Lesson #1: Depicting the Illusion of Depth

Part of the unit: Painting a Cityscape |

Goals

Aim: 
How do artists depict the illusion of depth?
Students will be able to:
Analyze how artists create the illusion of depth
Depict the illusion of depth in a drawing
Students will understand that:
Artists explore perspective and scale.
Materials

Ebony pencils, erasers, 9"x12" drawing paper, drawing boards, viewfinders (made by cutting a small rectangle in the middle of a piece of tag board)

Resources

Edward Hopper's New York Corner, Edward Hopper's Early Sunday Morning, Frederick Childe Hassam's Flags, Fifth Avenue, William Glackens' Central Park in Winter

Motivation: 

Display Edward Hopper's New York Corner, Edward Hopper's Early Sunday Morning, Frederick Childe Hassam's Flags, Fifth Avenue, William Glackens' Central Park in Winter.

  • Which painting creates the greater illusion of depth?  How has the artist achieved that?  (Chart responses:  depicts a foreground, middle ground, and background;  objects appear smaller as they recede in space;  uses overlapping;  uses receding lines;  objects in the distance have less detail)
  • How did the artists create these images - did they work from a photograph, outdoor sketches, or memory?  What is the evidence?
Demonstration: 

Distribute viewfinders, 9"x12" drawing paper, ebony pencils, erasers, and drawing boards.

Explain that as preparation for a painting of a New York cityscape, students will be sketching a cityscape on-site.  They will employ strategies to depict the illusion of depth.  To practice depicting depth, they will isolate a section of the classroom to draw using paper viewfinders.

  • In what ways can this viewfinder be helpful to you with today's task?

The teacher will demonstrate how to use the viewfinder to isolate a section of the classroom or a view from the window to draw.  He/She will then demonstrate how to make a quick sketch that includes a foreground, middle ground, and background.  Students should be instructed to avoid details and to concentrate on creating a simple sketch that emphasizes depth. 

Students will use the viewfinder to select their composition and will create a drawing that includes a foreground, middle ground, and background.

Students sitting at the same table will identify sketches that successfully depict the illusion of depth.

Distribute two sheets of 6"x9" drawing paper to each student (9"x12" paper cut in half);  paper viewfinders can be taken home to aid in isolating a scene to draw

Work on-site to create two different 6"x9" sketches of a familiar cityscape.  Each sketch should include a foreground, middle ground, and background to increase the illusion of depth.  Digital photographs of the scene can be used as a reference. People and objects in the scene enhance the illusion of depth.  Include a detailed, written description of the scene for reference.  Note colors, time of day, weather conditions, and lighting.