8 Bit Watercolor

Objective: Concept

• Students will learn about modern 8- Bit Art which is based on the early video games of the 1980s.

• Students will demonstrate their understanding of 8 bit art by creating a series of drawings using geometric shapes.

• Student will be introduced to a famous artist in the field of illuminated art as well as tag art.

• Students will define terms related to shapes.

• Students will create several images using grid, ratio, and reproduction to create art work based on cubism.

• Students will create an original final project using geometric shapes to create an image that is easily identified. It is the intent of the project to simplify an image to its basic components.

Specific Objectives:

• Create a series of drawings that represent a design using basic geometric shapes.

• Demonstrate basic drawing skills and how to create designs related to the student’s history.

• Define terms: 8- bit art, Geometric Shapes, Organic Shapes, Grid Drawing and Rule of Thirds,

• Students will create images using grid drawing as a warm up into the method of creating a work of art using basic shapes.

• Students will create art work based on basic images using graphing paper to reproduce the art.

• Students will create a final composition in which they take an image of their choosing and break it down into geometric shapes to emulate an 8 bit graphic.

Required Materials:

• Paper

• Ruler

• Pencil

• Color Pencil

• Sharpie

• Erasers

• Grid paper

• Markers

• Watercolor paints (option)

• (Watercolor Paper optional)

Introduction/ Discussion: Anticipatory Set:

Geometric shapes have been utilized by artists for thousands of years. Manny mosaics created by the ancient Greeks utilized tiny square tiles that when put together created a work of art that has become a practice still used to this day. Modern artist like Picasso used the simplification of a form to crate the art form know as Cubism by breaking down their subject into basic shapes. In the early days of the video game system tiny pixels were arranged on the monitor to create an image that could be recognized through a small set of colors in a specific pattern. A new form of art is using the video games with their 8-Bits of image to create all kinds of works of art. Many street artist design art using squares to reproduce images of varying complexity that are based on the early video games of the 1980s. This project is designed to show the progression of art through a simple geometric shape.

Step-By-Step Procedures:

1. Start the lesson by asking the students to define terms related to Shape and 8- Bit Art.

• 8 BIT ART - 8-Bit Art, or “Pixel Art” is style of graphic design that was first seen in the 1980s and early 1990s.

• SHAPE- an object located in some space with height and length only.

• GEOMETRIC SHAPE- Angular shapes that are precise

• ORGANIC SHAPE - Shapes that are not regular or even

• GRID METHOOD - One way of transposing images from one piece of paper to another using the grid method.

• RULE OF THIRDS - is a "rule of thumb" or guideline which applies to the process of composing visual images.

2. This project is designed to connect the students understanding of modern day art and graphic design to the traditional forms of Cubism and mosaic art from the ancient Greeks. The students will begin the lesson by examining and building their understanding of basic shapes and the differences between geometric shapes and organic shapes. Students will examine video game graphics of the 1980s and compare the art work that is being created by artists today based on basic shapes and colors. Over the course of this project students will begin creating art work based on cubism and modern day 8 bit street art.

3. Students will begin the project by viewing different forms of 8-bit graphic art that is being created today. Grid drawing will be demonstrated so as to help the students transfer and enlarge images as a first step in this process. The Grid drawing will also be used to simplify the image and break it down to its most basic shapes. Each student will practice with a simple image transferring from one piece of paper to another. Basic grid drawing should use a grid of ½ inch or 1 inch squares. Squares should be labeled ‘A, B, C, etc’ horizontally and 1, 2, 3, etc vertically. Once students have mastered the basics they will be asked to bring in an image of their own choosing and reproduce it on 2 to 1 ratio or larger. On the smaller piece of paper the squares should be ½ inch and on the large piece of paper the squares should be 1 inch.

4. After grid drawing has been mastered students will begin creating original art using grid paper which provides structured squares for filling in. Students will be asked to create a drawing in their sketch book of their own choosing or design. Once the drawing has been completed they will transfer the image to a piece of grid paper. To complete this part of the project students will need grid paper and color pencils.

Each square must be completely filled in with a solid color and this will give the illusion of pixilated art.

5. For the final part of the project students will be asked to bring in a picture or create an original work of art in their sketch books. The image will be enlarged using a grid drawing of a 2 to 1 ratio. Students will be shown examples of art work from current street artists who are using cubism or 8 – bit style to create their art. Students are to simplify the image using pure color and basic geometric shapes to produce the image. This part of the project can be completed in a choice of mediums; color pencil, water color paint, pencil, or markers. Students are to think critically about their image and need to reproduce their design accurately from sketch to final image.

Summary / Closure:

After completing the project students should have mastered a basic understanding of shapes, Cubism and 8-Bit art.

The students will have a completed a series of drawings as well as developed a basic understandings of the historical importance of a famous artist.

Students will have the ability to use grid drawings to recreate an image or enlarge or shrink it using different scales.

A final piece of art will be completed depicting a student’s representation of an image using cubism or 8-Bit art styles.

Evaluation: Assessment Based on Objectives:

The final grade will be based on the evaluation of the art piece, participation, effort, and quality of paper and art work.

• Students will earn a percentage for their Portfolio Review, both as presenter and as audience. Students will complete an Artists Statement and Rubric prior to the Portfolio review.

• Quality of the work done will be a large part of the grade based on how well they have demonstrated an understanding of the concepts and their depiction. Overall condition of the final pieces will also have a factor in the grading.

• Effort put into the project will be demonstrated by both the final images and the how well the student worked in class on each project. (Factors include: is the project completed, and does it look like the student worked on it and not other things?)

• The final drawing / painting / etc… as well as the several examples of different images will be combined to make up half of the project’s grade.

• A six week test on the vocabulary will also be used as a grade to determine the student understands of the subject matter.

• The Rubrics are made up of 5 categories: Project completion (30%), Participation (20%), Originality (20%), Quality of art work (20%), and Follows directions (10 %).