Drawing Forms

Drawing provides the foundation for all the visual arts. It is a process of exploration through mark making, and is both an activity and an outcome. 

Techniques: continuous line, contour, blocking in shapes, surface textures, shading. 

Emphasis on the Elements of Art: line, shape, and value. 

California Arts Standards for Public Schools

CREATING—Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work. 

2.1 Enduring Understanding: Artists and designers experiment with forms, structures, materials, concepts, media, and art-making approaches. 

Essential Questions: How do artists work? How do artists and designers determine whether a particular direction in their work is effective? How do artists and designers learn from trial and error? 

Process Component: Investigate

TK: Cat Drawings

Artist Connections

Andy Warhol’s Cat Drawings, 1950-60s

Kindergarten: Drawing Insects

Artist Connections

Andy Warhol's Bug Drawings, 1950s

Kawakami Ryoki, Ants, Leaves, and a Beetle (detail from the handscroll “Wildlife Friends”), ca. 1918

Microsculpture: The Insect Portraits of Levon Biss (photography), 2017

1st grade: Looking at Creatures and Drawing Textures

Artist Connections

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Rhinoceros, 1515

Artist Unknown, Hippopotamus (“William”), from Egypt ca. 1961-1878 B.C.

Fon People (Benin), Crocodile (embroidery), 1900s

3rd grade: Invented Worlds - Drawing Imaginary Birds

Artist Connections

Fred Tomaselli’s mixed media bird collages, 2000s

Joan Miró Hirondelle/Amour, 1933-34

4th grade: Drawing Animals at Play

Artist Connections

Wanda Gág, Cats at the Window, 1929

Maruyama Ōkyo, Three Puppies, 1790

5th grade: Drawing and Shading 3D Forms - Invented Robots

Artist Connections

René Magritte, The Cry of the Summit, 1942

Hajime Sorayama, Aibo Entertainment Robot (ERS-110), 1999

House of Robots - Episode 1 "Rise and Robot!" (Animation directed by Rob Shaw)

Essential question: What can we imagine? Artists give form to what they imagine in the artworks they create.