8th Grade: Contour Line Drawings of Hands with Watercolor Background

Day 1: (50-70 min) What is a contour line? Demonstrate several warm-up activities, including drawing the creases of the palm of your hand and a blind contour line drawing of a hand gesture, stressing the importance of looking at what you are drawing. Discuss the Right Brain vs. Left Brain. Students should complete one drawing of a gesture that they are pleased with on newsprint. This gesture will be traced three times on 12 x 18 90lb white drawing paper with Sharpie marker. Cut hands out.

Day 2: (50-70 min) What are warm colors? Cool colors? Have students create a design of various shapes on watercolor paper with stencils. Students will decide if they want warm colored shapes, or cool ones. Shapes will be outlined with warm or cool colored crayons as this helps to contain watercolors when painting. What is a watercolor wash? Demonstrate the 10 watercolor washes listed below. Have students practice on 3 x 12 inch strip of WC paper. For background, students must incorporate all ten WC washes. If the shapes are warm, background is cool and vice-versa. This helps prevent muddled colors.

Day 3: Finish painting and hands (if not done yet). Attach three cut out hands in an interesting way to the WC background with 3D-O's

Watercolor Washes:
Wet-on Wet     Even
Glazing           Gradual
Blotting           Resist
Salt                 Splatter
Blow               Dry Brush

Vocabulary:
Contour Line
Negative Space
Observational Drawing
Watercolor wash
Warm and Cool colors

Materials for Hands:
Drawing boards
Sharpies
Newsprint
12 x 18 drawing paper
Light table
3D-O's

Materials for Watercolor Background:
Stencils
Crayons
Dr. Martin's Watercolors
Palettes
Brushes
Water Containers
Paper towels
Kosher Salt
3 x 12 strip of watercolor paper
12 x 18 watercolor paper