Pen and Ink Gesture Drawings

Jessica Bowlby and Joseph Kern

 Grade level: High School

Duration: 1 day

Rationale:

Students have a tendency to focus on perfecting

their drawings instead of focusing on creating the
artwork itself. Gesture drawings will enforce the
idea that the process of making art and practicing
gesture drawing will help lessen anxieties around
perfection. The choice to have students only be
able to use pen and ink will reinforce this as well:
they will not be able to erase any “wrong” marks in
their drawings, all marks will be deliberate. The act
of making these gesture drawings also lets them
create several pieces at once instead of focusing on
long, multi-week projects.
Central Focus/Enduring Understanding
By having our students work on gesture drawings
we will teach them the importance of the process,
having them focus on a piece’s creation rather than
the perceived “perfection” of a final piece. Only
giving our students pen and ink to work with as a
medium will also force students to accept lines
once they have been committed to a page. This will
also help to drive further the idea of moving
forward with the art making process rather than
dwelling on dwelling on any one step of the
process.

Critical and Creative Thinking: Students combine

and apply artistic and reasoning skills to imagine,
create, realize and refine artworks in conventional
and innovative ways.
 Progress points

1. Establish the appropriate levels of craftsmanship

when completing artworks.

2. Use appropriate vocabulary to define and describe

techniques and materials used to create works of art.
 PBOs and PBAs
PBOs PBAs

1. Students will work to find the appropriate level of 1. Students will choose 5 of their completed gesture
craftsmanship to put into their gesture drawings so that they drawings to be graded by their teacher.
have at least 5 gesture drawings finished by the end of the
class. 2. Students will fill out a self-assessment worksheet
describing their 5 pieces.
2. Students will be able to describe the decisions they made in
their 5 pieces, showing how they are successful and what 3. Students will each participate in a group critique
elements were used in their creation. discussion on the class’ pieces.

3. Students will discuss their peers’ gesture drawings using

appropriate vocabulary to describe the techniques and
materials used.
Academic Language
● Gesture Drawing- Expressive mark
making that depicts a form or figure
● Deliberate- An intentional or
conscious decision
● Confidence- A strong feeling or
belief in one's trust
● Line making- Creating marks onto a
surface
Resources/Materials/Equipment
● PowerPoint
● Various ink pens:
Ballpoint, micron,
brush pens, markers.
● Sketchbook or 8.5x11in.
Paper
● Rubric/self-assessment
sheet.
Assessment (from Rubric)
● Student has used pen and ink on paper to
create gesture drawing
● Student has submitted 5 gesture drawings
● Student used entire time allotted in class to
create at least 5 gesture drawings
● Student has filled out self-assessment
worksheet describing their 5 pieces
● Student has participated in class critique
Self Assessment Form
1. Did you use an ink pen on 8.5x11 paper to create gesture drawings of your
partner?
___Yes ___No
2. Did you submit your best 5 drawings to the teacher?
___Yes ___No
3. Which of your best 5 drawings is your favorite, and why?
4. What is one thing you learned about gesture drawings?
Thank You!
Questions?
Comments?
Concerns?