Lesson video

Hello, my name's Mrs. Alton.

Welcome to this lesson on art design.

Today's lesson is all about developing 2D into 3D, and that's from the unit Foundation Workshops, Selecting Primary Sources and Recording from Observation, so let's get started.

So I hope that by the end of today's lesson you can explore how pattern can express identity and be transformed from a 2D design into a 3D form.

Let's look at some key words for today's lesson.

Depth is where an artwork looks like it's three-dimensional.

Pattern is a repeated design or motif that can be found in nature, art, and design.

Visualise is to form a picture in your mind, really about imagining how something looks.

And form is the visual appearance, structure, or constitution of an object, so that refers to three-dimensional objects.

Our lesson today has been broken down into three learning cycles.

The first is all about creating a clay tile design that's inspired by identity.

The second is how to use tone to show depth and form.

And the third is carving your relief tile design, so let's get started.

Andeep and Sofia are discussing how artists develop a 2D drawing into a 3D form.

Andeep comments, "Artists use drawing to plan their ideas, especially since some 3D forms can be huge." He also says that artists need to think about depth when turning 2D into 3D.

So they're not just considering what something looks like on paper.

They're really starting to think about this idea of depth and form within their work and how that drawing will translate into an object.

Sofia comments that they can use materials like clay or wire to explore their drawings from different angles.

So again, that idea of not just looking at it from one angle on paper, how might they use these materials so that they can view it from lots of different angles.

Can you think of any other ways that artists turn 2D artworks into 3D forms? Have a think.

So some of the ways you may have mentioned are methods like sculpture, wire frame construction, casting, carving, 3D printing, all of these ways, and many more that I'm sure you've mentioned, help artists to visualise that idea of really imagining in their mind's eye how to bring their 2D designs to life in three dimensions.

And this is a skill needed in many creative careers.

Quick true or false question.

Artists use only drawing as a way to visualise their 3D outcome.

What do you think? Well done if you recognise that is a false statement.

Can you think why? Brilliant if you mention that artist use a variety of methods, as we've just seen.

So the design process is crucial for figuring out each element of the design, so it really can help to avoid making mistakes when you get into that making stage of a project and really thinking about how that 2D drawing will translate into a 3D form.

So examples of artists who turn ideas from two-dimensional shapes into three-dimensional forms include, so, Henry Moore, who's very famous for his large sculptures that he made, and these can be in many different materials, but usually bronze or stone.

And he focused on shapes inspired by the human body.

So he's got a wonderful Henry Moore Foundation where you can go and actually view his studio and lots of his artwork, so how he designed his sculptures, and he uses many different mixed media approaches in his drawings, in his designs, and then using maquette, so little models to really think about how those might translate into more sculptural and abstracted works.

And Louise Bourgeois created sculptures using many different materials, some things like fabric and bronze.

And this was really to explore the themes of feelings, and memories, and relationships.

I shared a wonderful sculpture outside the Tate with a huge spider where you could actually walk under it and really feel this huge presence.

So really playing around with things like size and the scale of her sculptures as well.

And Sir Anish Kapoor uses materials like shiny steel and wax to create these huge sculptures, so really changing the way we see space.

And because you have all these reflections, you can see objects and people all reflected back at you.

It's really kind of quite an interactive experience to be in these spaces and to interact with the sculptures themselves.

Halima Cassell is another artist, and she was born in Pakistan and raised in Manchester, and she creates these sculptural ceramics reflecting her cultural heritage.

So her work blends influences from her everyday surroundings, so that might include architectural patterns and global traditions such as Islamic art.

And we can see an example of Islamic architecture on this slide.

So thinking about how some of those patterns might be reoccurring themes within her work representing aspects of her identity.

And she really thinks about how that pattern will be used with through the medium of clay.

And that's really what we're going to be exploring in today's lesson.

So take a look at this example here.

This is actually an example of symmetrical pattern, and it's been carved into a clay tile, so much like Halima Cassell's work.

Does the work remind you of anything in particular? And the second question, can you improvise a title for this work? So imagine if you saw it at an exhibition or a gallery, what kind of title? There's no right or wrong answer to this, but it really gets you to think about the connections you're making to the piece because one person might remind them of something else completely different.

So think of a title, and maybe you could even note that down as well.

So just thinking about which art element is most prominent in this artwork, can you name it? And also what media is this piece as well.

So two questions for you.

So well done if you recognise the art element that's most prominent is pattern, and certainly an element of focus in our lesson today.

