Animal Eye Project

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Project Description

In this project, you will delve into the fascinating world of animal eyes using oil pastels. Animal eyes are not only windows to their souls but also showcase an incredible array of colors, textures, and reflections. Through this project, you will learn to observe and recreate these intricate details while experimenting with the vibrant medium of oil pastels.

Objectives:
  • Study the unique characteristics of animal eyes, including color, texture, and reflections.
  • Develop proficiency in using oil pastels to create vivid and realistic artworks.
  • Practice layering and blending techniques to capture depth and luminosity.
  • Improve attention to detail and observation skills.
  • Create a finished oil pastel artwork that showcases the beauty and complexity of an animal's eye.

    • Materials:
  • Drawing paper or specialized pastel paper
  • Oil pastels in a range of colors
  • Erasers (kneaded eraser and/or vinyl eraser)
  • Reference images of animal eyes (photographs or illustrations)
  • Optional: Blending tools such as cotton swabs or tortillons

    • Instructions:
    Introduction to Animal Eyes:
    Begin by discussing the unique features and characteristics of animal eyes. Explore the ways in which different species' eyes are adapted to their environments and roles.

    Selecting a Reference Image:
    Instruct participants to choose a high-quality reference image of an animal's eye. This could be a close-up photograph or an illustration that highlights the intricate details.

    Observation and Sketching:
    Encourage participants to spend time observing the reference image, paying attention to colors, shapes, reflections, and textures. Have them create a light pencil sketch of the eye on the drawing paper.

    Color Exploration:
    Guide participants in selecting an appropriate color palette for their artwork. Discuss color theory and how to mix and blend oil pastels to achieve desired shades and tones.

    Layering and Blending:
    Demonstrate layering and blending techniques using oil pastels. Explain how to achieve smooth transitions between colors and how to build up layers to capture the eye's depth and texture.

    Focusing on Details:
    Instruct participants to focus on one area of the eye at a time. Encourage them to carefully observe and replicate details such as the iris pattern, catchlights, and reflections.

    Adding Highlights and Shadows:
    Demonstrate how to add highlights to create a sense of depth and dimension. Discuss where light sources are coming from and how they affect the eye's appearance.

    Texture and Effects:
    Guide participants in using various techniques to recreate the textures found in animal eyes. This might include using short strokes, cross-hatching, or stippling to mimic fur, scales, or other features.

    Refinement and Final Touches:
    Encourage participants to refine their artwork by adding fine details, adjusting colors, and perfecting textures. Emphasize the importance of patience and attention to detail.

    Presentation:
    Once the artwork is complete, have participants present their oil pastel animal eye drawings to the group. Encourage them to share their experiences, challenges, and what they learned from the process.

    Assessment Criteria:
  • Accurate representation of the chosen animal's eye anatomy and details.
  • Skillful use of oil pastels to blend colors and create texture.
  • Attention to highlights, shadows, and reflections for a three-dimensional effect.
  • Overall composition and visual impact of the artwork.
  • Demonstrated understanding of the unique characteristics of the chosen animal's eye.

    • Through this project, participants will not only develop their artistic skills but also gain a deeper appreciation for the complexity and beauty of the natural world. Feel free to tailor the project to suit the skill level and interests of your participants.




    Learning Objectives


    Learning Objectives:

  • Understanding Oil Pastel: Familiarize yourself with the unique properties of oil pastels, including their creamy texture, vibrant colors, and ability to be layered and blended. Learn how to manipulate these characteristics to create a variety of effects in your artwork.

  • Layering and Blending Techniques: Develop proficiency in layering oil pastels to build rich colors and create depth in your drawings. Experiment with various blending techniques, such as using your fingers, blending stumps, or solvents, to achieve smooth transitions and gradients.

  • Texture: Explore different ways to create textures and marks using oil pastels, from hatching and cross-hatching to scrumbling and sgraffito. Practice incorporating a range of textures to add visual interest and tactile qualities to your artwork.

  • Color Mixing: Study color theory principles and how they apply to oil pastels. Experiment with mixing and layering colors to create harmonious and dynamic color palettes in your drawings. Understand how different colors interact when layered and blended.

  • Creating Depth: Learn techniques for conveying depth and volume in your oil pastel drawings. Practice using techniques like shading, highlighting, and the manipulation of warm and cool colors to create the illusion of three-dimensional forms.





    • Rubric

    Rubric:
    Rubrics have become popular with teachers as a means of communicating expectations for an assignment, providing focused feedback on works in progress, and grading final products. A rubric is a document that articulates the expectations for an assignment by listing the criteria, or what counts, and describing levels of quality from excellent to poor.

    The rubric for the animal eye project can be viewed, downloaded and printed below. Enjoy




    Artist: Bob Richardson


    Bob Richardson has been cited as one of the best pastel artists of his generation. His recent one-man show at Clark Art, in Hale, demonstrates just why. He lives in Sale with his wife, Helga, says his earliest memories are of walking past the Salford Docks with his mother, as they burned, throwing flames and smoke into the night sky, following a bombing raid by the German Luftwaffe. This visual imprint and memory, followed by the later decay and eventual destruction of the Salford he grew up in, was a driving force in Bob’s early work, which put him firmly on the map as a key artist of the Northern School, alongside LS Lowry - who he knew well - fellow Salford resident Harold Riley and close friend Arthur Delaney.

    His career as a professional fine artist followed a career as a commercial artist, a story that is told in full in a book about his life, co-authored by me, Kate Houghton, and Bill Clark, a renowned specialist in Northern Art and the owner of Clark Art gallery in Hale. The biography is a fascinating insight into the art scene when Bob first entered it, from conversations with Lowry to old-fashioned patronage and discovery.



    Handout



    The handout below will help students get started on understanding key concepts for this specific project. You can look, download and print it below. Enjoy!





    Project Example


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    Project Demonstration








    Student Work

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    Assessment

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    You're Ready to Start Your Project.




    Project Submission

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    Animal Eye Comments






    Elise M.
    Water color painting
    The water color painting project was my least favorite project because if you mess up you can't go back and it wasn't as fun as the others because you didn't have any partial choice in what you get to make, it just had to be the same exact landscape. In the landscape project I would try to use less water on the paper at a time because when I did do the project I nearly ruined and ripped the paper.
    Brandon K
    Animal Eye
    My favorite project was the water color project as it was the most straight forward and easy to understand. I learned from the water color project how to paint landscapes and other features, and that my future does not lay in watercolor paintings. My least favorite project was the animal Eye as it was a complicated project. I also found the project hard because even though there was the grid to draw scale from I found it hard to remember to sketch in scale. It was also hard for me as the blending of colors was very confusing for me. I would change the project by giving an extra day and showing more ways to blend to make different colors in the packet. The animal eye and keyhole projects were kind of similar as they both required texture and color which are two of the elements of art. They are different though as the keyhole project required shape and line more than the animal eye which required form as it was supposed to include some details to make it 3d.
    Isabelle T.
    Comparing
    The key hole project and their animal eye project are similar because they both use texture. The key hole used wood texture and the animal eye has texture scraped into it. They are different because one uses more color than the other. The animal eye used a lot of color and the key hole was black and white. The different elements were used to help form the paintings and make them look better.
    Elliott R
    Animal eye project
    My least favorite project was the animal eye project. I hated working with the oil pastels since they didn't always blend how I wanted, and if I made a mistake I couldn't erase it. If I could change anything about it, I would make it so that we could use colored pencils or a different material.
    Davin Rednour
    Animal Eyes
    The three of them were fu projects but the hardest one was the animal eye because it was harder than the rest.
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