Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

I'm Miss Mia, and I'm so excited you've joined me for this series of lessons all about the rainforest.

I can't wait to get started.

Let's dive in.

In this lesson, you'll be able to describe how rainforest themes influence artists' work.

Your keywords are on the screen now, and I'd like you to repeat them after me.

Rainforest.

Diversity.

Feature.

Composition.

Fantastic.

Let's look at what these words mean.

So a rainforest is a dense tropical forest with diverse ecosystems. Diversity means the state of being diverse, variety, especially in species or forms. Feature is a part of something that makes it special.

Composition: how the images or elements are arranged within an artwork.

Let's move on.

Now, this lesson is all about the rainforest, and how the rainforest can act as an inspiration to artists.

So we've got two lesson cycles here.

Our first lesson cycle is to identify and describe rainforest features in art.

And then for our second lesson cycle, you are going to be creating a rainforest-inspired artwork.

I'm super excited.

I hope you are too.

Let's get started.

Okay, so on the screen here, we've got a painting of a rainforest.

If you were in this rainforest, what sounds or smells might you notice? You can pause the video here and have a think.

Now, imagine standing in the middle of a rainforest.

Tall trees stretch high up above you.

There leaves creating a green roof that blocks some of the sunlight.

There are plants and vines everywhere, and the ground feels soft and damp under your feet.

Now, you may have said that you can hear birds calling to each other, some chirping loudly while others sing softly.

There's a buzzing sound from insects and a gentle trickle of water from a stream that is nearby.

The air smells fresh and earthy, like wet leaves and flowers after the rain.

Feels like the whole forest is alive.

Now, here's another painting of a rainforest.

A rainforest is a warm, wet forest with lots of trees, plants, and animals.

Artists can sometimes be inspired by rainforests because of their bright colours, unique plants, and animals.

The rainforest is home to a diverse range of animals and plants with many species that can't be found anywhere else in the world.

Over to you.

What features might you find in rainforest-inspired artwork? Is it A, diverse plant and animal life, B, only human figures, or C, only animals and insects? You can pause the video here and click play when you've got the answer.

So what did you get? If you got A, you are correct.

Rainforest-inspired artwork tend to feature diverse plant and animal life.

This means that there are many different kinds of plants and animals living in one place.

For example, in a rainforest you might find huge trees, tiny flowers, colourful birds, and unique insects all living together.

It's a place that's full of variety and life.

Let's move on.

Martin Heade's "Orchids and Hummingbirds in a Brazilian Jungle" 1871 to 1872, Henri Rousseau's "Tropical Forest with Monkeys" 1910, Donna Ong's "Gift #09: Pluvia Silva" 2018, and Johann Hoffler's "Brazilian Indian Camp Beside a River in the Rainforest" 1868 are examples rainforest-inspired artworks.

Now, whilst these artworks feature the rainforest, they're also quite different.

Some paintings feature lush plants while others focus on animals or vibrant colours.

Now, features of a rainforest can include various shades of green, small details, like tiny insects, luscious leaves, visual texture.

So this is texture that we can see.

So for example, in this case, it makes the trees and leaves feel real.

Overlapping leaves, vines, and flowers.

I wonder what you can see.

Now, you may have said that you can see a toucan, and I can see that to the right hand side.

I can also see really delicate leaves and trees that disappear into the distance.

There is also a very faint, warm skyline that you can see hovering in the background.

Over to you.

True or false? Art inspired by rainforests only focuses on animals.

You can pause the video here, and click play when you're ready to rejoin us.

So what did you get? It is false.

And that's because rainforest-inspired art can also focus on plants, landscapes, or even abstract interpretations, not just animals.

Moving on.

Abel Rodriguez's "Terazza Alta II" 2018, Armando Morales's "Rainforest 2" 1991, and Alexandra Kehayoglou's "Parana de las Palmas River" 2021 are all examples of artworks that feature a rainforest.

They show us how amazing and important rainforests are for our planet.

