Split Portrait in Balance

Split Portrait - Asymmetrical
Medium: Color Pencils

Reason for Lesson: This is a perfect lesson for upper grades where using a ruler has already been taught.  Students must understand smaller measurements and how to find equal distance to another point. This is a great lesson if you want to briefly introduce advertising and it's basic concepts. More importantly it's about creating balance from one side of the art to the other side.

Prep Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour

Classroom Time: 1 1/2 hour

Materials: Colored Pencils, pencil, 8 1/2  x 11 paper, ruler, scratch paper, 1/2 of a print advertisement mounted on while drawing paper.

Preparation: This is partially a lesson on advertising and partially a lesson on measurements using a ruler.  Brush up on using a ruler and finding smaller measurements i.e., 1/4, 1/8 and 1/16 of an inch.    Finding the ads in magazines is the time consuming part of this project.  However, if you make the effort the kids will have fun!  Be sure that the ads are easy to replicate.  Look for straight lines and repetitive features of the ad. Mount half of the ad on a piece of drawing paper. The kids can be instructed in class to 'frame' the right side of the ad.  

Instructions: Discuss advertising and the various ways to advertise.  Touch of radio (air), television, billboards, Internet and print. Show them an example of the art they will be working on.  Explain to the class that they will be replicating the right side of the advertisement. 

1. Instruct students to draw a boarder/frame for the right side of the ad with a pencil.  Using their ruler have them measure where that frame should end and complete the frame.
2. Give each student the right side of the 'cut' ad.  Instruct them to use their colored pencils  to measure distance from the center of the page to the beginning or end of the object in the ad. 
3. Encourage them to be precise as they measure which will them help them recreate the ad so it looks almost identical to the whole ad.  
4. Students will be tempted to 'trace' the right side.  This defeats the purpose of the lesson. 
5. This lesson goes outside the philosophy of art and that there is no right or wrong way to create a piece of art.  This lesson is more about precision and creating and 'exact' replica of art.

Credit: Created by PV Art Docent in 2010