Family Portrait
Personal Still Life
Problem Statment:
Using objects and compositional devices, create an artwork that describes a your family. You cannot use people or any form that depicts a person (doll, figurine or any other human like element).
Photography Examples
Fine Art Examples
Brainstorming Questions
Directions:
Using Answer the questions below to the best of your ability. Answer in a google doc, your sketchbook, or however you feel most comfortable. As you are answering, don't be afraid to sketch out ideas or make lists of things to showcase your metaphors.
1. What makes your family connected? What do you all like to do?
2. What is your role within your family?
3. Who are you most connected with? why?
4. How are you different from your family?
5. Are family members jealous of you for any reason? why?
6. Are you envious of other family members? why?
7. How has your family grown together? or apart?
8. How has your family changed? physically? mentally?
9. If you had to draw your family as straight vertical lines, who would be tallest? why? (cant use criteria of height in real life)
10. If your family members were represented by circles on a page? who is the closest to the center? why?
11. What do you wish you could change about your family?
12. What has been your best memory with your family?
13. What has been the biggest struggle with your family?
14. If your family is represented by eating utensils (fork, knife, spoon, etc), which one would you be? why?
Padlet Ideas
Purpose:
Artists use each other for idea generation. We will use padlet to help us come up with symbolic objects that we can use within our artworks.
Tasks:
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Go through your writing from yesterday
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Are there any common, repetitive themes?
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Which ones resonate with you the most?
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Do not think from a visual perspective, just an idea
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Select 3-4 possible themes
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Add entries to padlet board by creating a title and adding a brief description with a why or just more info
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. If you do not feel comfortable putting an idea up there, do not do that one. It can be anonymous (dont sign in) or you can have your name to it.
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2. Comment on at least 5 other ideas with actual objects that can be used.
Tips:
- Examples of Symbols 1 - link
- Examples of Symbols 2 - Link
Idea Development 1
Purpose:
Artists use sketchbook pages for inspiration / planning of ideas. We will create a sketchbook page to help up refine our ideas and plan for our final drawing.
Tasks:
1. Using only circles, map out each of your 4 ideas.
- You can do an overhead view or from your drawing point of view (see image below)
2. For each sketch, create 3 groups of possible objects that you can use. Each object needs to be symbolic within your idea.
Tips:
- Use the resources found in this google slideshow (hcpss only) - Link
Idea Development 2
Tasks:
1. Pick your 2 best of ideas (of your 4 you have been working on)
2. Draw out two thumbnail sketches for each idea (4 total). These sketches should be how you want your final artwork to look.
Things to consider:
How big objects are (bigger usually means more important or more emphasis)
How much spacing are between objects (could represent physical distance)
Lighting ( which direction, how strong)
Tips:
Set up the objects and take photos of different points of view with different lighting
DO NOT WORK AHEAD
The information / tasks below are placeholders and will change.
Thumbnail Sketches
Purpose:
Artists draw thumbnails as a quick way of visualizing ideas.
Tasks:
1. On a piece of blank sheet of paper, draw 4 thumbnail sketches.
a.Thumbnails must have borders (defined space that they are in)
b. Must include a number / face card and a suit
c. Must depict something about you.
d. Must alter the card design to showcase your idea
2. Turn in via Canvas
Tips:
- Look at inspiration in gallery below
- Playing cards are traditionally rectangular. However, you can make them any shape that you want.
- Look at animals, symbols, people that can represent you
Refined Thumbnail Sketches
Purpose:
We refine our thumbnails so we have a better grasp of concept, design and execution.
Tasks:
1. On a new sheet of paper, refine 2 of your 4 thumbnails
2. Draw them more accurately, with more detail
----- cleaner, closer to a final version
3. Add Color if you are using color in your final
Tips:
- You do not need to come up with a new concept or design. You are simply making the previous one better.
- Look at the gallery to the right for inspiration
- Look at source images when drawing (playing cards, suits, graphics similar to what you may want to use)
Artist Inspiration
Notes:
- Use the images as inspiration
- Do not copy a design or try to mimic it
- Use other methods of visual inspiration (google images, instagram, personal experiences, photographs, etc
Plagiarism in Art
- Directly using another artists idea without altering it significantly
- Copying another artist design
Final Artwork
Task:
1. Decide on one of your two refined thumbnail sketches to create into a final design. (note that it does not need to be exactly the same, use it as a guide).
2. Using a full page in your sketchbook, or another page (at least 5" at its smallest dimension), sketch your idea to scale. (Scale Calculator)
3. Must have some indication of #/face card and suit
Use materials of your choice
- If your card does not go all the way to your page borders, use a pen / marker and straight edge to create a border
Design can be as abstract as you want
Feel free to include personal/other imagery!
4. Read through the artist statement below prior to starting
Artist Statement
Task:
1. Answer the following questions in a brief artist statement. Type up (if using google doc, copy and paste text into canvas)
a. How does your playing card represent you?
--- Why did you chose the suit you depicted?
--- Why did you chose the number / facecard you depicted?
--- Did you use symbolism in any other way?
- materials, composition, reflection, objects?
b. If you were to do this again, how would you change your work?