Which of the following is true about artists and rainforest inspiration? Is it A, artists must visit the rainforest to create rainforest-inspired artwork, B, artists can be inspired by the rainforest without being there in person, or C, Artists can only create rainforest inspired art if they live in an area with a rainforest? You can pause the video here.

And click play when you've got the answer.

And so what did you get? The answer is, B, artists can be inspired by the rainforest without actually being there in person.

Did you know sometimes artists created artworks based on descriptions that they had received from others that had visited different places that the artists may not have been to? Let's move on.

Here is a photograph of a frog.

When taking a photograph or making an artwork, we must consider the composition.

Composition refers to the arrangement of the different elements in an artwork, such as shapes, objects, colours.

Now, we can divide the space into the foreground, middleground, and background.

So here's your foreground.

This is the part that is closest to us.

Now, the middleground, the clue is in the word.

It's always going to be in the middle.

And sometimes it's the subject that is in the centre.

And the background is usually what is depicted as what we see in the distance.

And, again, the clue is in the word.

It's at the back.

Now, good composition makes artwork clear and engaging by highlighting key parts and creating depth.

Positioning bright objects at the front in the foreground will grab attention.

Faded or blurred elements in the background will create a sense of distance, and we can see that happening here.

Hmm.

So Izzy looks more closely at the composition of this painting below.

Izzy says, "In the foreground, I can see a toucan, dense ferns, and big leaves." I wonder if you spotted that too.

"In the middleground, there are trees and butterflies." And, "In the background, I can see a warm sky and more jungle plants fade into the distance." So Izzy has described the composition there.

Over to you.

When we talk about the foreground in a picture, what are we describing? Is it A, the things that are closest to us in the picture, B, the things that are far away in the back of the picture, or C, the colours the artists used in the picture? You can pause the video here, and click play when you've got the answer.

So what did you get? If you got A, you are correct.

When we're talking about the foreground, we're looking at the things that are closest to us in the picture.

Onto the main task for this lesson cycle.

So for part one, you are going to choose two rainforest artworks.

You can use a tablet or computer to find them.

Then, you're gonna answer the following questions.

What features can you see in these paintings? And what colours have been used? Now, for part two, you're going to discuss the artist's use of composition.

You can use the sentence starters you see to help you.

In the foreground I can see.

In the middleground there are.

And in the background I can see.

You can work with a partner if you'd like, or with an adult if there's someone around you to help you.

Pause the video here and click play when you're ready to rejoin us.

So how did you do? Now, for part one, you may have noticed these features in the pictures that you researched.

You may have noticed lush, dense forests, exotic animals, colourful birds, flowing waterfalls or rivers, sunlight filtering through the trees.

Now, remember, these are only some of the features that are usually seen in a painting for rainforest.

Now, the colours generally used in a rainforest painting may consist of this.

So the use of different shades of green, brown, and other earthy colours to describe all of the trees and plants.

Now, bright, warm colours such as pink and red, make the flowers or other plants stand out.

Well done if you manage to notice the features and also describe the colours that are generally used in a rainforest image.

Fantastic work.

Let's move on to part two.

Now, you may have discussed something along the lines of this.

Izzy says, "In the foreground I can see some huge leaves! Look how big they're compared to the little flowers near them." Jacob says, "In the middle ground there are more plants, but they look smaller.

There's a monkey, too! In the background, I can see more trees and vines, but they're all kind of faded." Well done if you managed to discuss the composition, the image that you had chosen.

Now, let's move on to lesson cycle two.

Now, in this lesson cycle, you are going to be creating a rainforest-inspired artwork.

Jacob and Izzy are creating rainforest-inspired artwork.

They begin by looking closely at paintings of the rainforest.

Izzy says, "I think I'm going to focus on a big tree with lots of green leaves and maybe add a colourful bird." Oh, that's a good idea, Izzy.

Jacob says, "I wanna draw some of the plants and flowers because they look so different from the plants that I see around here." That's a good observation too, Jacob.

The plants that we see day to day are definitely different to the plants that are in the rainforest.

