For Warm-ups in the Art Room, I find having a few quick sketch exercises help students get outside their logic and click into the creative side of their mind. Some Warm-Up exercises I use in my classroom are about getting my artists to think in the language of pictures, maybe coming up with symbols they’ve noticed in the world, or those of their own creation.
For instance, these Drawing Warm-Ups.
This is how I typically use the Art Class Drawing Warm-Up Packets in my classroom:
- I have them printed off and copied, ready at their seats with sharpened pencils set out.
- I tell students they get to decide what to draw, using the shapes on the page- that they can draw inside them, add to the outside of them, or even put them together to make a bigger drawing.
- The guidelines: The sketches must have enough simple detail to be somewhat recognizable.
“Instead of me telling you WHAT to draw, you have a bunch of shapes that YOU get to decide what to draw in them. You don’t have to just draw inside each shape. You can add to the outside of them or you can even put them together to make them part of a bigger drawing! The goal is to get into the creative zone… without worrying about whether something looks super “realistic””
-Teacher script for assigning the Art Class Drawing Warm-Up Packets
As an alternative approach, just to mix it up a bit (or any day when we’re short on time) I speed it up by setting a timer. I tell the students the goal isn’t to finish the page, just to come up with as many different object ideas as possible for the assigned shape.
Now, we’re going to speed it up so you can tap into your creativity! Here’s what we will do: We’re going to set the timer and you’ll try to turn each shape into a different object. We try to complete the entire page, but don’t worry if you can’t- it’s about coming up with as many different objects as you can within the time given. Remember to add enough detail to make them recognizable!
-Teacher script for assigning the Art Class Drawing Warm-Up Packets
How do you get your students ready to create in your Art Room? Share below!