Lesson plans

How to use

Each lesson plan below is a self-contained unit you can use as-is or adapt to your curriculum. The skill level (beginner / intermediate / advanced) and grade-band suggestions are guidance, not gospel — adjust to your students.

By level

Beginner (middle school / intro high school)

• Intro to grid-method portrait drawing (2 sessions) — students learn the grid method by drawing a photo reference cell-by-cell. Loomis Head introduction in session 2.
• The grid method for still life (2 sessions) — students transfer a still-life photograph cell by cell, then take their first steps toward sight-measurement.
• Rule of thirds for beginning photographers (1 session) — students take 10 photos, then re-frame them using the rule-of-thirds overlay.
• Gesture drawing warm-ups (1 session, repeatable) — a timed line-of-action warm-up for the start of any figure class.
• Symmetry and centered composition (1 session) — students explore bilateral and radial symmetry with the center-cross overlay.
• Fill the frame and find the focal point (1 session) — students move in close and place the focal point on a thirds line.
• Observational still life with a grid viewfinder (2 sessions) — students build a gridded viewfinder and draw a real still life from life, cell by cell.
• Building a value scale and shading form (2 sessions) — students make a five-step value scale, then shade a sphere and cube into solid form.
• The color wheel and complementary colors (2 sessions) — students mix a twelve-color wheel from three primaries and use complements to make a focal point pop.
• The golden ratio in nature and art (2 sessions) — students find Fibonacci spirals in plants and test golden-ratio claims in artworks.
• Mandalas and radial symmetry (2 sessions) — students build a radial grid and repeat one motif around the center into a mandala.

Intermediate (high school / college foundations)

• Loomis head construction (3 sessions) — students build the head as a rotatable 3D form using the ball-and-plane method.
• The eight-head figure canon (2 sessions) — students learn the proportional canon, then test it against real reference.
• Value studies and the five-value grisaille (2 sessions) — students learn to see and render value, then complete a gridded grisaille study.
• Intro to 1-point and 2-point perspective (3 sessions) — guided construction, then matching perspective to a photograph in the tool.
• Golden ratio and the phi grid in composition (2 sessions) — students read compositions through the phi grid, then compose an original image on a phi intersection.
• Leading lines and the diagonal method (1 session) — students aim real lines at a focal point using the diagonal-method overlay.
• Seeing and using negative space (1 session) — students treat the empty area as a shape and balance it against a small subject.
• One-point perspective: drawing a room (2 sessions) — students find the single vanishing point, then construct a furnished interior in depth.
• Isometric drawing basics (2 sessions) — students draw cubes on the 30-degree grid with no vanishing point, then build an object from them.
• Ellipses and cylinders in perspective (2 sessions) — students control the minor axis and ellipse degree to draw a still life of round forms.
• Atmospheric perspective in landscape (2 sessions) — students build depth without lines using value and contrast over a rule-of-thirds composition.
• Front-view facial proportions (2 sessions) — students learn the proportion canon and build a balanced front-view face on the portrait overlay.
• Profile facial proportions (2 sessions) — students learn the square of the head and ear placement to draw a believable profile.
• Grid-assisted self-portrait (2 sessions) — students transfer a selfie with the square grid, then verify it against the face canon.
• Scaling a sketch to a wall: the mural grid method (2 sessions) — students grid a small design, find the scale factor, and enlarge it to mural size.
• Cross-contour lines and three-dimensional form (2 sessions) — students wrap a grid around solid forms so flat shapes read as volume.
• Framing with foreground elements (2 sessions) — students use natural frames and layered depth to make a photograph feel deep instead of flat.
• Horizon placement in landscape photography (2 sessions) — students place the horizon high or low with the rule of thirds and rabatment.
• Comic page panel layout (2 sessions) — students lay out a one-page comic with panels and gutters to control pacing and reading flow.
• Constructing the Flower of Life (2 sessions) — students build the Flower of Life with a compass from the seed of life outward.
• Tessellations and repeating patterns (2 sessions) — students learn which shapes tile and build an interlocking repeat with the slide-and-tile method.
• Charting an image to a grid for cross-stitch (2 sessions) — students chart an image onto a square grid and write a color legend.