And also clay as well is the media.

So thinking about the way that Halima Cassell uses clay to interpret pattern and identity in her work.

So pattern, as we've mentioned, is one of the seven art elements, and its definition is a repeated design or motif that can be found in nature, art, or design.

It can be regular, so something predictable, it can be irregular where there's something broken in the pattern, so it might not take a particular formula.

There's something out of order with the way that it's been laid out.

It might be symmetrical, so where, if you draw a line down the centre, it would be reflected evenly on both sides, or asymmetrical, which basically is any anything outside of that rule.

So it might have one side that's completely different to the other.

So how would you classify these patterns? Have a think.

Well done if you recognise there is a regular pattern because we can see that there is a regular spacing and we can predict what's gonna come next.

So it's definitely regular.

There's also a symmetry because if we draw a line down the centre, it would be reflected evenly.

Well done if you've got those answers.

So quick check for understanding.

Thinking about those words, can you fill in the gaps? So pattern is a repeated design or motif that can be found in nature, art, design.

It can be regular, irregular, and what are the other two? Well done if remembered symmetrical or asymmetrical.

Well done.

So geometric patterns use mathematical shapes and are often structured, regular, symmetrical, and predictable.

And we can see some of those elements in this example on the screen.

So what shapes can you see repeated in this geometric pattern? Have a close look.

Well done if you spotted there are definitely circles, there are stars, there are pentagons, five-sided shapes.

There's also, if you look really into the centre of the image, there's also some triangles as well.

And I'm sure there's ones I haven't spotted that you have so well done.

And symmetry is a visual repetition of a pattern along an axis.

And an axis is an imaginary line that divides a design into two equal parts.

So where is the axis on this design? Well done if you recognise that there's a natural axis in this design where the tiles all meet each other, and that creates a division of the pattern.

Organic patterns are free-flowing and inspired by nature.

So here we can see a Maori colourful mural, and we can see lots of these kind of free-flowing shapes and spirals, almost reminiscent of shells and natural forms. And these patterns tend to be irregular and asymmetrical.

Asymmetric patterns are basically anything that isn't symmetrical.

Quick check for understanding.

Geometric patterns use, is it A, abstract freeform lines, B, natural organic forms, C, structured mathematical shapes, or D imaginary lines? Well done if you said C, structured mathematical shapes.

So there are many ways to design patterns, but one way is layering basic geometric shapes to establish structure.

And then we can start to really build this idea of complexity within the pattern.

So looking at these examples, we can just lay just a few shapes on top of each other, and you'll see how that starts to build up this idea of complexity within the pattern.

And these patterns are just using circles and diamonds and layered onto a grid.

And maybe you'll be able to spot that there is a similarity to this Islamic pattern design that we mentioned earlier.

So going back to Halima Cassell and thinking about the way that she uses clay to represent her ideas about identity and the kind of meaning and context behind her work.

So she really makes this connection that clay is a material that comes out of the ground, and we, essentially as humans, are made from the earth and will all return to the earth as well.

And she really thinks about collecting clay from multiple locations because that really represents this idea of diversity of people and also thinking about how she collects this idea of patterns from locations that she identifies with as well.

And this idea that we all associate with patterns, they're an ancient symbol of identity, and how that can be used and carved into the clay to create these beautiful sculptures.

So what does sourcing clay from different countries represent? Is it A, the earth, B, the flowing designs, C, the diversity of people, or D, the basic geometric shapes? Well done if you spotted it's the diversity of people.

So patterns can represent cultural, personal, and natural themes.

And we can see here that there's some examples of maybe things you might see every day around you.

Have a think about your everyday surroundings, and that might be at home or at school.

Is there a pattern that could inspire a design for you? So really thinking about the idea that patterns are all around us in the natural world, but also in human-made forms as well.

And Andeep's thinking about patterns in nature, so really things, even like you might see every day, like tree bark or things like clothing and fabrics.

And Laura comments about geometric patterns found in industrial architecture.

So there can be sources of pattern everywhere we look when we really start to think with our artist eye.

And for our next short activity, I'm just gonna take a moment to quickly sketch some shapes and patterns to represent identity, so thinking about those sources of inspiration.

And that might be from images that you have in front of you.

It may be that you have a sketchbook you can refer back to for some ideas, objects on your table, things that you have in your bag.

You can use anything that connects to this idea of really things that you might see every day or things that you might connect to who you are.

