Online Learning Resources - Perspective
Introduction to looking at the use of written resources, worksheets and online content to inform my own workshops and website
As I have identified that an integral part of my practice is the use of fundamental drawing techniques, such as perspective, I have decided to do some research on how it is being taught in the curriculum. The will benefit my project because it is my intention to create two educational workshops on one and two point perspective as my first main workshops for the online platform. I think having workshops about the fundamentals of drawing, like perspective, is important as a starting point because it is an area of drawing that many young people struggle with. Perspective can be challenging because it requires trial and error, as well as an understanding of where the horizon line and vanishing points are typically located. Having a workshop with the aim of giving the participant the understanding of perspective enough to follow along with main task of drawing a building will build confidence in their ability to draw and potentially would make them want to try and draw something else with their new found knowledge. It is my intention to look at some worksheets or starting tasks from other teaching professionals to inform me of what works and what doesn’t in terms of trying to help someone understand perspective competently through trial and error. I will then produce some basic worksheets of my own and gradually make alterations and additions to my bank of resources to cover a range of abilities.
Here are some examples of some one point perspective worksheets aimed at 14-16 year olds. These worksheets are designed by a teacher and are free to use online, making them an accessible tool for all forms of education. Although these worksheets appear to be simple in their content, they are showing how to use perspective in a very useful way. They show through pectoral instructions how to approach one point perspective gradually, with the first example being a basic box shape in a room. As these examples come from a group of seven worksheets, each worksheet is best done in sequential order to build up understanding of perspective gradually.
The first example allows the participant to use the vanishing point to draw a box that follows the perspective of the room. I think this is a good example of a worksheet because it can be easily understood by the participant and it is easy to follow along with. The larger space with the grey guidelines indicates that the worksheet can be used as the sheet you work on to complete the task, with help of the guidelines to start you off. However, some lower ability or younger students may find this challenging with a
lack of written instruction. Sometimes, having clear instructions allows you to understand the task in clearer terms than a pictorial prompt, which is shown on the ‘One-Point perspective: Furniture 1’ example. On this example, there is a written prompt asking the participant to draw the following objects in the room below. It also offers a tip to get the student started, or at least thinking about how to approach the task. I like how the worksheets work together in an order of difficulty because it gradually allows the student to learn perspective and become more confident with this key fundamental of drawing. It also asks to ‘draw the furniture without instruction’ which is really useful in trying to get the student to think and problem solve for themselves at an early stage. This will help they gain a real understanding once they begin to follow the rest of the worksheets. As the worksheets progress, they gradually develop into more and more detailed drawings, to ultimately progress onto the beginning of two point
perspective. Having the tasks gradual, keeping the same theme of the room and only changing the objects helps the student gain understanding of perspective without it becoming overwhelming or unachievable. I think this shows a really positive way to learn where there isn’t a pressure to get it right first time. They can gradually work to the end goal of perfecting the technique.
How does this benefit my project?
After looking at these worksheets I found a number of aspects that would be really beneficial to include in my workshop content. I like the idea of the tasks being gradual and manageable so that the students can gain an understanding of both types of perspective without it being unachievable, overwhelming or too
confusing to approach. Although the content of these particular worksheets do no link to my current practice, and the intended theme of the workshops, I still feel that they are beneficial because of how they are made, and the methods used to help teach a specific technique. I think the way the worksheets are written, the mixture of picture-based and written instructions and the simplicity of the examples show that the worksheets do not have to be complicated to be useful. The aim of a worksheet is to introduce and unlock understanding in a process or fundamental to then take into a final task that will achieve the main piece of work. Having tasks such as this allows the students to work on one point perspective in a limited amount of time, while creating a basic reference point that they can use when approaching the main task of the lesson.
It is my intention to create worksheets and written resources that follow my theme of buildings, agricultural buildings and shed-like structures to make the transition between each task I outline in the workshops smooth and understandable for a range of ages. Devising tasks around this theme will be challenging as there is a lack of variety in the worksheets for perspective online to use as a reference, I believe with trial and error and some testing of the worksheets, I will be able to produce some informative and useful resources that will be the the centre of the first two tasks in the the two workshops on perspective I intend to create. Having a mixture of worksheets / resources that have guidelines and blank spaces for the student to draw freely will create a gradual selection of tasks where they can slowly develop an understanding of one and two point perspective.
Overall, I think looking at these worksheets has been really insightful and beneficial to my project because it has given me a greater understanding of how to approach making my own written resources for my educational platform and workshops.
Worksheet / Image Source:
TES Resources. 2020. Perspective Drawing Worksheets. [online] Available at: <https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/perspective-drawing-worksheets-11839440> [Accessed 28 November 2020].
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