Surreal Perspective

Adding surrealism to a perspective project to engage student interest.

Sometimes lessons in one-, two-, or three-point perspective can become recipes to be followed with little room for personal expression. I see the importance of teaching perspective in building ruler skills as well as making connections to math and geometry. But where can students add in their personal connections? Where do they add their own unique twists?

In my experience, students have a lot to say about their school experience. They also tend to like art projects that are a bit subversive. Adding surrealism to a perspective project can help bridge that gap and keep students interested when the technical aspects of perspective can feel challenging. 

When we explore perspective, we open with a one-point perspective hallway drawing. We learn to do receding lines, doors, windows, then lockers, and end with ceiling or floor tiles. We do this all with pencils, rulers, and T-Squares. When the base drawings are complete, we explore surrealism and ask the question, "how do we turn this hallway into an impossible dream?"
​

• Will there be a black hole outside the windows/doors?
• What would it look like if the building was 1000 years old?
• Will a Tiger or T-Rex be coming around the corner?
• Could zombie graffiti (in perspective) be covering the walls?
• Might Alien's be dropping in from broken ceiling tiles?
• Could water and sharks be pouring in from an open door?
• What would this hallway look like if it was in a video game?

This is enough to keep it interesting and motivate most students. There will always be some who struggle with rulers and measuring, but all will improve their understanding through the process. Growth is sometimes more important than success. 

Consider adding copyright free images or Ai imagery to perspective projects with the video below.