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Course: The J. Paul Getty Museum > Unit 1
Lesson 5: Stories in stoneActivity: using line drawings to continue a narrative
"Read" a scene from a story carved in stone, then extend that story through line drawings.
Narrative art is when an artist creates a work that tells a story or shows an event. In this activity, create your own work of narrative art through a simple line drawing. All you need is a pencil and paper.
Step 1: Look at photographs of the Elgin Throne and zoom in to its carvings of the figures. Take some time to identify their shapes and lines. Look at this drawing of the throne by Otto Magnus von Stackelberg as an example.
Step 2: Pick one of the figures whose story you would like to continue. Using a pencil, sketch the figure in a scene before or after the moment shown. The sketch should show just the basic shapes and outlines of the characters and the setting. Then, add details such as symbols, backgrounds, and objects around the characters. (Feel free to use colored pencils too.)