) first, but you could do the second and third drawings (using the second and third files) (below the first three) in whichever order you like.

There may be a fourth demonstration slide show demonstrating the use of two-point perspective to start to create a simple cityscape.

The final file in this series of perspective-related files is not a demonstration slide show, but rather includes artworks that use perspective and figures (in perspectival spaces) in interesting and perhaps inspiring ways.

This first file is a review (or perhaps an introduction) of one-point perspective, with the addition of the element of lighting. It also incorporates some two-point perspective. Please note that I'm asking you to include THREE boxes in two-point perspective: one on the horizon line, one above, and one below. Note that the demo/file/slide show only shows two boxes in two-point perspective

This second perspective-related slide guides you through the creation of a "room" in one-point perspective with a checkerboard pattern floor. It introduces the concept of a distance point (or points), which represents the distance of the viewer from the scene. You'll see how the distance point(s), used in combination with hash marks showing the equal subdivision of a baseline (the front edge of the floor, in effect), will allow you to generate the floor's checkerboard pattern. You'll also see how you can use a perspective lines (orthogonals: lines perpendicular to the picture plane) in combination with a simplified human figure so that you'll be to place figures at various depths in a perspective scene with a kind of geometric accuracy. Note that your final drawing, for this exercise, should present three figures (people, but drawn very simplified) at three different depths in the room and with each at a different position in terms of left to right. (That is, one should be towards the left side, one towards the right side, and one near the middle.)

This third perspective-related slide walks you through how to draw/develop/construct a somewhat complex form in two-point perspective within an overall one-point perspective scene. NOTE: Please work through this drawing using the same sort of baseline (e.g., eight inches wide, subdivided into eight one-inch segments) you used in the previous exercise, BUT set your distance point(s) differently: either further out from or closer in towards the central vanishing point. Making this change will make it clear just how the placement of the distance point(s) affects the "feel" of the space. (If the distance point(s) are closer in, the checkerboard floor will seem to tilt up more sharply and dramatically.

Here is a very quickly done demo showing the development of a sketch for a two-point perspective cityscape (our fourth linear perspective exercise):

Here is a slide show with information about our fifth perspective exercise (the final exercise, with your creative project using perspective in some fashion to follow this). It involves some observational drawing combined with the idea of then altering an observed (real) space:

1/3/22

If you have finished both oil pastel drawings, each based on a different written description (see handouts; I've also inserted both description below, but strongly urge you to work from a hard copy so that you can readily annotate and make notes), and if you are waiting for other students to catch up, you can do either or both of the following extra credit projects (the two of which are very closely linked to each other):

• Write a description of an image that doesn't yet exist in such a way as to give potential readers/users of your text enough to work with so as to have a reasonable chance of creating an image close to what you have in mind. Try to keep the length to no more than one single-spaced page. Consider what kind and degree of freedom (of interpretation) you may want to give the reader/user in order to make the work (of creating the image) interesting for her/him. And give some thought to what kinds of description and direction would be most helpful and clear. (For example, consider giving a potential reader/user more freedom by describing the mood of the image rather than specifying particular colors.)

• Then, create an oil pastel based on your own description, just as you did with the two teacher-created descriptions.

Note: You could decide to create an original oil pastel of your own invention either BEFORE writing a description of it or (depending on how much time you end up having to devote to this exgtra credit work) WITHOUT writing a description of it. Also, depending on time, you could decide to write the description of an image WITHOUT actually making an oil pastel version of the image. In other words, this is a two-part extra credit deal, where you could do the two parts in either order or could do just one (either) part.

For those who do the written part:

If you write on paper, you can keep the description in your folder for later collection by (or turning in to) the teacher. If you write electronically (e.g., type your description on your iPad), you can email it to:

larry_sheinfeld@bedfordps.org

If you take that route, I suggest putting "Oil pastel description" in the subject heading of the email to help ensure that I find the email right away.

Here are the two written descriptions of images to be used as the basis for two oil pastel drawings. (Please keep in mind that I suggest working from a paper copy for ease of annotating.)

The following slide show presents a bit of information about collagraph, along with a few student examples and a photo of several collagraph printing plates.

Perspective scene unit: additional resources/links as of 3/4/20

Link to file of paintings and photos including buildings: lots of good visual reference material for anyone wishing to elaborate upon simple buildings:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1zJ2dSQJT49zf52ZLvsCyXZt8pfIrGve-

Link to selected shots from a book called Storefront II - photographs of a wide variety of store facades from New York City: again, lots of good visual references to come up with more ideas for buildings in your perspective scene.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qNw72xMb_TdVfh0CNxfkFUMsvSUuBwXe

Link to a file with a few demo slides showing more and less coherent uses of color in relation to perspective: you'll see a contrast between using a gradual transition from warm to cool colors vs. using very different colors next to each other. The images are related to atmospheric (aka "aerial" perspective), meaning how the actual atmosphere (water vapor and other particles in the air) sometimes make objects look different depending upon how far away they are from us. In general, when it's at all hazy, as things get further away from you, they'll look cooler in color (more blue), a bit blurrier, less contrasty, and bit bit lighter.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_sv24eAbhy6AH6kVRcW1wjcQpdBbxIee

Start of Quarter 2: We are going to be working with some landscape concepts now. We'll start with some explorations of basic landscape features and some concepts relating to how light affects landscape forms, and how we perceive space and depth, both in the "real world" and in the world of pictures. The pdf file just below shares some past student work — mainly sketches — that will serve as useful guides as you explore shading of three dimensional forms ("hills") and overlapping and recession in space of vertical elements ("trees").