Where the mice live...
In this lesson, we will be exploring illustration, linear perspective, and collage.
You will be creating a public exhibit of collaged mouse holes to install around the school.
You will be asked to use your imagination to create a unique world viewable within the mouse hole. Consider the space to be a portal for your audience to view.
Our first step is to learn a little bit about linear perspetive.
Linear perspective
Hieroglyphics and stone carving reliefs, Ancient Egypt.
Pietro Perugino, Christ Handing the Keys to St. Peter, 1481-1482. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
What is Linear Perspective?
Linear perspective is a technique used by artists to create the illusion of depth and space using relative size and position of a group of objects. To achieve this effect, there are three essential components needed in creating a painting or drawing using linear perspective:
-
Orthogonals (also known as parallel lines)
-
Vanishing point
-
Horizon line
Using these components, it is possible to arrange the composition of a work of art in a way similar to how the human eye sees the world. The guiding principle for this technique is that objects that are closer to the viewer appear to be larger, where objects that are further away appear to be smaller. In order to accomplish this, the artist places a horizontal line across the surface of the picture, which is known as the “horizon line.” Parallel lines or orthogonals then converge as they recede and meet at the vanishing point on the horizon line.
Project Goal:
To create a Mouse Hole environment using One-point linear perspective
Steps:
• Follow the demonstration in class to learn how to create a one-point linear perspective drawing
• Using the techniques you learn, create an unexpected habitat that one would find if they were to peek through the mouse hole.
Be as creative as possible with your drawing. Consider the mouse hole to be a portal into a whole different environment....what kind of world would you like to see from the walls of our school? You need not consider whether or not a mouse lives in the environment...it's just for scale!
• Shade your drawing in using colored pencil. Consider the different values based on a light source in teh space. Use cross-hatching or any other shading method we practiced in class.
• Consider using collaged materials to add to your environment. At this point, you can get really creative with it.
• Consider using collaged materials to add to the outside of your mouse hole. These drawings will be installed where the wall meets the floor around the school. You may want to make the rooms a bit more comfortable for a mouse to dwell in. Consider adding a mailbox, lighting, a car for the mice to drive, etc. Be creative!
Collage
Collage is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.
