Below are some examples of graffiti/vandalism that I show my students when asking them these questions.

After our class discussion on what the difference between art and vandalism (creating with or without permission) comes to an end, we discuss our first tech tool that we will be using in our project, DaFont. Students are tasked with exploring a pre-selected amount of "Graffiti Style" font using links in Google Classroom. Once students have chosen a font that they would like to create their name in, they submit a link via the digital assignment. This link allows me to know which font the student has chosen to use, and the spelling of their chosen name. Some students choose to do a preferred name, middle name, or nickname for their progject.

Once the students submit their name, I print out the submission and enlarge the text onto an 11" x 17" piece of copy paper.

Next time that we meet the students color in the back side of the print out with a graphite pencil and place the paper, graphite side down, onto a 12" x 18" piece of tagboard. The students trace over the printout and the graphite on the reverse will leave an outline of their name. Next, they trace over the outline to see it better and then add embellishments such as shapes, images, or paint splatters in the background.

The students trace over their drawings with a Sharpie and then erase the extra pencil marks from their drawings. Once complete, color pencils are used to add and blend colors to the desired effect.

After the students have completed their drawings, I take a photograph with my phone, crop the image, and email the photo to their student gmail accounts.

The students will then use Photopea to remove the background from the image and add in a new background such as a brick wall or building. Once completed, the image is downloaded and submitted via Google Classroom.

Completed edited photos using Photopea

See below for instructions on how to edit the artwork in Photopea and for a pacing guide to assist with keeping students on track.

Pacing Guide

Day 1: Choose a font from DaFont and submit it on Google Classroom.

Day 2: Trace the printed name onto paper and start designing embellishments.

Day 3: Finish tracing your name and drawing embellishments.

Day 4: Trace over your pencil with a Sharpie marker and erase the extra pencil marks.

Day 5: Color pencil demonstration. Start coloring your design with colored pencils and blend the colors together.

Day 6: Continue to color in your design.

Day 7: Photopea demonstration. Finish coloring in your design.

Day 8: Photopea - remove background from the image.

Day 9: Photopea - add a new background, save file and submit to Google Classroom.

Day 10: Class Critique - Students who are not finished will receive this class period to work on their work while the rest of the class has a class critique on the finished projects. THE PROJECT IS DUE AT THE END OF CLASS.