Welcome to Gaia! ::

Tanna walked back into her Art classroom beaming at her students, they had been so attentive these past few weeks and she was sure they were going to love today's lesson. She walked over to the chalkboard and writing in her script. Leonardo Da Vinci, before turning back facing her students.
"Hello again class, today's lesson we'll be learning about the life and artwork of Leonardo Da Vinci before moving on to our art lesson. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519, was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. His genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man, a man of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination".
Born out of wedlock to a notary, Piero da Vinci, and a peasant woman, Caterina, at Vinci in the region of Florence, Leonardo was educated in the studio of the renowned Florentine painter, Verrocchio. Much of his earlier working life was spent in the service of Ludovico il Moro in Milan. He later worked in Rome, Bologna and Venice, and he spent his last years in France at the home awarded him by Francis I.
Leonardo was, and is, renowned primarily as a painter. Among his works, the Mona Lisa is the most famous and most parodied portrait and The Last Supper the most reproduced religious painting of all time, with their fame approached only by Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam. Leonardo's drawing of the Vitruvian Man is also regarded as a cultural icon, being reproduced on items as varied as the euro, textbooks, and T-shirts. Perhaps fifteen of his paintings survive, the small number because of his constant, and frequently disastrous, experimentation with new techniques, and his chronic procrastination. Nevertheless, these few works, together with his notebooks, which contain drawings, scientific diagrams, and his thoughts on the nature of painting, compose a contribution to later generations of artists rivaled only by that of his contemporary, Michelangelo. Leonardo is revered for his technological ingenuity. He conceptualized a helicopter (a muggle version of a flying carriage), a tank (a muggle invention used in war), concentrated solar power, a calculator, and the double hull, and he outlined a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics. Relatively few of his designs were constructed or were even feasible during his lifetime, but some of his smaller inventions, such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire, entered the world of manufacturing unheralded. He made important discoveries in anatomy, civil engineering, optics, and hydrodynamics, but he did not publish his findings and they had no direct influence on later science.
As you can see mostly plastered on my walls are sketches, paintings and designs all made by Leonardo Da Vinci including his famed self portrait. Many wizards have speculated that he was actually a low powered wizard or even a squib for not only his many areas of specialties but how well he blew through the competition in those areas." Personally Tanna wouldn't have minded if Da Vinci was a squib, it'd certainly be a point in her favor if he was but she just thought he was a very talented muggle. Moving on to her second board (she had asked for one towards the middle of the year with all the new information she'd be teaching) to write, Backgrounds, before turning to the small class.

"One of the biggest challenges in drawing and sketching is tackling background space. Often times we get caught up in the foreground and ignore or only halfheartedly realize a successful background for our foreground imagery to occupy. A strongly drawn or sketched background can provide necessary context for what’s happening in the foreground, and can add visual interest to keep the viewer’s eye moving and examining the image. And pencils are a robust but forgiving medium that provide the flexibility to explore these background environments. The rules to background are pretty simple:

Overlap: How objects overlap other objects in the picture determines how the viewer understands the space. Anything overlapping or partially obscuring something else will appear closer to the viewer
Relative Scale: Obviously, things that are bigger will appear closer, especially in comparison to a smaller version of the same kind of object.
Relative Position: This may be less intuitive than the previous two concepts, but things that are lower in the picture appear closer. Things that are higher seem farther away.
Dark vs Light: Dark objects usually appear closer and light objects usually appear distant. This is a real phenomenon in nature known as atmospheric perspective. It’s the reason far-away mountains are a light, hazy blue, while closer mountains and other objects are darker and retain more contrast.
Horizon: The horizon is always the same as the viewer’s eye level. You can place the horizon wherever you want in a drawing, but it determines the viewer’s eye level. So anything placed above the horizon line is above the viewer. Correspondingly, anything below the horizon is below the viewer. So unless you want the viewer to think he’s floating on a broomstick, you’d better make sure that street lamp extends above the horizon.

Currently on your desks are different subjects, animals, people, inanimate objects, etc., what I would like you to do is draw a background around that subject and create a story. Is that a lion in an African safari or lounging in the shade of a muggle office building? Why is their a tea cup in the middle of a pond? Whatever it is you can think of create! For extra credit you could sketch both the subject and the background and I'll award your points towards your overall grade as well as House Points!" Tanna clapped happily excited for today's project. "And as usual afterwards you may survey Signor Da Vinci's work before leaving for the day."

