So many projects completed... so many posts to come!

Mid-term exams are almost over (tomorrow is the last day), which means I have loads of pictures of projects from Marking Period 2 and mid-terms to upload and post about! ...whenever I find the time ...after I've finished grading ...and prepping all my lesson materials for Marking Period 3 ...or at least for the next few weeks ...ok, at least the next few days. The job of a first-year teacher is endless!

But I wanted to give you guys (mostly any teachers reading my blog) a sneak peek at the mid-term project that I assigned to my Art 1 classes.

The SGO for this class revolves around value and shading, so to drive home the concept of value (which we've been discussing and practicing with each new medium they learn), I decided to have them do Creative Value Scales. This project seems to be pretty common, as it's all over Pinterest and all over the internet. But the twist for my students: they were allowed to use ANY of the media and techniques we had learned so far, which meant their value scales could be in COLOR!

I seriously can't wait to post the results (and I'll post the Project Info Sheet and rubric, too!), but for now, here's one collage as a "sneak peek" ... not to be confused with a "sneak peak" which would be a creepy mountain.

RMHS Art Mid-Term Resources

Freaked about mid-terms?!?!

It's okay, just take a deep breath...

I've uploaded resources for all classes to my SchoolWires class pages:

Art 1

Art 3

Advanced Art

From there, you can download the study guides, packets, project info sheets, rubrics, etc.

You all know I've been out sick. Are you worried about finishing your project/packet on time because YOU were out sick, too? Don't worry! I am a very reasonable person (when it counts) and I will work with you to make sure that we can all end next week smiling... and with grades submitted on time.


Now here's a kitten to cheer you up:

Edit: the kitten doesn't always show up. That is sad.

Artist Trading Cards: Info

Dear Art III:
Sorry that I'm absent today. To whomever is reading this first: tell your classmates that I can check how many people viewed my posts. I expect you to at least browse over this post and the next one (colored pencil painting resources).

So... you should have just gotten a hand-out from the covering teacher that explains your Mid-Term project, and you're thinking:

I know you're probably like, "Artist Trading Cards? Is this some kind of secret nerd convention activity? Ms. Walker..."

Not how Artist Trading Cards work

But before you get all:

Let me take a moment to explain!

I'd heard of Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) before, but I never made any, and I didn't really get the concept of how you'd go about finding people to trade with. It turns out that the two most common ways are scheduled swaps, and swaps-by-mail.

I was perusing Twitter the other night, trying to figure out how to adjust your Mid-Term project to make sure you would have time to finish it, when a specific tweet caught my eye:

I thought, "Hey, that would work for my classes!" and sent her a tweet thanking her for the idea. She responded asking if we'd be interested in trading ATCs with her students. In the Philippines. 

Kinda cool, huh? So, we are going to make Artist Trading Cardss, and I am going to try to set up a swap with a school in Manila.

For this project, you are allowed to make as many ATCs as you want, and if people like making them, we will continue to explore making ATCs using different media and themes throughout the year.



Here are a couple links to some online ATC galleries:

• http://www.illustratedatcs.com/
• http://www.atcsforall.com/forum/gallery/index.php

Now go read my next blog post! It's about Colored Pencil Paintings.

"Colored Pencil Painting" resources for Art III

ARE YOU READY TO TAKE YOUR USE OF COLORED PENCILS TO THE NEXT LEVEL?!?!?! ARE YOU READY TO GO FROM BLAH TO VOILA?!?!

Ok, I'll calm down, now.

As you go through your packet and prepare to complete your project, feel free to check out any of the resources in this post -- seeing the methods other artists use can help you develop your skills!

"Colored Pencil Painting" examples from my handout (and more!)

Dutch artist known as "Prismatix"

Linked the to site where I found the image

Maria B. Davis - mariabdavis.com

Jillian Lambert (from her Etsy shop, JillianLamberArt)

Gerry Segismundo

Ciprian Calbeaza

Check out this interesting image of a work that is only partially burnished:

Some cool abstract student work...

Nathalie Chikhi

Revelle Taillon

Ryan Tippery

More student-level work:

Lauren Lewchuk

Prepare to have your breath taken away...

Veronica Winters - VeronicasArt.com

Inspired?! I hope so... because here are the tutorials...

Picture Tutorials:

• "Colored Pencil Tutorial: Basic Information"
• Sphere with multiple shades of blue
• Sphere with different colors
• Eye (by same artist as the 2 sphere tutorials above)
• Skin Tones
• "Colorful Eye" (see below)
• Lips
• Hair #1
• Hair #2

from the "Colorful Eye" tutorial

Text Tutorials with Pictures:

• Apple! (good example of not using only Local Color)
• Shiny chrome effect
• "Painting Flowers"
• Burnishing different ways on a flower
• Shading techniques used in girl with book drawing below
• Color blending and shading in Portraits (lips below are from this)
• Realistic Colored Pencil Portrait Art by Howard David Johnson

Video Tutorials:

(Sorry that YouTube is blocked at school. I know... life is cruel, and data isn't free.)

• Very basic tutorial - "Blending Colored Pencils"
• Colored Pencil Techniques - 3 Approaches
• Basics to blending in colored pencil w/ Lachri
• This woman tends to talk very fast. Also, she give a speech about her love of paint thinner, so once that starts, jump to 1:50)
• How to draw a blurry background in colored pencil - Demo w/ Lachri
• How to Draw a Realistic Nose in Colored Pencils
• Great explanation of simple skin tones in this video, too!

Feel free to come back and visit this post any time you have a free afternoon and want to fall down the rabbit hole... but for now, make sure you give yourself enough time to finish your Mid-Term!

General Midterm Information for my RMHS Art students

Here is some general information about the mid-terms for my classes:

Art 1: You have a project and a test. 

• The test will be approximately 20 questions, a combination of multiple choice and short answer. We will be reviewing in class and I will provide a study guide. The test will be administered during the scheduled Mid-Term Exam period.
• Your project is the Creative Value Scale. It is due by the end of your exam period.

Art 3: You have a packet and a project.

• The "Colored Pencil Packet" is being graded in place of a test -- make sure you put in your best effort and fully answer all the short-answer questions in the packet.
• Your project is an Artist Trading Card in colored pencil. 
• Both items are due by the end of your exam period.

Advanced Art: You have a written critique and a project.

• You will be completing a Guided Written Critique Packet in place of a test. You will complete this during the scheduled Mid-Term Exam period. I will be giving you a sample and review on January 21st.
• Your project is the Negative Space assignment. It is due by the end of your exam period, along with all Marking Period 2 projects.
• The Negative Space PowerPoint is available for download on our class page: http://www.ridgefieldschools.com/Page/3866

All students will be required to complete a Self-Assessment Matrix and Reflection Questions for their Mid-Term project. This handout will count towards your project grade, so please put effort into it!