So pause the video here and take a few moments to collect some drawing materials and start to sketch some of those sources of inspiration that you can use for a pattern design.

So I hope you found some really good sources of inspiration.

So we're really starting to think about how artists visualise those sketches, those initial sparks of inspiration for their work, really to start to create a design.

And we can see here from this example that there's been elements that have been picked out from those initial sketches and simplified into this flower pattern.

And shapes have been repeated within shapes.

We've got this idea of symmetry and this regularity within this example.

So for our first task, you're going to create two square tile patterns, and they're inspired by the shapes representing your identity that we paused to do earlier.

And you're going to include one geometric design.

So that's really where you might want to divide the square up, and you can do that widthwise and lengthwise and then diagonally through that central axis.

And that's really gonna help you to create this symmetrical pattern in your work.

I'm thinking that you can use just some of those simple geometric shapes layered onto this example.

And then creating one asymmetric design.

So you might want to leave one square blank and really think about these organic flowing lines within your design.

So going back to those sketches, those sources of inspiration, and thinking about repetition, balance, regular patterns, asymmetric patterns, really playing with some of those lines and shapes.

And think about drawing using only line is really important and onto a mid-tone paper.

So something like a grey or a brown paper is brilliant, even a recycled piece of card would be fantastic.

And this is really only about a line drawing, so not worrying about any colour or shading in this part of the activity.

So pause the video here while you create a clay tile design based on your identity.

So how did you find that? I hope you had success balancing those design elements.

And here we can see two examples, one of a geometric design that we've been seeing as an example as we've been going through the lesson and an asymmetric design.

And these have come from those initial sketches, so things like the simplification and repetition of some of those shapes.

Next, we're gonna select one design to develop into your clay tile.

And it's about stopping and reflecting on those creative choices, so describing the pattern that you've created and how it explores your identity.

And that might be a really straightforward thing.

It can be very deep in terms of how you're using symbols and shapes and connecting to your identity.

Or it may just be straightforward, as you like nature, you like being out in nature, or whatever it is you've used.

And really trying to think about some of the keywords that we've covered in the first learning cycle in your description.

And a writing frame can be really helpful just to help you to structure your answers.

So if you need that frame, please do use it.

Pause the video here while you reflect on your creative choices.

So I hope you've managed to spend a moment reflecting back on your work.

And this is a really important part of the GCSE assessment criteria that you are reflective and you stop and pause and check that your work is matching your intentions and what you're trying to achieve.

So Lizzy says here that she created her design because it represents her love of nature.

The shapes and lines in her design are symmetrical and reflect the reoccurring patterns found in flowers.

So let's look at learning cycle two, how to use tone to show depth and form.

So artists use different techniques to visualise their sculptural designs.

And when working in ceramics, Halima Cassell uses line and tone as a way to plan her intricate 3D pattern designs.

And here we can see a student example of an asymmetric design and using tonal shading and highlights influenced by the work of Halima Cassell.

So the white parts in this drawing really resemble the highest points of the 3D work and the tonal work, the bit that has the depth that's been carved out.

And the lines are the graduated slopes of the design.

So true or false question, artists use techniques like perspective, shading, and line work to help them visualise how a flat design becomes three-dimensional.

Do you agree or disagree? Well done if you said that's a true statement.

And the process of really learning how to see a 2D drawing as a 3D form is a shift in our thinking.

We really have to use a different part of the brain to think, "Right, how am I gonna plan something on paper that people can see as an object to walk around and view from all different angles?" So really thinking about what can we use to create this illusion of depth.

So when we use highlights, when we use tone, when we use line work, it's all an aid to visualise a drawing as a 3D form.

And just to recap some of those points, really, just using the dark tone as the deepest points of your design, the highlights as the high points, and the connecting angles as this idea of the sloping, so the areas that are gonna join those two areas, the high and low together.

So complete this key to visualise depth and form.

How are you going to show tone in your work? How are you going to show highlights and what are connecting angles with lines going to represent? Have a think.

Well done if you identified that tone is gonna be the deepest part of your design, highlights are gonna be the high point, and the connecting angles are going to show the slope from the high to low.

So our next task, on your chosen design, use tone to show depth and form in a media of your choice, and remember to visualise the points we've just covered.

So really thinking about your media choice, can be anything that you have available, but oil pastel works particularly well.

The white can really show those highlighted areas, so that's a nice choice, but really thinking about how you're going to start visualising this design with depth and form.

