Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Mays.

Thank you so much for choosing to join me for our art lesson today.

We are going to have a wonderful lesson and I'm so excited about our learning.

Let's get started.

So today's outcome of the lesson.

I can use a variety of digital tools to manipulate images to create a digital dreamscape.

I can't wait to see how these look by the end of the lesson.

Let's have a look at our key vocabulary.

I'm going to say the word and I would like you to repeat after me.

Digital manipulation.

Well done, that was really good.

Adjustment tools.

And depth.

Brilliant, well done.

Let's have a look at those definitions.

Digital manipulation means to change or alter an image using digital technology.

When we talk about adjustment tools, we mean to use tools such as contrast, brightness, or crop to change an image.

And finally, depth.

This means where an artwork looks like it is three dimensional.

In our lesson on designing a digital dream landscape, we have two learning cycles.

Our first is to explore how to digitally manipulate an image, and our second is to use digital shape tools.

Let's have a look at our first one now.

Before an artist can manipulate an image, they might want to insert the image into their digital programme.

Most online editing tools have an option to insert an image.

You can then choose where you would like to get your image from.

Digitally manipulating images means using a computer or digital software to change or even improve pictures.

I wonder if you've ever done that before to make changes to your images.

This can be a really useful tool for artists.

However, it is important to remember that what you are looking at might not be a true reflection of reality.

What you are looking at might not be real.

Sometimes it is hard to tell if an image has been digitally manipulated or not, such as this image below.

Do you think this photograph is a true reflection of reality or has it been digitally manipulated? What do you think? This image is not a real photograph, although it really does look a lot like one.

It has been digitally manipulated.

Sofia says, "Well, it looks like a real photo to me, "like something I've seen in the real world." It can be really difficult to tell if an image reflects reality or has been manipulated, and this is something just to bear in mind when you look at images belonging to other people.

Your turn to answer a question now.

True or false, photographic images always reflect reality.

I'm going to pause here to give you some time to think about that question.

How did you get on? That was some really good thinking happening.

It's false.

Let's have a look at why.

Photographic images can be digitally manipulated using a computer or digital software.

So just remember, they don't always reflect reality.

Artists can use a cropping tool to digitally manipulate their images.

It might look a little bit like the one on the screen.

Cropping a photograph means cutting out parts of the image.

For artists, a cropping tool is similar to digital scissors where they can trim a picture so that it looks better or fits a certain space.

It can be really useful to take out parts of a picture.

This is where we look at how we might use a cropping tool in a digital programme.

You select the image so you can see the handles.

These might look like small squares or circles on the corners and sides of the box around the image.

We then click on your cropping tool.

It may look a little bit like the image below in your programme.

The edges of the image can usually be dragged to resize it.

So this is when we click on one of those corners, and then move our mouse or our finger to change where we want those lines to be.

You might see the full image behind the crop box so you can see what will be kept and what will go.

Can you see around the outside of the image, it's slightly more faded.

Your turn for a question now.

What would a cropping tool not be useful for? Is it, A, to make an image look better, B, to remove parts of the image the artist doesn't want, or C, to add to an image.

I'm going to pause here to give you some time to think about it.

Well done.

That was some really hard thinking.

Let's have a look at the answer together.

Cropping is a tool which removes part of an image rather than adding to it, so well done if you said C.

The contrast of an image refers to the difference between the lightest and the darkest parts of an image.

These three images have all had their contrast altered.

Changing the contrast of an image helps to create depth and make certain parts of the image stand out.

So again, this is really useful as an artistic tool.

Changing the contrast of an image can be useful to an artist.

This is our original image here, you can see that the pear sits in the middle of the image.

In this pear, we have a high contrast, so you can see all of those mid tones have disappeared.

The darks have become very dark, and the lights have become very light.

This could be useful if an artist would like a particular image to have the viewer's focus.

By creating that stark difference, it draws our attention to the image.

This image has a low contrast.

Can you see how the darks have become a little bit more faded and the lights have become a little bit darker so they're meeting in the middle a little bit more? This might be useful for a dark and atmospheric dreamscape.

It particularly might be helpful in the background where we don't want the images to be noticed quite so much.

To change the contrast of an image, an artist can often select adjustment tools.

Your digital programme might say "Format Options".

Have a look around to see where you might find the word "Contrast".

When you click on those adjustment tools, the contrast might look a little like the images you can see here on the screen.

This is our first pear, our first image.

You can see here that the contrast has been set to zero, so no digital manipulation has taken place.

This was our pear with a high contrast.

Here, the contrast is set at 86, so it's really been manipulated quite a lot.

