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| Drawn by Yalexi M. (Grade 5) when she was in the 3rd grade! |
When I first moved to Chicago, I noticed that artwork showing the city was very popular. Chicagoans are proud of their city, and with reason!
Chicago is famous for its architecture and especially for its skyscrapers. In this project, you will learn to draw the skyline by focusing on some of our skyline's stars: distinctive buildings known worldwide.
Let's start with a drawing paper turned so that it is WIDE, and let's use crayons. Don't color anything. Just draw with lines! |
| From L to R: John Hancock, Aon, Trump, Willis |
These buildings are some of Chicago's tallest buildings, and they are easy to spot in the skyline. Your drawing should begin with these. Notice the Willis Tower (AKA Sears Tower) is still the tallest in Chicago. It can be drawn with a black crayon and has a shape kind of like stair steps towards the top, and it is topped with 2 spires. Draw it towards the left side of your paper.
The Aon Building is near the Willis Tower in the loop, so I drew it next. I made it look like a long, skinny rectangle with stripes that go up and down.
The Trump Tower can be found near the center of the skyline. It is blue, and the steps on each side alternate as you move towards the top spire. I add horizontal lines as rows of windows. When my students "boo" this building (for reasons I will not mention), I remind them that Adrian Smith, the architect who designed the building, deserves credit for the beauty of the building. 😇
Finally, the Hancock Tower has the shape of a long trapezoid. It was made more narrow at the top to make it seem taller. I draw a X pattern down the building, and I add two spires.  |
Start with the "Skyline Stars"
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Next, I add some buildings I find interesting. The ones I ususally add are The "Diamond Building", which is actually called the Crain Communications Building, is near the Aon and Willis Towers, so I usually add it in front of or next to those. Then, I add the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel on the right hand side of my paper. Between the Trump Tower (Adrian Smith) and the Hancock Tower, I add the 900 N. Michigan Building. Even though this building is not as tall as the others, the top looks like a castle with 4 spires. It is easy to see in the skyline. Here are photos of these landmarks. Try adding them (or other buildings you like) next!
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| Add other buildings you find interesting! |
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| "Diamond Building" |
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| Navy Pier Ferris Wheel |
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| 900 N Michigan Building |
After adding these, the other steps are simply adding details! I added Millennium Park by drawing "The Bean" and some trees around the base of the Willis Tower. I added Lake Shore Drive and some traffic next to that, and I added the waves of Lake Michigan in the front. It is fun to put stars in the sky, windows and lights on the buildings, and boats in the water.
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I added a park and a street in front.
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I added lights, stars, and boats!
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You could stop here, or you could add more COLOR! I added color with watercolor paints. This is fun because the wax from the crayons shows through the paint as a resist. If you don't have watercolors at home, you can use washable markers! Just draw lines where you want to paint, and then paint over the lines with a paintbrush and water.  |
Finished!
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In class, we learn fun facts about the buildings as we go along. I added links to the building names in these directions, just in case you want to learn some facts about Chicago's amazing architecture. Other extensions for this project are limitless! Some that we have done in class include:
To turn in work, copy this code: WCCP-WSTF
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