Advanced (college / atelier / AP-level)

• Golden triangle composition (1 session) — students place a subject on the golden-triangle armature to build diagonal energy and tension.
• Cropping for impact (1 session) — students re-crop one image three ways and defend the strongest choice.
• Two-point perspective: drawing buildings (2 sessions) — students draw a building at its corner with two vanishing points on one horizon.
• Three-point perspective: dramatic angles (2 sessions) — students add a third vanishing point for towering worm's-eye and bird's-eye views.
• Constructing hands and feet (2 sessions) — students build hands and feet from boxes, wedges, and arcs, sized against the figure.
• From gesture to structure in the figure (2 sessions) — students move from the line of action to a constructed figure checked against the eight-head canon.
• Master copy: studying a drawing through the grid (2 sessions) — students make an accurate gridded copy of a master drawing to reverse-engineer the artist's decisions.
• Monochrome painting study (2 sessions) — students paint in a single hue plus white to master value relationships before color enters the work.
• Limited-palette landscape painting (2 sessions) — students paint a landscape from three colors, placing the horizon on a thirds line.
• Golden hour and the direction of light (2 sessions) — students study golden-hour light and the direction of light, then shoot and frame with the thirds grid.
• Depth of field and visual storytelling (2 sessions) — students control depth of field to isolate a subject and tell a two-image story.
• Photographic portrait composition (2 sessions) — students compose portraits with eye line, headroom, and lead room, and crop without cutting at the joints.
• Layout grids for a poster (2 sessions) — students use a column grid with margins and gutters to design a clear, aligned event poster.
• Constructing a logo on a grid (2 sessions) — students build a logo mark from circles and guides, then apply optical corrections.
• Baseline grids and vertical rhythm (2 sessions) — students set type to a baseline grid and an 8-point spacing system.
• Storyboard frame composition (2 sessions) — students storyboard a scene using shot sizes, the rule of thirds, and camera moves.
• Constructing an Islamic eight-point star (2 sessions) — students construct an eight-point star with compass and grid, then tessellate it into a pattern.

More advanced multi-week units are in development. In the meantime, the in-depth pillar guides at Learn — for example dynamic symmetry and the perspective systems — supply atelier-level depth that an instructor can stage into a unit.

By discipline

Drawing

• Intro to grid-method portrait drawing
• Loomis Head 4-week unit
• Bargue vs Reilly vs Loomis vs Asaro (1 session comparison)

Photography

• Rule of thirds for beginning photographers
• Golden ratio + golden spiral for landscape
• Composition decision-making

Design

• Logo construction grid (3 sessions)
• 12-column web grid + 8pt baseline (1 session)
• Comic panel layout (2 sessions)

Art History

• Sacred geometry in Christian + Hindu + Islamic art (1 session)
• Dynamic symmetry: Vermeer analysis
• Le Corbusier Modulor: architecture proportion (1 session)

Lesson plan template

Each lesson plan follows the same structure: learning objectives → materials → 5-minute warm-up → 30-minute main activity → 10-minute reflection → assessment rubric. See any individual plan for the format in detail.

Bulk plans + custom curriculum

For schools wanting 5-10 lesson plans tailored to your specific curriculum (atelier-style portrait progression, intro photo course, design fundamentals), email partners@gridmakerpro.com. Free for educational institutions.

Submit your own

If you've adapted Grid Maker Pro for your classroom, share the lesson plan with us — we publish accepted submissions with attribution. Email lessons@gridmakerpro.com.

Standards alignment

Where applicable, each plan notes alignment with:

• National Core Arts Standards (US) — VA:Cr2.1, VA:Re7.2, VA:Re8.1 most commonly
• AP Art & Design — Sustained Investigation, Selected Works requirements
• UK National Curriculum Art and Design — KS3, KS4

Plans don't typically align to ELA or math standards — they're art-focused. Cross-disciplinary connections (e.g. golden ratio + Fibonacci sequence math integration) are flagged where relevant.

Privacy + compliance for school use

Grid Maker Pro is FERPA / GDPR / COPPA-safe by design — no accounts, no upload, no student data collected. See the trust & security page for the technical detail your IT department will want.