One Line Street Scene: A Visualisation Warm Up Drawing exercise

Warm Up Drawing Exercise By Paula Briggs.

This warm-up was used to precede a workshop which introduced the idea of perspective to children aged 6 to 10. I wanted a warm-up which would relax the children (I knew the idea of perspective covered later in the session would be tricky for some children), would get them to start thinking about architectural shapes and structures, and give them space to enjoy adding detail – something children of this age seem to really enjoy.

I gave the children strips of paper (about 12 cm tall and 60 cm long) and asked them to work landscape. I asked them to make a drawing consisting of a single line, which starts at the left hand side of the page, and finishes at the right hand side. The subject matter was to be a street scene, which I helped them visualise by talking them through the buildings/objects that they would meet. The results were beautiful and the children enjoyed their journey!

Please forgive quality of the video (taken by a six year old)