Class Objective The class is a project based class introducing techniques of scenic painting. Each project is designed to be started in one class and completed by the next class as we will be building on techniques from class to class.
Students are required to prepare their own paint and be responsible for materials and brushes. The scene shops are in constant use so students are responsible for storing their panels in a pre-arranged area, and responsible for making sure all buckets and brushes are clean.
Class meets once a week to introduce a project and techniques.
You are expected to spend time outside of class either working on your panel or by working on one of the several productions scheduled. An option will be to begin work on those productions in class so we can work together on them.
This page, which is linked to the rest of the course work is on the web at: http://scenicartist.20m.com/Scene_Painting.html
Click on the title of each assignment to see detailed information, including the illustrations we will use to complete the assignment.
Book Recommendations for Dramatic Art 125(Scene Painting)
First Assignment - Color Wheel
First part of the assignment: Make a color wheel on 9"x 12" illustration board. You can make one that is a series of dots, or
make a wheel.
Second part of the assignment: Make a value scale. The true pigment is in the middle
of the scale. To the left add white to get the four tints. To the right add black to get
the four shades. Make the grey scale also for comparison.
Second Assignment - Woodgrain
Preparation, measure a 6 inch strip around the
four sides at the top of the panel above the brick wall.
Research wood grain, particularly oak. Two color lay in. Graining with a wide brush.
Detail wood grain. Add shadow and highlight to make a frame. Specialty tools.
Description of techniques on furniture
Third Assignment - Clouds
Prepare by finishing priming your panel, researching cloud images.
Grid an image using acetate. Multi-color lay-in, wet blend, scumbling techniques.
Discussion of interaction of color.
Fourth Assignment - Brick Wall
Preparation, finish sky and clouds. Lay in mortar color. Research brick patterns.
Techniques will include texturing with paint rollers, sponges, stippling, lining.
Demonstration of other texture techniques, foam sponges, stencils, spattering,
brooms, mops, feather dusters, ragging.
Fifth Assignment - Marble
Preparation - Prime masonite panels. Research marble.
Techniques and tools, wet blend, brush, feather, rubber eraser.
Practice on the masonite panels. Paint a marble floor onto your panel.
Sixth Assignment - Perspective
Plot out a perspective drawing on paper.
Seventh Assignment - Shapes in space, Sphere, Cone, Cylinder
Practice the shapes on butcher paper.
Begin painting an urn onto your panel, the basic shape and the basic shadowing.
Eighth Assignment - Rendering, drawing a mask
Grid, cartoon and shadow the mask on paper.
Add details to the urn on your panel. Add a cast shadow to the urn on your panel.
Ninth Assignment - Foliage
Basic cartooning.
Techniques, sponge, brush, cut rollers, feather to create detail.
Paint a plant into the urn on your panel.
Tenth Assignment - Finish your panel
Demonstration of specialty techniques used in making movies and television. Plus some tricks if you are ever asked to do standby painting. Here's a hint, don't use paint, it usually doesn't dry fast enough. Review of techniques, questions.
If you have thought of a technique we haven't covered this is the time to discuss it.
Left to right, sketch from the last class, montage of photos used as reference, samplingof completed panels from the last class.