4.4 Strategy 3: Scale

A. Strategy 3: Scale

You just learned about foreground and background. Artists use the foreground to show what is important. There is another way an artist can show how something is important – they do it by using scale, or size. When an artist makes something bigger, it shows increased importance.

 

Directions: 

  1. How does the scale, or size of images, change in each mural? 
  2. Which do you like better? Why? 

B. Using Scale

Before Eric paints a giant mural, he makes a small version first. Once he has a small draft, how does he get that SMALL draft onto a BIG wall? Let’s find out. Watch the video to see how Eric uses a grid to transfer or move his little painting to the giant space. 

A grid

C. You Try

In art, scale is the size of one object when compared to another.  In the video, you saw how Eric uses scale in his art to highlight what is most important.

Authors use many of the same techniques as artists, like scale. Authors must distinguish between important ideas (large in scale) and less important details (small in scale). In books, the author fills the pages with information that is important and also information that is meant to wow, amaze, gross out, or otherwise keep the reader reading.

Directions: Imagine you are creating a mural about the ocean. You want to help others understand that plastic pollution is harming fish. Think about scale. 

Think About: 

  1. What would you want to make larger or smaller? 
  2. Do you want to make the sea life bigger or the plastic? Why? 

Directions: Try arranging the different pieces to practice creating your own mural. 

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