Oh, I don't know what you've been told
But this gal right here's gonna rule the world
Yeah, that is where I'm gonna be, because I wanna be
No, I don't wanna sit still, look pretty

═══════RESERVE BEATER══════

Jilly skipped to this class. She loved art and it was the first class she signed for, even before her parents offered to help. She had a sketchbook just for this class tucked under her arm when she entered and took her seat front and center. She knew Dris would be here so she tried to save him a spot. Soon it was intro time. "I'm Jillian Faulkner in Gryffindor! I decided to take art cause I love it and want to learn more and get better with it!" She said when it was her turn. She listened to everyone else bouncing slightly. Then it was art time! The assignment was to draw the first thing that came to mind. Quidditch! She drew for most of the class but ended with a picture of a Quidditch match with players and generic crowd.

════════════════════════

OoC:

I know the other girlies
Wanna wear expensive things
Like diamond rings
But I don't wanna be the puppet
That you're playing on a string
This queen don't need a king

Tanna had set up her classroom accordingly with the new lesson plans and now had various artworks and reproductions scattered along the walls and the back of the classroom as well as having desks and chairs in the middle. She waited patiently for her students to trickle in, giving each third year a friendly smile and when the final person arrived she closed the door and turned to begin. "I know many are curious on what you will be learning in this class and if it correlates into Art. Muggles have gone through many periods of darkness and growth that has effected the way they look and produce art. The way the class is set up is that first, we'll have a brief lecture either over a time period or a distinct artist. You will find copies and examples of the period or artist along the walls for later perusal and then afterwards we will start on the actual art lessons. Still with me yes? So, seeing as this is the my first lesson with you, I would like you to please state your name, your house, and why you decided to take Art. Once everyone has had a turn we will begin the lesson." Tanna told them then waited for the first student to speak.

After everyone had gone, the art professor went over to her first chalkboard (she now had two and it came with different color-changing chalk which she thought was wild) and wrote 'Renaissance'. "One of the biggest periods of artistic growth was the Renaissance, a cultural movement that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. As a cultural movement, it encompassed innovative flowering of Latin and vernacular literature, beginning with the 14th-century resurgence of learning based on classical sources. In politics, the Renaissance contributed the development of the conventions of diplomacy, and in science an increased reliance on observation. The most recognizable from the Renaissance is the art and the newly created methods to observe and create it. The development of perspective was part of a wider trend towards realism in the arts. To that end, painters also developed other techniques, studying light, shadow, and, famously in the case of Leonardo da Vinci, human anatomy. Underlying these changes in artistic method, was a renewed desire to depict the beauty of nature and Aesthetics, or the philosophy of the beauty of nature, the human body, taste, and sound. At the end of class you may spend the remaining time looking at the different artwork but for now, we actually do have an art lesson." Tanna gave them a renewed grin after gesturing towards the many paintings on the wall.

The young teacher walked over to her second chalkboard and began writing in her curly script: Lighting and Frame in your artwork "There are a number of ways that light affects or interacts with artwork, from how a piece is lit, to deliberately incorporating the interaction of light within the work. Lighting of artwork is crucial to supporting the meaning of the artwork. Strong lighting creates strong highlights and shadows, which enhances the physical form of the object. Strong lighting is often used with classical Greek and Roman sculptures of the human body. The lighting reveals the contours of the figure and emphasizes its physicality. Diffuse lighting, which means the light on the object is more spread out, minimizing shadows and contrasts and making the object appear flatter, minimizes the physicality and contours of the body, and accents its stiff pose. Light in other works of art could be for dramatic contrast, to enhance the beauty of what or whom ever you draw or paint, or to create a two dimensional look to your artwork.
Now, that's just the lighting you create, natural light such as from candles, light bulbs or sunlight can also enhance the beauty of your art. Reflections are like magic in some ways. They transform a space in dramatic ways and make it appear infinitely larger, depending on the placement of reflective surfaces such as mirrors. Water can also be used to make reflections to create a sense of peace, calm, and serenity. Water has a naturally soothing effect on people, and the depth of a reflection within a pool creates an opportunity for contemplation.
Framing for all intent and purposes is not just the frame holding in the picture, it is also the main focal point of your art. Without a frame your art could seem endless with one no mater how big or small it is constrained but in a way that you created.

