Art Games to Play

Blind Contour Drawings

• A contour drawing is continuous line drawing that traces the outside of the image you are depicting. To do a blind contour drawing, get a large piece of paper and pencil and put an object to draw in front of you. Place your pencil on the piece of paper and draw the outline of the object without looking at the piece of paper. To do this as a group activity, each participant should draw a different object without seeing what others are drawing. Once the drawings are complete, have everyone hang up their drawings and guess what others have drawn. Try timing the drawing in order to ensure everyone is completed at the same time. It is advisable to create a box to block the view of the drawing and make sure it is a blind contour drawing.

Limited Color Painting

• Give everyone a canvas and paint brushes. Using only one color along with black and white, instruct them to create a painting. The paintings can be based on an object or still life, or completely made up. Once everyone is finished with the paintings, hang them up fro people to guess what everyone has created.

Descriptive Drawing

• Have one person do a drawing. Limit the materials available and put limits on the content of the drawing. Once it is complete, have another person try to replicate the drawing based only on the oral description of the drawing from the person who originally created it. Have both participants reveal their drawings once they are complete. Instruct the first person to create a simple drawing that can easily be replicated. Do this in multiple groups for a contest: The group with the most identical drawings wins the game.

Pick a Picture

• Place several images in a paper bag and have everyone select one. Instruct each person to replicate the image doing a pencil drawing. Once everyone is completed, have the participants hang up their drawings with the original picture next to it. The person with the most realistic depiction of her image wins. Try variations, having each person select three images, integrating aspects of the images into one composition.