This art lesson plan is designed to introduce students to traditional illustration techniques. Each student will choose a magazine in which they will design the cover. They will need to have the physical magazine in hand in order to complete the assignment. Students should consider the content that would normally appear on the magazine that they have chosen and should incorporate relevant imagery on their redesign. It is important to communicate to students that they are not to copy an existing cover, but instead design a brand new cover.
Class Level: Art 1
Overview and Purpose: To expose students to traditional illustration techniques including transferring images, the use of light boards and presenting artwork and ideas to "clients".
Materials: Various magazines, photo references, light board, white or toned drawing paper, various drawing and painting media.
Objectives: The student will take an existing magazine of their choosing and design a new cover for an upcoming issue. The student will use traditional illustration techniques including image transfer, light boards, and traditional drawing and painting media.
Delivery of info: The teacher will discuss traditional illustration techniques and demonstrate transferring images with graphite paper. The teacher will present several different recognizable magazine covers and discuss how they are composed and what makes them successful or unsuccessful. The teacher should point out the importance of the text on the page including the title.
Guided Practice: Students will choose a magazine and measure it's dimensions. The teacher should help the students cut paper to match the size of the magazine chosen. The students will create three preliminary sketches in order to plan out the final magazine layout. Using graphite paper or a light board, the students will copy the magazine title on their drawing in the appropriate location. The students will then either draw or paint the cover imagery on the paper. At the conclusion of the assignment, the students can present their artwork to the class and vote on the winning design. The teacher may choose to present the winning student a prize.
Review: Composition
Video Resources: Transfer drawings with graphite
Estimated Duration: 7 days
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