Ages 8-10
Op Art Letter
Skill Builders:
-Line
-Drawing
-Shape
-Contrast
-Complimentary Colors
Supply List:
-9 by 12 White Paper/Copy Paper
-Ruler
-Pencil
-Eraser
-Markers/Sharpie Markers
Alternative Supply List:
-Markers can be replaced with a crayons or colored pencils.
Overview:
During this project, your child will be able to engage in creating an artwork inspired by op art. Op art or optical art is inspired by optical illusions and attempts to trick the viewers eyes or make them look at something with a different perspective. Before creating your project you can view and talk about different op artists and their work. While creating this project we will discuss contrast, complementary colors, and their role in creating op art.
Project Directions:
Step 1:
Draw a bubble or block letter in the center of your page. Be careful not to make your letter too small unless it will be too tricky to draw and color later. I did this step with sharpie so it would be easier for you too see when I took a picture. I recommend doing this step in pencil for now.
Additional Learning Opportunity:
Click here to take a look at optical illusions and optical art. What do you notice?
Step 2:
Draw a dot in the center of your letter. Then take a ruler and draw a line from the dot to edge of the page. Make sure you have an even amount of lines in order to get ready for the next step! In step four I will show you how to add an extra line if needed. I did this step with sharpie so it would be easier for you too see when I took a picture. I recommend doing this step in pencil for now.
Step Three:
Op artists figured out that in order to make op art really trick the viewers eyes they needed to use contrasting colors. Contrasting colors are colors that are very different from one another or opposite from one another. The two colors with the most contrast are black and white. I used black and white for my example. If you would like to create your project with black and white, trace your pencil lines with a black sharpie or black marker now then move onto step four. If you want to add some color to your artwork you need to use complementary colors. Complementary colors are colors opposite from one another/directly across from one another on the color wheel. Take a look at the link below to see the complementary colors. If you would like to use set of complementary colors but you do not have the right markers colors you can layer the two colors. For example if you chose the complementary color scheme of yellow orange and blue violet. Color all the yellow orange spots with yellow first, once you finish go back and color over all the yellow with orange. This will create a mixed color of yellow orange. This technique only works with markers and does not work with crayons or colored pencils. Test out the colors you plan to "mix" on a seperate piece of paper you might like the look of yellow over orange or orange over yellow better. Once you decide which complementary color scheme you are going to chose take one of the colors and trace all of your pencil lines. I recommend tracing with the darker of the two colors. For example if you pick blue orange as your color scheme I would trace all the lines with blue.
Click here to learn more about complementary colors
Step Four:
At this point all your pencil lines should be traced with a color. Erase any pencil lines still showing. Color every other section with the color you traced the lines with. If you traced the lines with black you will color every other section black, if you traced the pencil lines with blue you will color every other section blue. Add a small dot with pencil in every section you are going to color. If you end up with two sections in a row that will still be white you need to check your dots and if your dots are truly in every other section then add an extra line. I added an arrow to show where I added an extra line. Once you are sure your dots are in the right place then start coloring those sections in! If you want to you can erase the dot before you color the section.
Step 5:
If you are creating your artwork with complementary colors make sure to complete the outside of the letter with both colors before moving onto the inside of the letter. Every other section outside the letter should be a different color. In my example this is black, white, black, white... If you are using the complementary color scheme of red and green your sections would be red, green red, green, red... Once you finish the outside of the letter you are going to color in the inside of the letter. Remember to use the dot technique. You will create the alternating pattern again with your two colors. In my example this is black, white, black, white... The only change is that it if the section was white on the outside it will be black on the inside. If it was black on the outside if will be white on the inside.
The inside of the letter is black
The outside of the letter is white
Step 6:
Keep coloring! When you finish if you want to make another you can! Create a different letter or even a shape in the middle of the paper this time. Try a different set of colors. All the color options are in step three.
