Line Designs with Shading

I'm not really sure what to call these drawings, but my students love them!  I found this project on Art with Mr. E. (and embellished his instructions just a bit) to use with my 4th & 5th graders for some end-of-the-year fun!!

With this project, you can teach that shading and careful use of line can give a 2D drawing the "illusion" of being 3D.  I loved the simultaneous "Wow!" I got from my students when I put my sample up on the board... they were really motivated by this project, so it was a perfect choice for the *crazy* last week of school!

Materials:

• White paper
• Black "F" Sharpies
• Colored pencils 

Directions:
1. Draw a curvy line across your paper.
2. Make about 8 dots, unevenly spaced, on your line.
3. Next, connect the dots with curved lines. (The lines from the dots at each end should go off the paper, rather than curve back down to the line.)
4. Then, from each of these curved lines, build up a "column" of more curved lines (or "rings"), stacked on top of each other.  Build one complete column at a time across the top half of your paper.  If your columns start to slant or get smaller or larger, all the better!  We found it easiest to develop every other one, and then connect the spaces in between.  (When you fill in these "in-between" columns, make sure that each successive "ring" that you add connects at its ends to the ring below it.)
5. When the top half of your paper is finished, spin your paper around and repeat steps 3 and 4 until your entire paper is filled and all your columns are connected.
6. Finally, choose a color scheme (I chose "color families", above) and color each of your columns, pressing harder on each side and lighter in the middle, to give it more of a 3D look!

This is one of those lessons where a picture is worth a thousand words, so if these directions seem confusing, just follow the pictures below!

My students had fun brainstorming possible names for the "column-like things" in these drawings.... they came up with names like "tornadoes", "arms", "roots", "Dr. Seuss towers", and "chubby caterpillars"!  So, what would YOU call them???