6 weeks of drawing activities for KS3 art lessons to develop skills

2. LESSON 1: SHAPE
Biro hand
drawing
Learning Objective:
To study the shapes of the
hand in a variety of
gestures
shape, line, texture, proportion, scale, curve, organic, pose

3. A study of Hands, Silverpoint, 1478-80
Silverpoint: a drawing technique using a pencil of silver usually on a specially prepared paper
Da Vinci wrote: A good painter has two chief
objects to paint, man and the intention of his
soul; the former is easy, the latter hard,
because he has to represent it by the
attitudes and movements of the limbs.
• What do you think he meant by this?
• Can this explain the care and time he took
over drawing hands?
Leonardo da Vinci
The Mona Lisa,
painted by Da
Vinci in 1503-5, is
one of the most
famous paintings
in the world.

4. LESSON 2: FORM
Tonal hand drawing
directional shading, texture, mark making, tone, shadow, form,

5. Cottage Garden, Reed pen, 1888
Van Gogh: I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.
How do the marks create the
impression of form in these drawings
by Van Gogh?
Vincent Van Gogh
By carefully changing the direction,
shape, weight and size of his hand
drawn marks, Van Gogh convincingly
evoked a variety of textures and
forms.
Hands sketchbook page

6. LESSON 3: ELLIPSES (LINE)
Drawing cylinders
line, shape, oval, construction lines, symmetry, perspective

7. An ellispe is a cirlce drawn in perspective, so that it‘s shape becomes an oval.
• How many ellipses can you find in this drawing?
• Is there a convincing sense of space created here?
Charles
Avery
Avery often leaves
the construction
lines in his
complicated pencil
drawings. While
some objects are
finished neatly in
full tone, others
are left as basic
line drawings of
the shapes and
overlap with other
objects.
Does this spoil
these drawings?
What is the effect
of his technique?
The Hunter’s Cabin, pencil on paper, 2004

8. LESSON 4: ELLIPSES (SHADOW)
Drawing cylinders
directional shading, texture, mark making, tone, shadow, form,

9. As a boy, Morandi had been attracted by a junk
shop and would spend long hours whenever he
could in the midst of that bric-a-brac.
• Do you think a collection of bottles can make an
interesting work of art?
• What could Morandi have felt he needed to
improve on by working more slowly?
Giorgio Morandi
Working from his studio in Bologna,
Italy, Morandi used the same simple
elements, including bottles, boxes, and
the view from his window, staging a
seemingly endless array of variations.
His paintings appear to be timeless, an
effect he achieved by removing labels
from his bottles. Many of Morandi’s
works can be read as arrangements of
pure form.
Still Life, oil on canvas, 1950
Still Life, oil on canvas, 1956
Morandi said: It takes me weeks to
make up my mind which group of
bottles will go well with a
particular coloured tablecloth.
Then it takes me weeks of thinking
about the bottles themselves, and
yet often I still go wrong with the
spaces. Perhaps I work too fast?

10. LESSON 5: REFLECTIONS
Highlights and tone
shape, tone, highlight, shadow, highlight, texture, form

11. How does Escher create the impression of three different surfaces on these spheres?
Which ball has the most shiny surface?
M C Escher
Escher was a Dutch graphic artist. He was interested in maths and infinity
and made a number of images inspired by this.
Three spheres
Still Life, oil on canvas, 1956

12. LESSON 6: COLOUR
Colour to show reflection
reflection, colour, shade, tone, transparent, light, shadow

13. Hahn writes: The purpose was to capture the essence of these objects as well as the feeling their contents evoke.
• How does Hahn
use the
materials to
make the glass
surface look
shiny?
• Has she
managed to
convey the idea
of the smell of
the perfume
inside the
bottle too?
How is this
achieved?
Samantha Hahn
Samantha Hahn is a contemporary
illustrator and designer living in
New York.
She creates these images using inks
and working from observation.
Perfume 2, watercolour and ink

14. Annotate your sketches:
 what is most successful? why?
 what was difficult? why?
 what could you improve upon? how?
 what have you learnt about drawing?
Try to be analytical and evaluative in your
notes
 explain your reasons for your comments
 do not just observe, think about how to
improve or develop
 consider how it could have been different

15. Key skills
Year 9 Art Independent Learning
Task Description Skills Done? Grade
1 Hand drawing: Apply what you have learnt about drawing shapes
in the lesson by creating a high quality observed hand drawing.
Drawing
Observation
2 Artist research: Choose one of the artists we have covered in the
skills lesson this half term and complete an artist research page
with your own practical response.
Research
Opinions
Presentation
3 Create your own still life: Choose a number of cylindrical objects
to create your own still life at the kitchen table – choose carefully
to create an interesting combination of sizes and shapes.
Planning
Drawing
Observation
4 Draw your reflection in a spoon: Continue your study of
representing reflections by drawing a close-up of your reflection
in a spoon – don’t worry if it is very distorted! Choose which
materials to use yourself.
Tone
Drawing
Experimentation
5 Key words vocabulary test: Revise the 10 key words for a
vocabulary test – remember to write them in the yellow pages in
your planner.
Spelling
Art Vocabulary
Revision
6 Make a visit to a museum or gallery: Visit a gallery or museum
and write up your experiences in your sketchbook. Try to make
links to the work we are doing this term.
Exploring
Documentation
Presenting opinions
7 Improvement: Choose one class or home learning task to go back
to and re-do to improve, showing your best effort & skills.
Reviewing