Showing Depth in Landscapes: 2nd Grade Drawing Project

Four vibrant landscapes by 2nd graders showcase different scenes with hills, buildings, and nature elements, effectively showing depth in their artwork.

My second graders recently learned about simple ways to show depth in an artwork.

I gave a demonstration on my new document camera and showed them how rivers and roads that go back in space would be wider in the front and narrower in the back. I demonstrated how things that were far in the distance would be smaller than things in the front. The use of overlap is also a way to show depth. I showed the students this handout which is an easy-to-understand depiction of what I was teaching them.

Three colorful 2nd-grade drawings depict various outdoor landscapes with trees, animals, and buildings under blue skies.

After drawing with pencil, the students outlined their pictures in Sharpie markers.

Then, they used a variety of water-soluble drawing media including Faber-Castell Gel Sticks, Watercolor Colored Pencils, Reeves Water Soluble Wax Pastels. I have a few boxes of each kind and then I divide them up amongthe tables.