Here are your steps for creating your rainforest-inspired artwork.

One, you're going to choose a section from one of the paintings you selected for task A.

You're going to gather your materials: paper or canvas, coloured pencils, markers or paint, and a pencil for sketching.

Three, you're going to sketch the outline lightly.

Four, add details.

Five, apply bright colours by blending and layering.

Don't worry, I'm going to show you how to do all of this now.

So Izzy's having a go.

Izzy uses a viewfinder to focus in on and select the part she wants to recreate.

"I'll be focusing on just one part of the painting so I chose the flowers." So she's used her viewfinder here to zoom in.

Here we are.

So she's just going to be looking at that part of the painting.

This is actually very clever because if we focus in on one part of the painting, we can really look closely of the details and try and recreate that part.

It also prevents us from getting overwhelmed.

Over to you.

With a partner decide which parts for rainforest artwork you will focus on and why.

Are you going to focus on the lush green trees, or the exotic plants and flowers, or the colourful birds and animals? You decide.

Pause the video here, and click play when you've had your discussion.

Ah, I dunno about you, but that was a very hard choice for me.

So as an artist, if I were to decide which parts of a rainforest artwork to focus on, I might choose the lush green trees.

I picked them because they create a dramatic backdrop and give the artwork depth.

Or I might choose exotic plants and flowers because their unique shapes and colours make the picture vibrant and interesting.

On the other hand, colourful birds and animals could bring the artwork to life by adding personality and movement.

I would choose based on what I want my artwork to say.

For example, do I want to show the rainforest's beauty, it's lively animals, or it's peaceful greenery? Remember, you are the artist.

You choose what you want to focus on.

So there is no right or wrong answer.

I do.

So now that we've chosen what we're going to focus on, we are going to start with light pencil lines to copy the main shapes that we can see in the pot.

Over to you.

Pause the video here and start to create light pencil lines using the main shapes that you see for what you have chosen.

You may have created something like this.

So here we can see that light lines have been used.

Now, this is really important because keeping the lines light helps you easily adjust any parts and makes it easier to add details later.

I do.

Now, I'm going to use bright colours to make my drawing stand out.

You can see here that I'm adding layers to create different shades and make the flower look more realistic.

Now, it's over to you.

You're now gonna make your drawing stand out.

Gonna add layers to create the shades and give your chosen subject a more realistic look.

You can pause the video here.

Off you go.

Welcome back.

You may have got something like this.

Now, blending and layering makes your drawing look rich and full of life.

Onto the main task for this lesson cycle.

So you're now gonna recreate a section of your chosen rainforest artwork.

You're gonna select one of the artworks from Task A, and then you're going to focus on a section.

You can use a viewfinder.

You're then gonna recreate the detail using a medium of your choice.

And then for part two, you're going to use your imagination to extend your drawing.

You could add rainforest animals or insects, plants, or even a waterfall.

You can pause the video here.

Off you go.

Remember, you are in charge.

You're the artist.

So you decide what subjects you are focusing on.

Remember to keep the sketch very light at first so you can make adjustments and then add your layering.

Bring your drawing to life.

Click when you're ready to rejoin us.

Off, we go.

Have fun.

So how did you do? Did you enjoy that task? I really hope you did.

So you may have drawn something like this.

By choosing a section of your artwork, you would've lightly sketched the main shapes of that subject.

And then you would've added colour and detail.

And then using your imagination, you may have extended your drawing like this.

So here we can see that from focusing on one flower, the artist has then added more flowers to their artwork to bring it to life.

Fantastic work.

Now, let's summarise our learning.

So in this lesson, you learned about artists who use the rainforest as inspiration for their artwork.

You now understand that rainforest themes can be identified in artworks through specific features such as diverse species, flora and fauna.

Artists often draw inspiration from the vibrant colours and diverse life of the rainforest.

And lastly, you now understand that artists consider composition when creating their artwork.

Thank you so much for joining me in this first lesson.

I hope you really enjoyed it, and I look forward to seeing you in the next one.

Bye.