So pause the video here while you complete this task.

So hopefully you chose a successful media for this activity.

And let's take a look at what your work may have looked like.

So we've got the initial line drawing, and then we've got the design as it's developed with its tone and highlights and line work as well.

So lastly, for our learning cycle three, we're gonna carve your relief tile design.

And firstly, starting to think about, have you seen any carvings in your local community? So this image here shows a wood carving from England, so something quite traditional that you might see in a church, for instance.

But what about in your community? What have you seen that has been carved? Carving is really a culturally diverse practise.

So even thinking about ancient history and how carving has been used even in things like hieroglyphics, so we're going back a long time, and how that might show in our everyday lives things that we might see around us that are carved.

And it's really thinking about how you create patterns that are raised from a flat surface, and that can be quite a subtle carving or very deep.

So we're thinking about quite the depth of a carving too, so it may even come out quite away from the surface that it's been worked into.

And also thinking about our carving techniques for relief, so what would you use to create this carving? How would you create lines, textures, and shapes that are raised from the surface? And there are some tools that are very helpful.

So a loop tool and a potter's knife, and the loop tool is really good for scooping out and carving angles from a piece of clay.

And also, a potter's knife can give you really nice, sharp edges to your work.

If you haven't got those tools available, you can use everyday things like a toothpick or a lollipop stick, which are really helpful.

A sponge is also great.

You can chop one up into little pieces and just use a little bit to go over your work really to smooth out any of those rough surfaces.

So can you remember the names of those tools that we've just mentioned? Well done if you remember the potter's knife, great for cutting clean edges, and a loop tool to use diagonally to create sloping effects.

So let's look at the stages for creating our clay tile.

It's really important that you use something on the table when you create a clay tile.

Something like baking paper or hessian to stop the clay attaching itself to the surface.

And also that you can move that around and look at your clay from lots of different angles.

And also a rolling pin is handy to have to create that flat surface on your clay tile.

So when you get your block of clay, using wedging techniques where you kneed and prepare the clay, pressing it onto the table, slightly banging it onto the table to really get the air out makes it easier to work with.

And again, using that rolling pin just for the flat surface.

So we're trying to keep a nice depth to this tile so we can carve into it as well, so not to roll out too thin at the beginning.

And next you're going to trace your design and transfer it onto your clay, so you don't have to press very hard but do trace carefully.

And then using your potter's knife to cut the edges of the clay and really keeping those spare bits of clay that you've cut away because you want to use those to raise up areas of your clay relief tile as well.

So next we're gonna carve out the deepest areas of relief.

So you need to go back to your drawing, the one where you've just added all the tone and highlights on, and really think the darkest areas, you're gonna use your tool and you're gonna carve those out of your clay design.

After you've done that, we are going to think about building up the highest areas of relief.

So where you've got your white on your design, we're gonna use those spare bits we've cut out and really think if we can shape and mould those into the parts that are gonna be highest and raised on your work.

And you can use for this, you're really gonna think about scoring and using some slip, which is water and clay mixed together, or even water will work absolutely fine, as the glue of clay.

So you need to make sure you've scored each section you're gonna add additional clay to, and then mould the clay and then maybe use your damp sponge just to smooth those areas away.

Take a look at these four stages and see if you can put them in the correct order.

Well done if you said that the first stage is creating your slab, your slab of square clay.

The second is tracing your design and transferring that to your clay.

The third is carving out the deepest areas of relief.

And lastly, building up the highest areas of relief.

So our last activity for this lesson, follow the stages to carve your relief tile design, and they're just listed here so that you can refer back to them.

Pause the video here while you start to carve your design.

So I hope you had fun with that process and really started to see how you can turn this 2D sketch into a 3D piece of work.

So your work may have looked like this example from Izzy, and she says that she built up her tile design gradually, turning it and viewing it from different angles to assess the form and the depth.

So when you are carving out, did you have to stop and pause and just check you didn't go too far and really assess how the levels looked from all the different angles? She decided to add textual lines to the final design to create pattern and emphasise the direction of the sloping angles.

So let's look at a summary for today's lesson.

The key elements of 2D design, such as line and shape, are essential for creating 3D form.

Visualising how 2D elements relate to 3D space involves understanding depth and form.

When drawing in 3D, start with basic geometric shapes to establish structure and then build complexity from these foundations.

Patterns are universal and can represent various aspects of identity.

Thank you for learning with me today, and I hope to see you soon.