Mondays: 8 - 10:45
This course focuses on the descriptive process of seeing. Students will learn to draw using a variety of black and white media, including charcoal, conte crayon, graphite pencil, and pen and ink to produce contour, gesture and modeled drawings. The concepts of linear perspective and value rendering are given particular attention, while sight measuring and other basic formulas and theories for studio sketching are reinforced throughout the course. AAS: Humanities/fine arts elective.
General Education Outcomes are the knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes, and behaviors that students are expected to develop as a result of their overall experiences with any aspect of the college, including courses, programs, and student services, both inside and outside of the classroom. The General Education Outcomes specifically learned in this course are:
- Communication
Faculty Contact Information
M/W: 10:45 - 11:45 Tuesday: 9-10 online or by appointment
Course Information
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Understand and employ the elements of art and principles of design within their own artwork, and recognize them in the work of others.
- Understand and use the formal language of drawing within the critique environment.
- Demonstrate the concept of linear perspective within a drawing.
- Master various dry drawing media to render subject matter from direct observation.
- Analyze various drawing styles and techniques used throughout art history.
- Proper handling of black and white media
- Charcoal
- Graphite
- Ink
- Knowledge of paper
- Hot pressed
- Cold pressed
- Pastel / charcoal
- Newsprint
- Elements of art
- Line
- Shape
- Space
- Value
- Texture
- Principles of design
- Rhythm
- Repetition
- Unity
- Contrast
- Balance
- Emphasis
- Linear perspective
- One point perspective
- Two point perspective
Textbook – None. Money that typically would be spent on a textbook will be put toward your drawing supplies, listed below.
Supplies: You may purchase supplies in the KCC Bookstore, where financial aid can be used toward its purchase. (You may also order supplies online, or purchase in local stores, but financial aid does not apply there.) There is a kit already put together for this course, so feel free to purchase that. Otherwise, if you have some of this at home already, you may fill in the gaps as needed. It is required to have the kit or supplies by the beginning of the second week of this class, or you may be asked to drop the course. You must bring supplies to class every week.
Vine charcoal - minimum two packs
Compressed charcoal – one or two packs
Charcoal pencil kit
White charcoal (or white pastel)
Graphite Pencil kit – full kit is best, but try to have at least a 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, 6B and Ebony or General’s Sketching Pencil if you purchase separately.
Grayscale paper (18” x 24”) – will be provided in class.
Drawing pad 18” x 24” – Please be sure it’s Drawing Paper or Mixed Media paper. NOT newsprint.
Black Sharpie markers, Micron pens, or Prismacolor markers - various sizes. They must be in BLACK! We won’t use color until Drawing II.
Kneaded eraser and white drawing eraser (Often, you will find these included in your packs of Charcoal and Graphite pencils.) I’m also suggesting you buy one extra kneaded eraser. They’re cheap and vitally important!
Sandpaper for sharpening charcoal
Exact-o knife with blades (May not be in the kit, so please buy separately as needed.)
Ruler - 12 inches (Clear or see-through) and T-square – 12 or 18 inches (One or both may not be in the kit, so please buy separately as needed)
Workable Spray Fixative
Grades are based on the following factors:
- Improvement in skills and technique
- Meeting required deadlines
- Exploration and creativity (push your work to the limit!)
- Following instructions
- Quizzes
- Attendance
Grading Scale:
90 - 100 A
80 - 89 B
70 - 79 C
60 - 69 D
59 and below F
Liberal Arts & Sciences
Dean, Jennifer Huggins; 815-802-8484; R310; jhuggins@kcc.edu; Division Office- W102; 815-802-8700
Homework:
All assignments and videos will be posted in the MODULES tab of CANVAS, and homework is due as posted, typically by midnight, Wednesday, or the following Monday. If it is due on Monday, the drawing must be brought to class and hung on the wall (whether we have critique or not) in order to receive full credit.
A good quality photo of each assignment must be posted on CANVAS by the deadline. Follow ALL size instructions exactly.
Late assignments will be accepted for only up to one week. Late assignments will receive an automatic point deduction for each day late. If you have a pressing situation and cannot finish on time, (such as illness, a family emergency, etc.) please keep me informed. I will try to work with you. For assignments worth 10 points or less, the point deduction will be 1 point per day, beginning after class on the day due. For assignments worth 20 - 30 points, you will have 2 points deducted per day, beginning after class on the day due. After one week, you will receive a 0.
Please carefully check ALL grades during the course of the semester, to make sure you have received a grade for each piece. If you turned work in but did not receive a grade, please notify me ASAP. I will try to grade in a timely fashion but expect it to take up to a week after submission for me to finish.
DO NOT throw out any artwork until after the class grades have been submitted for the semester. Keep track of it and keep it neat. Throwing out artwork shows me that you truly did not put effort into the assignment. You may also need to keep work for your portfolio if you are planning on transferring to another school. You will also want to keep a digital record of your best works. Any work left behind will be discarded. If artwork is left to be entered into the KCC Student Show, you will need to pick it up within one academic year.
Written work may NOT be plagiarized in any way, and the use of AI is not allowed unless it is part of an assignment's requirements. Any plagiarism or AI written materials will receive an automatic 0.
Attendance:
You will be required to sign your name to a sign-in sheet when you come into the classroom. If you are more than 5 minutes late you will receive a tardy. If you are more than 15 minutes late, you will not receive full attendance points for the day. Three tardies will count as one absence. After three absences, you will be asked to drop the course. If you have extenuating circumstances in your life, please talk to me and keep me informed. Often, we can work through it, but it requires communication on your part.
Re-Submissions:
You may always re-do an assignment that you have submitted for a grade. Even “A” work can often be improved, so please take the time to do so. Constantly drawing and improving will create stronger artwork and skills, so it is worth your time to do this! After improving, submit it into the assignment box without deleting the previous entry. I will regrade the artwork.
Classroom Behavior:
Please treat others with respect. Making connections in life is important, so don’t hesitate to talk to each other and help as needed. Give advice on artwork. We grow by listening to constructive advice from others! My only request is that if I’m talking, please stop and listen.
You may listen to music when working on a project as long as you keep it quiet enough that nobody else can hear it, and that you can also hear me when I’m talking. Music can be relaxing and inspiring, but you may absolutely NOT watch any videos in class. Your first instance will be your last, and you will need to leave your phone and earbuds in your bag. I’d highly recommend you not have your music associated with any videos, in order to keep from me accidentally seeing it. I have a zero-tolerance policy on this now, due to past issues.
All course materials are up to date in CANVAS.
MLK Day: January 19, NO CLASS
Spring Break: March 9 - 13
College Policies, Resources and Supports
For information related to the Student Code of Conduct Policy, Withdrawal Policy, Email Policy, and Non- Attendance/Non-Participation Policy, please review the college’s Code of Campus Affairs and Regulations webpage, which can be found at catalog.kcc.edu under the Academic Regulations & Conduct Guide.
KCC offers various academic and personal resources for all students. Many services are offered virtually, as well as in person. Please visit Student Resources - Kankakee Community College to access student resources services such as:
- Clubs and organizations
- Counseling and referral services
- Office of disability services
- Student complaint policy
- Transfer services
- Tutoring services, etc.
The materials on this course are only for the use of students enrolled in this course for purposes associated with this course. Further information regarding KCC's copyright policy is available at https://kcc.libguides.com/copyright.
|Course syllabus/calendar is subject to change.