Experiments with Line

Elements of Art

Line:  the flat path of a dot through space used by artists to control the viewer’s eye movement; a long narrow mark or stroke made by a pencil, pen, or brush. A mark with greater length than width.
  - Straight: vertical, horizontal or diagonal
  - Curved: flowing, rounded
  - Line quality: the width or appearance of any line, such as thick or thin, smooth or rough, continuous or broken 
Shape: a two-dimensional (flat) area enclosed by a line: geometric (symmetrical, except  for circles and hearts, straight edged) or organic (with irregular, curved edges).  This lesson uses both geometric and organic shapes.

Principles of Design

Pattern:   the repetition of the elements of visual arts in an organized way. In this lesson it repeats shape & line. 

Materials & Supplies

Tips & Tricks / Variations 

• Insects could be drawn on light or white paper with black markers.
• The practice page could be painted with watercolors to create a separate piece of art.
• If short on time, have the students draw fewer insects on smaller paper.
• If students go too fast/sloppy, have them do 2 or 3 and choose their best one. 

Discussion Points

Using a poster with labeled examples, discuss kinds of lines. Keep it simple: straight lines can be diagonal, horizontal, vertical, broken, zig-zag. Curved: wavy, loops, spirals. Have them ‘draw’ the line in the air with their fingers as they repeat the name of the line. Talk about how straight lines ‘feel’ different from curved: i.e. straight is strong, even, solid, like a human-made object; curved feels soft, fluid, like objects in nature. Don’t overload with too much information: at this developmental level stick to the basics. 

Reflection Point (Assessment of Learning Objectives)

The students will experiment and create a composition with straight and curved lines.  They will see that different lines will affect artwork in different ways.

Instructions for Lesson

1. Have the students suggest different kinds of lines and draw them on the board.  For example, wavy, curly, jagged, dashes, fat, thin, curved, etc.
2. Demonstrate that lines drawn close together will create a darker area and lines spaced farther apart will be a light space.
3. Demonstrate how lines can be static (still, stiff) or dynamic (busy, moving). 
4. Show the posters and briefly name each line type.
     
5. Guide students in making as many types of lines as they can on a practice piece of paper. 
6. Demonstrate how to draw an insect using basic shapes.  Draw a few insects using a variety of shapes. Explain and draw the three parts of an insect body: head, thorax and abdomen. Remember, spiders aren’t insects (they are arachnids) and have 2 body parts.
7. Distribute dark construction paper, instruct the students to draw six imaginary insects with a marker.  Encourage the students to space the bugs evenly across the entire paper, (to add interest) and not just in a straight line.  
8. Remind the students of the different types of lines they drew on the practice sheet.  Have the students use a variety of lines to fill up the blank space in the insect’s bodies. 

Variation for 3rd to 5th Graders

Students can trace both hands overlapping, concentrating more on radial symmetry. 
Once they have filled in the hands they can use a wet-on-dry watercolor technique around the outside of the mehndi drawings. Once the outline color is complete, students can rinse their brushes and add water to the paper, causing the outline to bleed out and wash over the paper to the edges.

References and Attributions

Lesson written by Rachelle Roberts. “Insects in Line.” SchoolArts, Apr. 1994, pp. 25–25.
“M-3 Defintions and Qualities of Line.” M3-Definitions and Qualities of Line: Art Appreciation.

Notes for Educators

21st Century Thinking Skills
Observing, Making Connections, Visualizing, Classifying, Comparing/Contrasting, Finding Evidence, Decision Making.

WA State Learning Standards
(VA:Cr1.2.1) a. Use observation and investigation in preparation for making a work of art.
(VA:Cr2.1.1) a. Explore uses of materials and tools to create works of art or design.
(VA:Cr2.3.1) a. Identify and classify uses of everyday objects through drawings, diagrams, sculptures, or other visual means.
(VA:Cr3.1.1) a. Use art vocabulary to describe choices while creating art.
(VA:Re7.2.1) a. Compare images that represent the same subject. This happens if you use examples to illustrate ideas for drawing the insects.
(VA:Re8.1.1) a. Interpret art by categorizing subject matter and identifying the characteristics of form.

Please note:  These lesson plans are intended for non-profit use only. Use of these plans for commercial purposes should give attribution to the Issaquah Schools Foundation and be accompanied by a nominal donation at www.isfdn.org/donate. Thank you.

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