For today, I would like you to draw whatever comes to mind and then attempt to add light and or frame to this sketch and then for homework I'd like for you is to go take a walk at different times of the day, if your schedule allows you, and notice the light the sun makes upon the area around you. Mark the shadows and note where they are and if they moved. This isn't graded it's merely a guide to enhance your knowledge and understanding of lighting. If you hit a problem please don't hesitate to raise a hand and when you're finished you may either leave or take a stroll around the room." Tanna finished grinning at her young pupils before taking a seat at her desk to construct a timeline for her older class group.

Tanna walked back into her Art classroom beaming at her students, they had been so attentive these past few weeks and she was sure they were going to love today's lesson. She walked over to the chalkboard and writing in her script. Leonardo Da Vinci, before turning back facing her students.
"Hello again class, today's lesson we'll be learning about the life and artwork of Leonardo Da Vinci before moving on to our art lesson. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519, was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. His genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man, a man of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination".
Born out of wedlock to a notary, Piero da Vinci, and a peasant woman, Caterina, at Vinci in the region of Florence, Leonardo was educated in the studio of the renowned Florentine painter, Verrocchio. Much of his earlier working life was spent in the service of Ludovico il Moro in Milan. He later worked in Rome, Bologna and Venice, and he spent his last years in France at the home awarded him by Francis I.
Leonardo was, and is, renowned primarily as a painter. Among his works, the Mona Lisa is the most famous and most parodied portrait and The Last Supper the most reproduced religious painting of all time, with their fame approached only by Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam. Leonardo's drawing of the Vitruvian Man is also regarded as a cultural icon, being reproduced on items as varied as the euro, textbooks, and T-shirts. Perhaps fifteen of his paintings survive, the small number because of his constant, and frequently disastrous, experimentation with new techniques, and his chronic procrastination. Nevertheless, these few works, together with his notebooks, which contain drawings, scientific diagrams, and his thoughts on the nature of painting, compose a contribution to later generations of artists rivaled only by that of his contemporary, Michelangelo. Leonardo is revered for his technological ingenuity. He conceptualized a helicopter (a muggle version of a flying carriage), a tank (a muggle invention used in war), concentrated solar power, a calculator, and the double hull, and he outlined a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics. Relatively few of his designs were constructed or were even feasible during his lifetime, but some of his smaller inventions, such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire, entered the world of manufacturing unheralded. He made important discoveries in anatomy, civil engineering, optics, and hydrodynamics, but he did not publish his findings and they had no direct influence on later science.
As you can see mostly plastered on my walls are sketches, paintings and designs all made by Leonardo Da Vinci including his famed self portrait. Many wizards have speculated that he was actually a low powered wizard or even a squib for not only his many areas of specialties but how well he blew through the competition in those areas." Personally Tanna wouldn't have minded if Da Vinci was a squib, it'd certainly be a point in her favor if he was but she just thought he was a very talented muggle. Moving on to her second board (she had asked for one towards the middle of the year with all the new information she'd be teaching) to write, Backgrounds, before turning to the small class.

"One of the biggest challenges in drawing and sketching is tackling background space. Often times we get caught up in the foreground and ignore or only halfheartedly realize a successful background for our foreground imagery to occupy. A strongly drawn or sketched background can provide necessary context for what’s happening in the foreground, and can add visual interest to keep the viewer’s eye moving and examining the image. And pencils are a robust but forgiving medium that provide the flexibility to explore these background environments. The rules to background are pretty simple:

Overlap: How objects overlap other objects in the picture determines how the viewer understands the space. Anything overlapping or partially obscuring something else will appear closer to the viewer
Relative Scale: Obviously, things that are bigger will appear closer, especially in comparison to a smaller version of the same kind of object.
Relative Position: This may be less intuitive than the previous two concepts, but things that are lower in the picture appear closer. Things that are higher seem farther away.
Dark vs Light: Dark objects usually appear closer and light objects usually appear distant. This is a real phenomenon in nature known as atmospheric perspective. It’s the reason far-away mountains are a light, hazy blue, while closer mountains and other objects are darker and retain more contrast.
Horizon: The horizon is always the same as the viewer’s eye level. You can place the horizon wherever you want in a drawing, but it determines the viewer’s eye level. So anything placed above the horizon line is above the viewer. Correspondingly, anything below the horizon is below the viewer. So unless you want the viewer to think he’s floating on a broomstick, you’d better make sure that street lamp extends above the horizon.

