This project was inspired by the Op Art movement. The students were challenged to use only lines to create an optical illusion. Each student was instructed to use a pencil to draw shapes and fill the composition with lines. Then, they used pen to trace their lines but did not outline the shapes. Once they traced their lines, they erased the outlines of the shape leaving only the contrasting lines, creating the illusion of shapes and movement.

We started with this photo of a falcon. If you look closely, you'll notice each square in the grid has a tiny number in the upper left corner. That's because it is also a puzzle. Every student was assigned a number referring to a puzzle piece. After trimming blank paper into an 8x8 square, each of us looked closely at just our assigned piece and drew the lines, shapes and light and dark areas (value) in the square. Everyone took a photo with their Chromebook and the finished pieces and the puzzle was photoshopped together!

Apart & Together