Lesson 04: Composing the Final Drawing
Pre A Level Art & Design · Unit 1 · U1·L4 · ← L03 | L05 →
At a glance
| Session | W4, one Wednesday double (~90 min) |
| Dates | Wed 2026-09-23 |
| Focus | Composition; the final observational drawing begun |
| Deliverable | Three viewfinder thumbnails with one chosen in writing; the final drawing constructed and underway |
| Feeds | CS1 collected and graded this session; the drawing continues into A1 (W5, 09-30) |
| Homework | One 10-minute observational sketch of a home object; MB posting |
Goal
Before you put a mark on the good paper, you decide the composition — viewpoint, placement, scale to frame — by comparing options, not by defaulting to the middle. The second hour puts the elements of the last three weeks to work on the drawing that A1 will finish.
How it runs
- Warm-up (5 min) — open your sketchbook to the week’s pages; two-minute pair check against the CS1 list before collection.
- Teach (15 min) — composition for an observational drawing, kept to four decisions: viewpoint (move before you draw — three steps left changes everything), placement (off-center beats dead-center; look back at the negative-space study), scale to frame (fill it or use emptiness on purpose; never a small object floating in white), cropping (the edge of the page is a tool). Demonstration with a viewfinder — two L-shaped cards — on the still life.
- Studio 1 (20 min) — still-life stations (3–4 objects each, one lamp, varied surfaces: cloth, metal, ceramic). Make three thumbnail compositions through the viewfinder — small, fast, tonal masses only, no detail — then circle one and write a one-line reason: “I chose this one because …”
- Studio 2 (40 min) — the final drawing begins on good paper: light construction lines, proportions blocked against the thumbnail, main masses of tone laid. No detail, no texture yet — structure first. By close, aim for a drawing that is decided everywhere and finished nowhere.
- Close (10 min) — CS1 collected: the exercise set (contour work, value scale + tonal study, texture pieces, negative-space study). Drawings are parked flat and labeled.
Assessment
CS1 (exercise-set check) is collected and graded today — marked for completeness and honest looking, not polish; returned within five working days. Your thumbnails and today’s construction work are process evidence for A1, which finishes next session. Register: PAL S1 Assessments.