Currently on your desks are different subjects, animals, people, inanimate objects, etc., what I would like you to do is draw a background around that subject and create a story. Is that a lion in an African safari or lounging in the shade of a muggle office building? Why is their a tea cup in the middle of a pond? Whatever it is you can think of create! For extra credit you could sketch both the subject and the background and I'll award your points towards your overall grade as well as House Points!" Tanna clapped happily excited for today's project. "And as usual afterwards you may survey Signor Da Vinci's work before leaving for the day."

"Precious and fragile things, need special handling
My God what have we done to you?

We always try to share, the tenderest of care
Now look what we have put you through

Things get damaged, things get broken
I thought we'd manage, but words left unspoken
Left us so brittle, there was so little left to give "

"Precious and fragile things, need special handling
My God what have we done to you?

We always try to share, the tenderest of care
Now look what we have put you through

Things get damaged, things get broken
I thought we'd manage, but words left unspoken
Left us so brittle, there was so little left to give "

"Precious and fragile things, need special handling
My God what have we done to you?

We always try to share, the tenderest of care
Now look what we have put you through

Things get damaged, things get broken
I thought we'd manage, but words left unspoken
Left us so brittle, there was so little left to give "

Tanna was sitting actually on her desk as she waited for her students to arrive and only when they were settled did she walked over to the chalkboard and wrote two names in her curly script, Michelangelo and Raphael.
"Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), more commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer of the High Renaissance who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. He was considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime, and ever since then he has been held to be one of the greatest artists of all time. A number of his works in painting, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most famous in existence. His output in every field during his long life was prodigious; when the sheer volume of correspondence, sketches, and reminiscences that survive is also taken into account, he is the best-documented artist of the 16th century. Despite his low opinion of painting, Michelangelo also created two of the most influential works in fresco in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling and The Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. As an architect, Michelangelo pioneered the Mannerist style at the Laurentian Library. At 74 he succeeded Antonio da Sangallo the Younger as the architect of St. Peter's Basilica. Michelangelo transformed the plan, the western end being finished to Michelangelo's design, the dome being completed after his death with some modification.

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (April 6 or March 28, 1483 – April 6, 1520), better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period. The best known work is The School of Athens in the Vatican Stanza della Segnatura. After his early years in Rome much of his work was executed by his workshop from his drawings, with considerable loss of quality. He was extremely influential in his lifetime, though outside Rome his work was mostly known from his collaborative printmaking. After his death, the influence of his great rival Michelangelo was more widespread until the 18th and 19th centuries, when Raphael's more serene and harmonious qualities were again regarded as the highest models."

Tanna paused after her speech and looked to see if anyone was confused before going back over to the board and writing, Proportions .
"Proportion refers to the relative size of parts of a whole (elements within an object). We often think of proportions in terms of size relationships within the human body.Michelangelo's sculpture David represents the Renaissance emphasis on the ideal, based on the ancient Greek model of the ideal: rationality reflected in the portrayal of perfection in the human body."[ Here Tanna gestured to her own smaller David on the side of the classroom.] "This sculpture is an excellent illustration of both scale and proportion in art. Proportion doesn't just stop at the human body, it could be used for landscapes, portraits, interior design. floral arrangements even! And, it can also be used to make dramatic and even controversial images of what you want to convey. The art of photomontage is a method where you piece together elements from different sources and alter the scale of objects in the composition as well as proportions within the human body. Think of it as almost making a cartoon but using real images of that person.

For the remainder of class I would like you to attempt to draw your head, not just your face your actual head, using the mirrors provided upon my desk. If you have any questions or issues please don't hesitate to ask me. Afterwards you may look around at the various paintings and sculptures of these two marvelous artists." she grinned happily and waited for everyone to start.