Falling into Op Art

We have created Op Art value drawings in 8th grade art for a number of years now but this quarter, we included an additional twist- a printed photo of students "falling" into their work. We had a great time with this!

To start us off, we looked at contemporary anamorphic design. Brasspup's work shows prime examples of how easily our minds can be tricked, especially with the aid of technology. Nat Geo's Brain Games can also be an instructional resource for inspiration.

We then compared the work of Holbein the Younger and his infamous Ambassadors painting from 1533 to the more modern examples of this type of artwork. Kahn Academy's video is a perfect introduction to the Ambassadors.  

During studio time, students have the option of using a design that we practice together or, students can research online and brainstorm something they develop themselves...

We draw, outline, work on value and shading (with colored pencil) before our photo shoots. Varying the thickness of our outline is a major focus of our technique as well as the value changes. (I should also point out we do look at the pioneers of traditional Op Art such as Riley and Vasarely).

Find this warm-up worksheet (above) at studentartguide.com

We used our iPads to capture our photos and just cut away the excess background we didn't want. We also glued on our forms from the warm-up worksheet.