Week 1

Week 1

SESSION 1: Line Drawing

TASK: Draw 3 pet animals

In this session we are going to use a range of drawing equipment, such as hard and soft pencils, to make line drawings of familiar animals (ones you know really well). Do you remember how you started to explore different mediums (art materials to draw with) last term? Today we are going to start with pencils. How do you think you could use different types of lines to add special features, such as fur, feathers and scales?

It would be awesome to use a computer graphics package to draw at least one of your pictures using various pens, brushes and the fill tool too. These only need to be very simplistic but will produce a very different image to pencil and paper.

Practical resources

Photographs of popular pets
Different types of pencils
Computer, tablet or smart phone with drawing software

PARENTS: Encourage your child to experiment with different equipment, methods and pressures to create their desired effects. As they test materials, talk about the lines they produce, how and why and what changes they could make to enhance the image further. Demonstrate that a very sharp pencil will produce a thin line, a blunter lead is thicker and a pencil used side-on will offer soft shading.

Popular pet animals to draw

Can you draw like this?

You did a great job studying your pet animal photos and drawing their line pictures with pencils. I can see how carefully many of you were with including features like eyes and ears and whiskers and tails, some people even started to use shading to show lighter and darker areas of skin and fur .

SESSION 2: Animal Art

TASK: Recreate a piece of animal art

This time we are going to explore and compare examples of art with an animal theme.

STEP ONE

First we are going to take a look at and compare different art examples, discussing the subject (what is in the painting) and style (how the painting is made). Take a look at these masterpieces. At the bottom of the page, I have attached 4 documents filled with stunning artwork. I have pulled put a few photos below to give you a taster...

How are these pictures similar? Can you see the strong outline shapes of each animal. What else?
What differences do you notice? Are they all in colour?

STEP TWO

As you talk about the different art pieces, you will begin to use a range of simple artistic vocabulary to help you describe your observations and make evaluations about what you have seen.

What do you notice about the way the picture was made?
Do you think the artist use pencils? A paintbrush?
Why do you think the artist chose those materials? What impact does it have on when you look at it?
Does every picture look real? Which ones do, why? What about the ones that don't, why not?

For parents who are interested in exploring vocabulary terminology we use at Key Stage 1, check out Kapow Primary's website for a fab interactive list.

STEP THREE

To finish, you need to choose a favourite painting and use a range of drawing and painting materials to make your own version. I am VERY excited about seeing these finished pieces - we could make a gallery right here on the website and 'hang' YOUR PICTURE alongside the ORIGINAL.

Think about the size and shape of the paper you will need before you start - is your chosen painting tall (portrait) or wide (landscape)?
Will you be needing colours or just grey/black?
You might choose to use paint but what kind? Watercolour paint looks very different to squeezy paint.
Would crayon give a stronger colour? Or make it easier to shade large areas of space?

If you are looking for an extra challenge, why not use a computer graphics package to recreate one of the paintings using various pens, brushes and the fill tool. I wonder if it will be easier or more complex than art by hand on paper?

Practical resources