Time Needed: 3 Sessions @ 45 Minutes

Name GraffitiBUBBLE LETTERING & OVERLAPPING

DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 2

ART CRITICISM

Is graffiti art? What do you think? Use these ART CRITICISM and discussion questions for a class discussion

Do you think that graffiti is art? Why or why not?

Have you seen graffiti in real life? If so, where?

What does “vandalism” mean?

Why is vandalism wrong?

Is graffiti vandalism? Is there a situation when graffiti is not vandalism?

Graffiti art ranges from simple words to

complicated, multi-colored images. If a

graffiti artist is nervous about being caught in

their act of vandalism, they may only have

time for writing their artist name, known as a

“tag.”

In this lesson, students will learn the skill of

bubble lettering and overlapping their

bubble letters in the style of a graffiti

artist. Students will enjoy how using neon

oil pastels give a smooth, spray-painted

gradient look to their bubble letters.

What You’ll Need: 9” x 12” black sulphite paper

9” x 12” white sulphite paper

Kitchen sponge

Tempera paint (white and black)

Small round paintbrush

Pencil and eraser

Neon oil pastels

Scissors and glue

Optional: small spray bottle

Name Graffiti

DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 3

On a 9“ x 12“ piece of white sulphite paper

write your name large with pencil. Write lightly

so that you can easily erase your lines later.

When you are happy with how your name

looks, the next step will be to take your regular

letters and turn them into thick, puffy BUBBLE LETTERS.

Make your letters thick by creating an outline

around your letter. I used to tell my students

that it is like your letter is trying to get away

and you have to fence it in, but not touch it.

HERE’S HOW: Start with your very first letter. Draw around the letter without touching it to

make it thick and puffy. Remember to draw

lightly so that you can erase and change

anything easily.

As you make bubble letters with your name,

the letters should touch each other. When they

touch each other they will OVERLAP. The first letter will be “on top” and each letter after it

will be behind the previous letter.

Your second letter will bump into your first

letter, so when your bubble letter outline

touches your first bubble letter outline, skip

over the outline and continue the letter where

it would reappear.

Erase all of your inside lines with an eraser.

Creating Bubble Letters

DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 4

The next step is adding color to your name. I

chose to use neon oil pastels to make my name

bright and bold, but crayons or regular oil

pastels would work, too. Just choose the

brightest colors you can from what you have.

Graffiti artists often use spray paint to paint

their art and frequently they paint a GRADIENT of color. Filling in an area using lines of multiple

colors that BLEND between colors creates a gradient.

Choose three oil pastels to use in your

gradient.

Use your first color to fill in the top third of

your letters.

Fill in the middle of your letters with the

second color. Use your second color to lightly

blend over the bottom of your first color. This

creates a smooth transition between the colors.

Color the bottom of your letters with the third

color and blend up into the previous color.

With a small round paintbrush and thinned

black tempera paint, outline your letters. If you

have center areas, such as in a “R” or A”, fill

them in with black.

Use white tempera paint to add highlights to

the tops and bottoms of your letters.

Coloring a Gradient

DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 5

The background of our name graffiti is

a sponge painted brick wall. In a few

simple steps, you can create a

background that really looks like a

TEXTURED, rough brick wall.

Dip a pre-dampened kitchen sponge

into white and black paint. It’s better to

have more white paint available than

black. The trick is not over-mixing the

paint, but leaving spots of white and

black on the sponge.

Press the sponge onto the top of a

black piece of sulphite paper to place

your first “brick.” Repeat, leaving a little

space between bricks. When your bricks

start getting light, re-dip your sponge

into the paint. It’s okay if some bricks go

off your paper.

You could stop there, when your black

paper is full of bricks. Or you can add

and additional texture element by using a

small spray bottle to spray your brick wall

with black paint mixed with a little water.

After a couple of spritzes, your wall will

be the perfect background for your name

graffiti.

Let your background dry.

Creating the background

DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 6

After it is dry, carefully cut out

your name graffiti.

Use glue to attach your name to

your brick wall background. Place

it at an angle to give it extra

interest.

Putting it All Together

TIP: If any of your black paint flakes off during the cutting process, use a black oil pastel to fill in the flaked areas.

National Core Arts Standards - Third GradeN A M E G R A F F I T I

CREATING

Common Core StandardsCCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.3 Ask and answer questions about information from a

speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.

As students are participating in the art criticism

questions included in the lesson, you can encourage

students to ask questions to clarify and elaborate on

their opinions and answers.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,

punctuation, and spelling when writing.

As students complete their written responses to the artist statement or any other written

question for this lesson, encouraging proper capitalization and spelling helps students make

connections about the importance of language across content areas.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

After students finish their art, you can have them fill out the artist statement worksheet (located

in Teacher Aids). This information leads them to reflect on the process of art making while

forming an opinion about their own work based on the processes used, materials used,

inspirations, etc.

D E E P S PA C E S PA R K L E & T H E S PA R K L E R S C L U B 1 0

VA:Cr2.1.3a - Organize and develop artistic ideas and work - Create personally satisfying artwork using a variety of artistic processes and materials.

VA:Cn11.1.3a - Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding - Recognize that responses to art change depending on knowledge of the time and place in which it was made.

CONNECTING

VA:Re9.1.3a - Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work - Evaluate an artwork based on given criteria.

RESPONDING

I Can StatementsN

AM

E G

RA

FF

ITI

Today I will learn about BU

BBLE

LETTERING

so that I CAN

create THICK

, puffy

letters that OVERLA

P to create a sense of SPACE in m

y artwork.

Today I will learn about CO

LOR

so that I CAN

create a GRA

DIEN

T of

color inside my letters that BLEN

DS from

one color to another, like a

GRA

FFITI ARTIST w

ould create.

Today I will learn about TEXTU

RE so that I CAN

use a sponge to STAM

P a

ROU

GH

texture for my graffiti w

all.

DE

EP

SPA

CE

SPA

RK

LE &

THE

SPA

RK

LER

S C

LUB

11

Did the student create thick, puffy bubble letters that overlap each other? Did the student create a gradient of color inside their bubble letters by blending several colors together? Did the student use a sponge to stamp a brick wall texture onto their background paper?

Teacher Assessment Student Name:__________________ Class:__________ Project: Name Graffiti

D E E P S PA C E S PA R K L E & T H E S PA R K L E R S C L U B

D E E P S PA C E S PA R K L E & T H E S PA R K L E R S C L U B

STUDENT ASSESSMENT

Time to evaluate your work! Review your project and check the box with your answer.

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Criteria

Craftsmanship

Effort

Composition

Did you follow all steps?

Were you satisfied with the end result?

Did you use the supplies correctly?

Did you do your best?

Excellent Needs WorkSuccessful Progressing

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Student Name:__________________ Class:__________ Project: Name Graffiti