I teach a Gingerbread House Art Project every year, not just because it’s festive and my students love it but because it’s a great way to teach them 2 point perspective drawing skills. Although the process can be tricky for some students, my students love the outcome of this lesson and are very proud of their final art piece. Here is how and why I teach one of my student’s favorite Holiday art lessons.
Why Students Love It
December is an exciting time of year. The weather is changing. In some states the snow is falling, in others we wish the snow was falling so creating a wintery scene is exciting and different. My students love adding colorful candy and providing details in their drawings. Although 2 point perspective drawings can be difficult and the struggle is real for a few of them. In the end, they are proud of their drawing and impressed with how realistic it looks. And for some, they have so much fun making festive, colorful Holiday art that they don’t complain about learning 2 point perspective. I find students are proud of their work when it looks 3D and has precision. I also sweeten the deal by giving them gingerbread cookies and hot cocoa at the end of the lesson.
What Students Learn
This lesson covers so many concepts. Students learn the difference between 1 point perspective and 2 point perspective. They learn all the terminology to go along with linear perspective drawing, as well as, review concepts and vocabulary associated with landscape drawings. For example, terms such as horizon line, foreground, middle ground and background. In addition, students learn how to use colored pencils to create value and create the illusion of space with color and value. Most importantly, students learn to be creative. I love when they use creative storytelling in their drawings, and I always encourage them to tell a unique story with the objects they include in their drawing.
How I Teach Gingerbread House Art
I often begin my lessons by showing students a video tutorial to explain and preview the art process they are about to learn. You can watch this one below. After previewing the lesson, students draw along with me step by step. We draw the horizon line, basic house shape, doors and windows together. I created a step by step handout for students to use as reference while they work. I model different ways to decorate my house and the landscape with candy and add visual interest to the sky.
My students work independently to add their own ideas and creative solutions to their drawings. Next, students use an ultra fine Sharpie to outline the pencil lines they want to keep and erase any unwanted pencil lines. Colored pencils and markers are used to add depth and space to this winter landscape drawing. Lastly, if desired, students can add glitter glue, watery white acrylic splatter or white gel pen to add snow.
Linear Perspective Drawing
I try to scaffold drawing techniques throughout the school year. This is why we create 2 point perspective drawings in December. Before starting this lesson, students have previous experience with 1 point perspective and landscape drawing. It is also helpful for students to be comfortable with using a ruler as a drawing tool. In addition, shading and value scales have been practiced prior to this lesson. Honestly, I cover a lot of these concepts with bell work. I found bellwork is an excellent way to cover more content over the year. Lastly, I show students examples of landscapes with atmospheric perspective, foreshortening and forced perspective prior to beginning this lesson. This allows my students to have a foundation and better understanding of why we use 1 and 2 point perspective drawing techniques to show distance.
My students understand why the horizontal lines on the windows and doors are skewed. As seen in my 2 Point Perspective Gingerbread House video, I use “wings” to extend the vanishing points on both sides of the horizon line. This allows the drawing to have a less forced perspective, and create a more realistic drawing. Most importantly, students need to remember vertical lines stay vertical, lines to the right of the vertical line lead to the vanishing point on the right side and lines left of the vertical line lead to the vanishing point on the left. The more practice and experience students have with linear perspective the more they feel comfortable using the drawing technique.
Click here to find the complete lesson and handouts if you are interested in teaching this holiday favorite to your students.
Happy Holidays, Trista
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