Wednesday, January 28th
Donuts, anyone?
My middle school students recently created realistic donuts using oil pastels. They did such a great job, I wanted to share!
For my fellow art teachers, this lesson teaches the element of value, and how to blend colors to make realistic-looking donuts.
That's TWO concepts in ONE! :)
I told them we were going to make donuts, and their first response was an excited, "really??" so I had to quickly follow it with "drawing donuts" :)
First I showed them part of a video that explains the elements of art very well. I play one clip at a time and then build off of the explanations.
Once we have talked about the element of value, I told them that we were going to practice making value scales using the oil pastels. Tip-Make sure each oil pastel container has "donut colors" (tan, light brown, white, shades of yellow) before you start, or you'll have a class full of complaining students who "can't make donuts"
I had my students practice making scales by using a color of their choice, and a white and blending them to make a gradual light to dark scale.
After they made a few scales, I showed them some examples and explained how they should think about where the light is coming from, and that that would dictate how they would shade their donuts.
We briefly discussed how this also creates the elements of space and form, by making the donuts look more real.
We'll come back to the other elements. I wanted them first to really focus on value and blending their oil pastels.
Then I demonstrated how to draw a donut.
1. Draw a smiley face
2. Draw a mirror image of the first line
3. Connect the sides with curved lines. It should look like a potato!
4. About 3/4 of the way up, draw a small smile
5. Draw a mirror image starting slightly in from the smile.
6. Draw icing. Don't forget the inside!
After they have practiced making drawing a few donuts, have them sketch out 5 of their "final donuts" on a new paper. For an added challenge, I said they had to use emphasis or a point of interest on at least 2 of them. I said that could be a bite taken out of one, a jelly-filled donut, a donut only halfway on the paper etc.
While they were drawing I walked around the room and reminded them to take their time (my students always want to rush their drawings!) and draw their value scales on the donut, so that they looked realistic.
Some students needed reminders to color a gradual scale on their donuts. I told them the donuts should look real and delicious enough that they'll want to eat them!
When they finished the donuts, they moved on to the icing. I told them to shade them the same way, according to their value scales. Then they added sprinkles and decorations.
I was so proud of how well they all did!
I hope this inspires you!
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