© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 2
ABOUT THE AUTOBAHN The AUTOBAHN is the national highway system of GERMANY. It is
best known for not having a speed limit. How fast would you drive
without a speed limit? Some areas of the autobahn do have speed
limits, though, if they are accident prone or under construction.
Germany is also known for its production of cars that travel
the autobahn; BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Audi and
Volkswagen are all German car brands.
This one-point perspective drawing is
sure to capture the attention of your
students. Inspired by the autobahn, the
highway system in Germany that is
known for its high speed limits, this
lesson gives students the opportunity
to design their own cars and use size
to create a sense of space in their
drawing. Students will also learn to
layer colored pencils to create custom
colors and use value to add shadows.
What You’ll Need: 9” x 12” white sulphite paper
Pencil & eraser
Fine point black marker
Colored pencils
Ruler
Autobahn near Munich. Image from HERE.
Autobahn drawing
Creating perspective
© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 3
• Start with a 9” x 12” piece of white
sulphite paper turned horizontal.
• Use a pencil to draw a dot near the center
in the top third of the paper.
• This dot will be your VANISHING POINT. The vanishing point is where all of the lines
that form your road will meet, creating the
illusion that the road is going back in
SPACE. This is called ONE-POINT PERSPECTIVE.
• Use a ruler to draw an angled line from
the vanishing point to just above the
bottom corner of the paper.
• Move the ruler up slightly, keeping the
ruler aligned with the vanishing point to
make another line just above your original.
• Repeat the same process on the
other side of the paper. Your two
lines will form an upside down “V”
shape.
• To make the center barrier,
line up the ruler with the
vanishing point and the
bottom center of the
paper.
• Slide the ruler over just a bit to make a
second line.
Drawing the cars• Cars in Germany travel
on the right side of the
road. This means that
on the right side of the
road you will see the
back of the cars and on
the left side you will see
the front of the cars.
• Begin drawing the car that is closest to you,
which will be closest to the bottom of the
paper.
• It’s okay if the car overlaps the lines for the
side of the road. You can fix that later.
• You can use the drawing guide on page
seven and the handout on page eight for help
drawing your cars.
• Drawing the cars, whether the front view or
back view, begins with a curved rectangle at the
bottom, and a rounded trapezoid shape on top
for the windshield or back window.
• You can add your own details to the cars,
including lights and license plates.
• As the cars go back in space, they will get
smaller and smaller.
• Add cars on both sides of the road.
Handouts on page 7 & 8
© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 4
Adding the background• Use your ruler to draw a bridge across the top of the
page. I used the bridge to cover my vanishing point.
• The bridge doesn’t need to go across the entire page.
• Draw trees or hills on either side, overlapping the ends
of the bridge.
• Add mountains in the background. Bring the corners of
the mountains in the center down to the vanishing point.
• Add details on the sides of the road.
Some ideas are: a no speed limit sign,
rocks and woodland animals. You can
even give it a whimsical touch by
adding gnomes or other surprises.
• Don’t forget to add people traveling in
your cars.
• Use a thin black marker, like a Micron, to
trace all lines. Use your ruler to trace straight
lines to keep them exact.
• Add TEXTURE lines in the grass and
trees.
© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 5
layering with colored pencils
© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 6
• One of my favorite things to do with colored
pencils is LAYERING colors on top of each other.
This helps to create rich, realistic colors.
• Areas that are closer in space will be colored more
brightly, while areas in the distance will appear
lighter and less vibrant.
• This is called ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE.
• You can emphasize this concept with the road; the
bottom of the road should be dark black and fade to
lighter grey near the top.
• Adding VALUE will imply FORM in your drawing.
• Imagine the sun shining near the top left corner of
your paper. This would cause the top left side of
objects to be lighter, while the bottom right side will
be in shadow.
• To create value with colored pencils, you can
either press harder for darker values or add a darker
color in the shadowy areas.
• Large areas tend to be
tedious for students to color
with colored pencils. Just
remind them that areas that
are far back in space will
appear very light, so they
won’t need to spend too much
time on the sky or mountains
in the background.
© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 7
Add
a ro
unde
d tr
apez
oid
for t
he b
ack
win
dshi
eld.
For t
he fr
ont v
iew
, sta
rt w
ith a
long
hor
izon
tal
line
near
the
bott
om o
f the
pap
er. A
dd s
ides
th
at tr
avel
up
and
angl
e in
. Con
nect
with
a
stra
ight
line
.
For t
he b
ack
view
, dra
w a
larg
e, ro
unde
d ov
al s
hape
.
Add
a tr
apez
oid
shap
e on
top
for t
he
win
dshi
eld.
AUTO
BA
HN
D R
A W
I N
G
G U
I D
E
Add
det
ails
like
the
grill
and
hea
dlig
hts.
C
ontin
ue a
ddin
g sy
mm
etric
al d
etai
ls.
32
1
32
1
Add
det
ails
like
the
taill
ight
s, tr
unk
and
back
bum
per.
Your
det
ails
on
the
back
sh
ould
be
sym
met
rical
, jus
t lik
e th
e fro
nt.
© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 9
National Core Arts Standards - 7th GradeA U T O B A H N D R A W I N G
C R E AT I N G
Common Core StandardsCCSS.ELA.Literacy.W.7.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing
on several sources and generating additional related, focused
questions for further research and investigation.
Before beginning, students can research specific characteristics
of the landscape in Germany or German-made cars that they
would like feature in their drawing.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-
led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and
expressing their own clearly.
If time allows, leading a class critique of the finished artwork can tie into this standard by
students participating in discussions about each other’s work, building on each other’s ideas and
clearly expressing their observations.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when
writing or speaking.
You can emphasize to students the importance of using conventions of standard English
grammar when writing their answers to the artist statement worksheet. This is a wonderful way
to help students see cross-curricular connections between subjects!
VA:Cr1.1.7a - Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work - Apply methods to overcome creative blocks.
VA:Cr2.1.7a - Organize and develop artistic ideas and work - Demonstrate persistence in developing skills with various materials, methods, and approaches in creating works of art or design.
VA:Cr3.1.7a - Refine and complete artistic work - Reflect on and explain important information about personal artwork in an artist statement or another format.
I Ca
n Statem
entsA
UT
OB
AH
N D
RA
WIN
G
© D
EE
P S
PA
CE
SP
AR
KLE
& T
HE
SP
AR
KLE
RS
CLU
B 10
Today I will learn about the A
UTO
BAH
N in
GERM
AN
Y so that I CA
N create a draw
ing
that is based on this highway.
Today I will learn about VA
LUE
so that I CAN
use different colors
and levels of pressure with colored pencils to m
ake some areas
lighter and other areas darker.
Today I will learn about O
NE-PO
INT PERSPECTIVE
so that I CAN
use angled lines and a VAN
ISHIN
G PO
INT to m
ake my highw
ay
look like it is going back in SPACE
.
Time to evaluate your work! Review your project and check the box with your answer.
Criteria
Craftsmanship
Effort
Composition
Did you follow all steps?
Were you satisfied with the end result?
Did you use the supplies correctly?
Did you do your best?
Excellent Needs WorkSuccessful Progressing
© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB
© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB
Did the student create a drawing of a highway based on the autobahn in Germany?
Did the student use different colors and pressure with color pencils to show value?
Did the student use one-point perspective to show space in their drawing?
Student Name:__________________ Class:__________ Project: Autobahn Drawing
Student Name:__________________ Class:__________ Project: Autobahn Drawing
TEACHER ASSESSMENT
STUDENT ASSESSMENT
5-75-7
5-7 5-7
Atmospheric perspective
Autobahn
Form
A U T O B A H N D R A W I N G V O C A B U L A R Y
© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 12
Germany
Layering
One-point perspective
A U T O B A H N D R A W I N G V O C A B U L A R Y
© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 13
Space
Texture
Value
A U T O B A H N D R A W I N G V O C A B U L A R Y
© DEEP SPACE SPARKLE & THE SPARKLERS CLUB 14
Top Related