Grant Haffner Inspired Landscape Lesson: Teaching Perspective with Markers

Grant Haffner Inspired Landscape Lesson: Teaching Perspective with Bold Color

If you’re looking for a way to teach perspective and the element of space in a way that actually clicks with students, this landscape lesson inspired by Grant Haffner is a classroom favorite.

Middle school students love using bright markers, and this project takes that excitement and turns it into a meaningful lesson on depth, color schemes, and composition. The result? Vibrant, eye-catching landscapes that look amazing on display while reinforcing key art concepts.

CLICK HERE for the full lesson!

Quick Question

Q: What is the easiest way to explain perspective to middle school students?
A: Start with something familiar—like a road. Show students how a road looks wide up close and gets narrower as it moves away. Then connect that idea to other objects (like telephone poles getting smaller). Keeping it visual and relatable makes perspective much easier to understand.

Why This Lesson Works

Perspective can be tricky to teach, but this project simplifies it in a very visual, hands-on way. Students draw a road that narrows toward the horizon, instantly helping them understand how space works in art.

Adding telephone poles that gradually shrink gives students another clear example of how objects change as they move into the distance. These simple strategies make abstract concepts like space and depth much easier to understand.

At the same time, students explore color schemes and marker blending, creating bold skies and colorful fields that bring energy to their work.

What Students Learn

In this lesson, students practice:

Drawing with one-point perspective
Understanding the Element of Space
Creating depth using size and placement
Exploring warm and cool color schemes
Blending markers for smooth, vibrant skies
Using repetition to guide the viewer’s eye

How the Lesson Flows

This lesson is designed to build confidence step-by-step.

Students begin with a practice worksheet, where they learn how to draw a road and telephone poles that move into the distance. This gives them a low-pressure way to understand perspective before starting their final piece.

Next, they complete a color scheme and blending worksheet, exploring warm and cool colors while practicing marker techniques.

Finally, students create their finished artwork:

Drawing the horizon line and road
Designing colorful fields
Blending a bright, dramatic sky
Adding telephone poles in black marker for contrast

Materials You’ll Need

Drawing paper
Pencils and erasers
Markers (variety of colors)
Black permanent marker

That’s it—no complicated supplies required.

Classroom Tips

Remind students that the road should be widest at the bottom and narrow toward the horizon
Encourage them to choose a color scheme ahead of time
Demonstrate marker blending slowly so students can see the process
Emphasize that imperfections are okay—this style is expressive and bold

Final Results

This lesson consistently produces high-impact artwork that students are proud of. The bold colors, strong perspective, and dramatic skies make these pieces perfect for hallway displays.

Even better, students walk away with a stronger understanding of space, perspective, and color theory—all while having fun.