Get them drawing, give them confidence, give them the skills and understanding to tackle observational drawing. For this project I made sets of small wooden blocks, arranged into simple and complex compositions depending on students ability. The box is the basis of so many objects; learn to draw the simple shapes then progress onto more complex ones. Work in a range of media (pencil, pen, chalk, charcoal and paint) to expand student’s experience. Please also my complete set of project books https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12550671 this contains updated versions of this resource.

A newer version of this resource will soon be available. Observational drawing, and more precisely, observational figure drawing is a source of great panic for students. Using Hopper’s work as a principle for creating compositions this unit develops skills in this important area. A series of ‘tricks’ are employed that allow students to gain confidence, the sketches are done quickly and seen as a listing of general details rather than a finished whole. If one sketch is poor it doesn’t matter because the next one may be better. This idea frees students from the idea that every piece of work must be finished and perfect. This unit also offers scope for larger scale group work, pooling together the more able and those with special educational needs to work together.