Visual Arts 6
Image-Development and Design Strategies

This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

(Perceiving/Responding)

It is expected that students will:

identify design strategies used to develop particular images
demonstrate knowledge of image-development and design strategies used by artists for a variety of purposes
demonstrate an awareness of the ethical considerations involved in copying images

(Creating/Communicating)

It is expected that students will:

compile a collection of ideas for images drafted using feelings, observation, memory, and imagination
develop and make 2-D and 3-D images:
- using a variety of design strategies, including point of view
- using various styles
- to communicate concepts and messages
- that engage more than one of the senses

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Image-Development and Design Strategies in other grades click on an icon below.

Suggested Instructional Strategies

Ask students to contribute to a class image file, including photographs and magazine ads that depict designed objects in which both form and function are important (e.g., shoes, glassware, cars).

Display famous images, such as the Mona Lisa, that have been altered for various purposes (e.g., posters, magazine ads). Have students select another well-known image to copy and alter in a similar manner. Discuss the legal and ethical implications of copying and altering images.

Guide students on an imaginary walk into an art print. Have them select positions within the print. Encourage students to observe the subject of the print (e.g., a room, a landscape) from their new points of view and to paint what they see.
When students practise figure drawing (e.g., students act as models, assuming action poses), have them make several drawings, each from a different point of view.
Show the class a variety of portraits and demonstrate guidelines for typical proportion in portraiture. Ask each student to follow these guidelines and use direct observation to draw a front view or profile of a classmate and then choose one drawing to develop into a portrait.
Select three examples of work by Canadian artists (e.g., Littlechild, Kurelek, Carr). Discuss what design strategies the artists used to convey particular aspects of Canadian life and why they chose those strategies. Then ask students to choose a similar strategy to portray aspects of Canadian life in paintings of their own.
Have students draw or paint 3-D forms from several points of view (e.g., above, below, beside), noting how the relationships between shape and form are altered by the different points of view.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

After students view and discuss images that depict objects in which both form and function are important, pose questions such as:
- What makes a design effective? Give examples.
- Can several designs be equally appropriate for a particular problem? Give examples.
- What might make one design preferable to another? Give examples.
- What design problems do you encounter at school, at home, or in the community? How could you solve them?
When students work with figure drawings, look for evidence that they are increasingly able to:
- use a variety of different drawing strategies (e.g., gesture, spiral, contour, outline)
- convey a sense of proportion
- use knowledge of human anatomy--represent different components of the body
- capture action (e.g., in gesture drawing)
- closely observe to make and convey visual discoveries
Provide opportunities for students to display their portraits of classmates. Look for and respond to evidence of:
- proportion
- realistic treatment of individual features
- use of tone for shadow and form
- expressiveness
Use portfolios in which students keep dated pieces of work to provide a focus for self-assessment. At regular intervals, ask students to review their work and respond to prompts such as:
- Arrange your artwork in order, from the piece you are most satisfied with or proud of to the one that is least satisfying. Compare your top two with the bottom two. How are they different?
- Which piece helped you learn the most? Why?
- When you look at your work over time, what changes do you see?