No Paint, Jeffrey Scudder
No Paint (2020), Jeffrey Scudder

Introduction

A line could also be defined as a dot in motion, or the history of a dot’s movement, since, when we make a continuous mark or a line, we make it by placing a marker point on a surface and moving it along, leaving the formed marks as a record.”

- Donis A. Dondis, A Primer of Visual Literacy

The human body, particularly the human hands, is the most rudimentary tool we have for mark-making. Throughout human history, a variety of tools have been developed to extend the hands and diversify the marks we’re able to make. Unlike analog drawing tools such as a charcoal stick or a paintbrush, digital drawing tools rely on code instructions to simulate pixel transformation. Therefore, what to simulate and how to simulate it becomes the central question in the creation of drawing software.

In this topic, you’re asked to design a drawing software that makes marks in a novel way. We’ll design the drawing tool to be compatible with an idea for a drawing. Then we’ll use the tool to create and then save a drawing.

Premise

Design and code a drawing software that makes marks in a novel way.

Objectives

Grade 6~8

  • Gaining insight into diverse practices in traditional and contemporary drawing
  • Understanding the relationship between drawing tools and artistic intention
  • Comprehending visual arts vocabularies, including line, texture, transparency, and gradient
  • Collaborating with many contributors when creating a computational artifact
  • Comparing tradeoffs associated with licenses for computational artifacts to balance the protection of the creators’ rights and the ability for others to use and modify the artifacts

Grade 9~12

  • Comparing the differences between open-source and proprietary software
  • Studying, discussing, and thinking critically about the potential impacts and implications of emerging technologies on larger social, economic, and political structures, with evidence from credible sources.
  • Explaining the beneficial and harmful effects that intellectual property laws can have on innovation.

Technical Terms & p5.js Elements

Grade 6~8

  • System functions vs. user-defined functions
  • Argument and parameters
  • Passing parameters
  • Default parameters

    Grade 9~12

  • Playtesting

References & Artworks for Discussion

Unplugged Activities

Blind Contour Drawing

  1. Using different drawing utensils (pencil, marker, charcoal, ink) students create blind contour drawings of a single object. Comparing the different drawings, students discuss how the quality of the lines affects the tone and effect of the drawing.
  2. Divide students into pairs and have them create blind contour drawings of each other using different drawing materials. Students discuss how the features of the lines made by different drawing tools supports or doesn’t support the ‘portrait’ of their classmate.
  3. Once the initial p5.js drawing tool is completed, students use the drawing tool they designed to create a blind contour drawing. Compare the drawings with the ones they did using physical materials. Students can then adjust their drawing tool to modify the features.

Depicting Movement with Lines

  1. Provide students with a simple reference object for drawing (e.g. cube, pencil, eraser) and multiple sheets of paper. For 3 minutes at a time, have random words related to motion (fast, awkwardly, quietly, laboriously) displayed on the board. Have students draw the object moving according to the word on the board.
  2. Have students display their work on tables or the board according to the descriptors (e.g. all the quickly drawings on one table). Discuss what are qualities the images have in common for different descriptors.
  3. Students choose one descriptor, and create an intermediate sketch depicting that descriptor.
  4. Students use the p5.js drawing tool to create drawings of the descriptors (or chosen one). Students discuss the difference between digital and physical drawings and compare the drawing experiences.

Make Your Own Paintbrush

  1. Using found materials, students create their own paintbrush. While creating a drawing with their brush, students make observations about the relationship between the shape of their brush and the lines they are creating.