Contour Lines

2nd graders are learning about the element of LINE. Line is so important to start the school year off with because lines are literally the basis of every drawing, painting and photograph etc. In the last couple of classes, we have discussed in review the many different forms of line. A very important type of line when it comes to art is contour line. Contour line essentially is the outline of an object. Searching for the contour line of an object while drawing helps the artist to REALLY look at the object they are creating and drawing in detail. 2nd grade students began by practicing finding contour lines through a worksheet in which they traced the actual image using a pencil. From their they transferred the lines from the worksheet onto a page in their sketchbooks. After we became pro's at finding contour lines, we set up a still life at every table. A still life is used by artists to depict mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects. In this case, we used school and art supplies. The students drew from life , meaning they had to really look at the objects they were drawing and created a contour line still life. We learned that if objects are blocking one another, we need to draw them behind or in front of one other. The students drew their still lifes using a white pencil on black paper. To finish these projects the students will add color to their contour lines by tracing what they have already drawn with the appropriate color.

Click here to view the contour line work sheet the students completed. 

Contour Line Worksheet