Inspired by the works of Giacomo Balla, such as The Violinist’s Hands or Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash, our 8th-grade classes explored the representation of movement typical of Futurism. On the occasion of the 2026 Winter Olympics, we chose silhouettes of athletes engaged in various sports, trying to capture their dynamism through sequential figures and ‘lines of force’, blending art, sports, and visual perception. You can find the reference images BELOW:
Required Materials:
- Black A4 cardstock
- Athlete silhouettes printed on white paper
- Soft pastels (chalk pastels)
- Scissors and craft knives
- Glue stick
First, each student chose a sports image and carefully cut it out along the edges to create a clean silhouette. For the smaller details and inner parts, we used small craft knives to ensure precision.
Before starting with the color, we studied the composition on the black cardstock. We planned how to place our cutout figure to fit the entire sequence of movements within the A4 format, simulating the athlete’s motion across the page.
We then selected a gradient of 3 or 4 colors of soft pastels, ranging from the lightest to the darkest. While holding the stencil-figure firmly on the cardstock, we colored along the edge with the first pastel. Then, we smudged the color outwards with our fingers, following a specific direction to suggest a sense of speed and motion.
Without lifting the stencil, but shifting it slightly to the side, we repeated the process with the second color of the gradient, blending it carefully once again. By proceeding this way—slightly overlapping the successive shades—we created a chromatic trail that conveys the idea of the figure moving through space.
Once the sequence of gradients is complete, the drawing can be considered finished if the desired effect has been achieved through the color blending alone. In some cases, we took the original paper silhouette—which by then had become white with colored edges—and glued it over the final position of the trail.
In both versions, the final result is very effective: a static image that is perceived as being in dynamic motion, thanks to the sequences of colored and blended outlines.
To have some extra fun, we also tried animating our figures using AI and created some short videos: