The two basic kinds of compasses are magnetic compasses and drafting compasses. Magnetic compasses are used for navigation and directions, while drafting compasses are architectural tools used primarily for creating precise circles. Drafting compasses are shaped like an inverted "V." One leg of the compass is a sharp pick that holds the compass in place and the other leg holds a piece of graphite for drawing. The hinge that connects the two legs precisely adjusts the angle and size of the arc or circle. Though either type of compass can be incorporated into an art project, drafting compasses are the more practical option for a variety of drawing projects.
The simplest way to introduce students to compasses is through a concentric circles art projects. Drafting compasses are particularly useful for creating perfect circles that increase or decrease in size in small increments. Though circles are a relatively commonplace shape in our everyday world, a series of perfect concentric circles treated with careful coloring or painting transforms the circles into a worthy piece of art. Challenge students to create a series of concentric circle drawings and use a different coloring media for each piece.
Mandalas are concentric diagrams, murals or drawings with spiritual and cultural significance for cultures including Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. The same approach for using drafting compasses to create concentric circles is used to create more complex and detailed mandalas. Rather than a series of circles in succession, mandalas use drafting compasses to create perfect symmetry between halves of the circle. Create a interdisciplinary unit in which students study the different styles of mandalas in various cultures and use drafting compasses to create personal mandalas that reflect their own lives or beliefs.
Drafting compasses allow artists to create drawings that are to scale by accordingly adjusting the angle at the hinge of the compass. For advanced artists, scale drawings challenge their artistic ability to render three-dimensional spaces on a two-dimensional surface. Combine elements of realism and surrealism through a project that asks students to create drawings using a series of circles drawn to scale in relationship to one around. Students might opt to work from a photograph and transform everyday objects into circle-based objects, or they might choose to create an original drawing of an image naturally populated with circles, such as an outer space scene.