Origami Observational Drawing

 

This is another observational drawing project that I've taught my high school students for a number of years. They create an origami paper sculpture of their choice then they have to draw it from 3 different angles/views from direct observation. I always love the variety of results and how my students push themselves every year, adding different media and unusual backgrounds. 

Some finished results- these are a mixed class of Grade 10, 11 and 12 students:

Observational Seashell Drawings

Yet another observational drawing project I teach once in a while- I have a huge collection of seashells that I've collected from around the world from various beaches over the years. I love them- they're like little perfect sculptures made by nature. 

These were all drawn by Grade 4-6 students. We use 4B pencils and kneadable erasers. I turn off all the lights in the classroom and they use the window light for natural shadows. 

For an extra challenge, some students did colored versions using coloured pencils:

this is one of my shells I collected on a beach in Mozambique- there were so many!

 

Mondrian Style Animals

If you're looking for a fast project, here's a keeper- only markers and they always come out really fun!

Students looked at the work by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. They described the types of lines, colours and shapes used in his works. They chose an animal, drew a simple outline of it. Using a ruler, they broke it up into vertical and horizonal lines. They traced everything in Sharpie and then coloured using the three primary colours, plus black. 

Some finished Grade 4,5 results: