Art 80 Drawing 1
Instructor: Vito-Leonardo Scarola "Lenny"
Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday 68:00 - 7:00 p.m.
E-Mail: or
Office Phone 949 582-4774 Mobile Phone: (949) 295-9925
Course Description:
This course emphasizes the development of perceptual and technical skills in drawing. It will include: line shape, proportion, value, and composition in the representation of sill-life and other subject matter using dry media.
This course is an introduction to basic descriptive drawing skills with emphasis on convincing representation of form in space using traditional drawing techniques. A variety of graphic media, materials, devices and means for representing the volume, structure, character, and delineation of natural and man made forms will be explored in order to be able to produce convincing spatial relationships, and surface treatments.
The investigation of the visual elements will be emphasized and concepts will include: proportions, form and volume, light and shadow, chiaroscuro, empirical and linear perspective. Introductory experiences in composition will also be developed, such as the analysis of picture-plane relationships of positive and negative shape.
This course will be based on a series of drawing problems that are designed to develop three important drawing attitudes, i.e., the problems of responsive drawing through accurate observation (translation of actual images), personal interpretation or expression, and the intellectual analysis of form. This is a foundation course that acts as a keystone for future study in the visual arts. Required for Art majors. Prerequisites: NONE
Course Format
This is an intensive 16-week course that meets 2 times a week. Class sessions are scheduled for three hours on Monday and Wednesday from 3:00 pm to 5:50 pm. Students will earn three units of credit upon successfully completing this course.
1. Class activities will consist of brief lectures; slide presentations, demonstrations, video and in-class project assignments.
2. You will be required to complete a series of progressive laboratory projects. Each problem will deal with one or more concepts, principles, elements and/or techniques.
3. Each assignment acts as a stepping-stone to another. The level of difficulty will become more complex as the course progresses. It is for this reason that the student must maintain regular attendance at each class meeting.
4. Studio and home assignments will deal primarily with representational subject matter from still-life material.
Purpose, Objectives, Goals of Course:
The purpose of this course is to develop observational, representational and interpretive drawing skills so as to be able to articulate and to communicate visual images convincingly on a two-dimensional surface. This course should enable students to:
1. Develop personal inquiry based on practice and seeking individual visual solutions to drawing problems.
2. Focus on intuitive and analytical problem solving while learning to use the materials and formative principles and elements that produce good drawings.
3. Become familiar with some processes necessary in the organization of interesting visual images.
4. Refine existing technical skills and to explore new possibilities with a variety of media, processes, and techniques. We will gain practical experience with art materials and techniques fundamental to making art.
5. Work toward developing a personal visual language.
6. Produce interesting pictorial images that show concern with conceptual problem solving as related to drawing
7. Become more self-motivated.
8. Exposed to professional working conditions, and drawing practices.
9. Become aware of contemporary and traditional drawing styles, trends, technical practices.
10. Judge and translate into drawing accurate shapes, forms, relationships, and proportions.
11. Learn to differentiate what we know about objects and to become sensitive when reading or interpreting the marks of drawing.
Student Responsibilities
Expectations:
1. TURN OFF ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES SUCH AS CELL PHONES IPODS ETC. prior to the beginning of class. If you expect an emergency call please put your phone on "vibrate" and take the call outside the classroom.
2. USE CLASS TIME WISELY. Take good notes, listen and watch demos closely. Class time is to be used to work on the assignments not on personal work. Unfinished class assignments must be completed at home. Teacher directed class exercises will prepare students for more finished projects to be completed at home. Students are expected to work in and out of class. Be prepared to spend from 3 to 6 hours a week on out-of-class assignments.
3. FOCUS ON YOUR WORK. Persistent talking is a distraction to others who are trying to concentrate. Contrary to "talkers belief" one does not draw better while engaged in a conversation.
4. STUDIO FA203 CLEAN-UP - Please see to it that at the end of each class session:
a) All easels are placed back in rows of four by the back door window.
b) All taboret tables are placed in front of the still-life set-ups
c) All chairs are placed in front of the taboret tables
d) All drawing horses and stools should be lined up by the back door window
d) All chairs, taboret tables, drawing horses and easels are wiped clean or sponged down if necessary
All students will be required to participate in a general room clean-up day toward the end of the semester or whenever necessary.
1. BE ORGANIZED: Students are expected to be organized and bring materials to work in class. On occasion, students will be asked to bring photos, props, & scrap materials to class.
2. BE PREPARED: Students should be prepared for class even though they have missed a previous class. Please obtain phone numbers from several people in the class. You are responsible for any lecture or assignment missed.
3. COMPLETE ASSIGNMENTS ON TIME: Students are expected to complete each assignment and turn it in on the due date. Assignments should demonstrate visual solutions to instructor directed exercises. Do more than one solution to each assignment whenever possible.
4. PARTICIPATE IN CLASS CRITIQUES: Individual as well as class critiques will be conducted on a regular basis following each creative solution to a problem presented and everyone is expected to participate. Students are required to analyze their own work and the work of fellow students in formal critiques (verbally and sometimes written) based on guidelines established for the project involved.
5. READ! Reading assignments will be given throughout the semester. (See Bibliography!!) Look for good examples that mirror class assignments in books, magazines, and newspapers. Use the Library.
6. VISIT ART GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS: Avail yourself to good examples of original Drawings
7. COME SEE ME DURING OFFICE HOURS IF YOU NEED EXTRA HELP. If any questions arise about the course content of requirements on any level during the course of the semester that have not been addressed in class, feel free to make an appointment during my office hours for extra help. I put a great deal of emphasis on working “one-on-one” both in and out of class.
8. KEEP A SKETCH BOOK/NOTEBOOK. Take class notes and draw in it daily. These are to be submitted as part of your final portfolio.
9. PRESENTATION OF MID-TERM AND FINAL PORTFOLIO (See below)
Portfolio Review:
Portfolios are due for final grade evaluation at the midterm and at the end of the semester. Both in-class and out-of-class assignments (some are to be professionally matted. Some assignments will also be evaluated for grading on individual due dates during the semester at times to be announced. Portfolios are to be maintained in a neat and orderly condition. Works subject to smudging must be protected with a coversheet of bond, tracing, or glassine paper attached along the top edge only with 2 to 3 pieces of drafting masking tape. In addition your full name, date, and “Drawing 1” must be legibly printed on the back of each page.
Attendance:
1 Each day’s attendance should be characterized by a cheerful, assertive, purposeful attitude.
2. Students are expected to be aware of class hours and be in attendance for the full session. Leaving early or arriving late excessively will result in a lowered final grade.
3. Students are expected to attend class on a regular basis. There is no provision for making up a class you missed. Spotty attendance or tardy will result in a lowered final grade. A student who misses more than three class sessions may result in a lower final grade.
4. I consider an excused absence to be a verifiable illness or a death in the family. Please leave a message at the administration office or call me personally.
5. It is my policy to drop only those students who are enrolled and do not show within the first week of class. After that, it is the responsibility of the student to officially drop the course. The student who does not officially drop and has not attended class will receive an automatic F for their final grade.
6. If for any reason you do not plan to continue the course, please see me before dropping.
Grading Procedure:
65% Comprehensive Final Portfolio
65 % of your semester grade will be based on the quality of all the work you produced during the semester. A comprehensive portfolio that includes all of your creative work; class and homework assignments, sketchbook/workbook, extra credit and a completed self-evaluation form must be submitted at the end of the semester. Final portfolio due -
Your entire body of work will be reevaluated as a whole and awarded an overall letter grade based on an average quality of your performance relative to the stated objectives for each project and the effectiveness and facility you display in meeting all of the following achievements:
1. Effective use of materials, and techniques (craftsmanship).
2. The design of the page (composition or total visual response).
3. Effective use of formal issues (principles and elements of design).
4. Evolution of ideas (ability to think through a problem visually).
5. Inventive images or originality (personal solutions to a given problem).
6. Search for more than one solution to a given problem.
7. Ability to articulate visually your ideas (get across what you intended).
8. Ability to solve assigned problems (meet project objectives).
9. Ability to see things in new ways (varying points of view, fragment, sort, rearrange).
10. Flexibility to work in different ways (slow, fast, tight, free, etc.).
11. Freedom of expression (take chances).
Additionally consideration will be given to projects being submitted on time. Projects are considered late if they are not handed in at the assigned time and date. I will accept work turned in late, but the grade you will receive for each project is one letter grade lower than the grade you would have received if it had been handed in on time. This may affect your overall portfolio grade.
You may redo a project at any time during the semester in order to enhance your portfolio grade. Extra credit assignments may also affect your final portfolio grade.
25 % Attendance
25 % of your semester grade will be based on attendance. Come to class on time and use it wisely.
0-1 absence = 25% of semester grade
2 absence = 20% of semester grade
3 absence = 15% of semester grade
4 absence = 10% of semester grade
5 absence = 5% of semester grade
6 absence = 0% of semester grade
Grading Procedure: (Continued)
10 % Overall Involvement: 10% of your semester grade will be based on all of the following considerations:
1. Effort, motivation, and general commitment to the class
2. Improvement.
3. Care of personal Work. Such as professional portfolio presentation:
a. All work must be presented in a clean and orderly manner. Label each piece with your name, project title, date and class.
b. Designated project assignments must be properly matted with a protective cover tissue.
4. Ability to break personal boundaries and limitations.
5. Extra Credit. Additional designated work may be submitted for extra credit. You may receive extra points for each assignment submitted. These points will be added to your cumulative total, then averaged at the end of the semester. Doing an extra credit project will not replace an assignment.
6. Class participation. (participation in discussions and critiques, promptness, conscientious, general involvement with the class etc.)
7. A positive attitude (self-image)
8. Contribution and commitment to the class (being courteous and regard for a professional studio classroom standards and environment, i.e. assisting in cleaning activities and the observance of all classroom policies.)
Your final grade may be changed, at my discretion, either higher or lower after reconsidering any or all of the three categories listed above.
Art Supply and Materials List
1. • Masonite Drawing board - 20”x 26” with clips attached to drawing board or (1/4 “ thick) Masonite or wood board with 2 separate clips to hold paper
2. • Drawing paper pad - 18”x 24”(Strathmore series #400 or equivalent)
3. Layout bond paper pad or Newsprint Pad - 18”x 24” (Optional)
4. Sketchbook - 9”x12” book or spiral bound
5. Assorted papers: (Single sheets as needed) Wait on these. I will let you know when to purchase the following papers: Canson Mi-Tientes toned papers (gray or tan or brown), Bristol board (plate finish), illustration board (hot-press), tracing paper or velum, & mat board
6. Large portfolio - (22”x 28” minimum) to carry and protect work
7. • Ebony Drawing pencil - or “Thoro Black” #313 or Eagle Pencil or EF Bernard Faber or Hardmuth Negro or another brand with thick black lead
8. Graphite pencils: ( 2H, HB, F, 2B, 4B, 6B)
9. • Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencil (8B)
10. General’s Charcoal pencils: ( HB, 2B, 4B,) or Wolf Carbon pencils or Ritmo: H, HB, 2B,4B, 6B
11. General’s White charcoal pencil
12. Conte Crayons – (one of each: black, sanguine, and white)
13. Willow or Vine charcoal sticks (one package medium 1/4” sticks), (one package medium 1/2” sticks)
14. CHAR-KOAL compressed charcoal sticks: black (2 medium)
15. Conté crayons: black, white, sanguine (red) or sepia, & bistre (brown)
16. Artist’s sandpaper block or sheet of fine grained sandpaper
17. • Eberhard kneaded eraser and one of the following: Magic Rub eraser or art gum eraser or pink pearl eraser
18. • Felt-tip pen: (fine points)
19. Krylon workable fixative (one can) or Adorn hair spray
20. • X-acto knife (#11 or #24 blade) or razor blade (single edge)
21. • Pencil sharpener preferably Panasonic Electric Pencil Sharpener (optional)
22. House painter’s tape - 2” wide minimum
23. Blending stomp (large) and Tortillon (small) and Q-tips, Kleenex or powder puff
24. Artist’s chamois
25. • View Finder (home Made) to include a sheet of clear plastic or acetate