In this pear, you can see that the contrast has been set really low at minus or negative 86.

That's when we've got a lot of those midtones without the stark difference between the dark and the light.

Alex and Sophia are exploring other adjustment tools such as brightness and saturation.

Alex says, "I tried adjusting the warmth and saturation.

"I could change the colour of the whole image." Let's have a look at what Alex's pear looks like now.

Wow, isn't that amazing? That pear looks so realistic, and you can see it's got a really warm colour palette as well.

How fabulous.

Sophia says, "That looks great.

"I changed the brightness in my image "and it made some of the midtones lighter." Let's have a look at Sophia's image now.

Whoa, this is interesting.

Can you see how some of those lights have become really light, but she's also elevated those dark tones as well? How wonderful.

Alex then says, "I tried increasing the sharpness of the image "and gave it a cool tint.

"The outline now looks really bold." Here, you can see in Alex's image, those lines have become really strong, and I love the blue colour that he's made his pear.

Sophia says, "I use the adjustment tools "to lower the sharpness of the image.

"I think it might be really useful "for blurry background images." I agree with Sophia.

Those blurring tools really help to fade those lines on the pear, don't they? Somehow as well, it looks a little more realistic.

Jun is having some problems with his adjustment tools.

He says, "My adjustment tools only have three options.

"I cannot digitally manipulate my image very well." Jun could try opening his image in a different programme before trying to adjust it, and he might then get a few more options for adjustment tools.

Let's have a go at this question now.

Which of these images has the lowest contrast? Is it A, B, or C? I'm going to give you a few seconds to really think carefully about that answer.

Well done.

That was some great thinking.

Let's have a look at the answer together.

It was C.

The tones in this image are not very dark or very light, so it has the lowest contrast.

Here is your first task of today's lesson.

You are going to select and digitally manipulate a range of images for your dreamscape.

You might try cropping your images to focus on something specific, using adjustment tools to make an image brighter or change the contrast, and you might try exploring the effect of increasing and decreasing the sharpness and saturation of an image.

By combining these techniques, cropping, adjusting brightness and contrast, manipulating sharpness and saturation, distorting reality and layering, you can start to build a dreamscape that is visually rich, exciting, and full of those surrealist possibilities.

Every image you manipulate is a chance to tell a unique story, creating a space where the rules of reality are suspended and the imagination is free to roam.

I can't wait to see what you come up with for this task.

Have a go.

Pause the video here if you need to, and I'll see you in a moment.

Well done.

Some of your digital manipulations are amazing.

Let's have a look at what you might have done.

You might have cropped your images to focus on something specific, used adjustment tools to make an image or picture brighter to change the contrast.

You might have explored the effect of increasing and decreasing the sharpness and saturation of an image.

Let's move on to our second learning cycle.

Our second learning cycle is to use digital shape tools.

Inserting shapes into your digital dreamscape can be useful for creating a background.

Artists might choose to overlap shapes to fill a space.

You can see here that the red, purple and orange ovals and circles have been layered over one another.

Shapes can be different colours and sizes, and by using a combination of different colours and sizes, we can make our artwork and dreamscape more interesting to look at.

There are different tools that can be used to select and insert shapes.

Your insert shape tools might look a little bit like this.

If you have this tool, it can change how thick or thin the outline of a shape will be.

It might have a number next to it and different thicknesses of lines.

These tools change the transparency of the shape, and these tools allow the artist to select different styles of shape that might be really useful for your dreamscape later on.

We can digitally manipulate shapes to give different effects to our background.

Using quadrilaterals of different transparency and shape might be useful to add depth for a dreamscape inspired by a city.

Can you see here some of these very angular rectangles might be useful for showing a cityscape skyline or buildings.

An artist might choose a different shape.

Here, the artist has chosen circles and ovals.

Using circles and ovals within a dreamscape might be useful to an artist if they wanted their dreamscape to include the countryside.

These shapes look more like rolling hills or grass or fields perhaps.

An artist might choose a different shape.

They might also include different line styles.

What did these different shapes remind you of? Sam and Izzy are talking about what the shapes remind them of.

Sam says, "I think these shapes look like inside of a room." Izzy says, "I think these shapes and lines "look a bit like a cliff near the sea." I would agree.

We look like we've got the sand in front of us, and those curved lines that are flicked at the end, maybe showing us some rough waves out at sea.

Now it's your turn to have a go at a question.

Shapes can be digitally manipulated to change their colour, size, and transparency.

Is this true or false? I'm going to pause here to give you some time to answer this question.

Well done.

It was true.

Shapes can be digitally manipulated in lots of different ways, including their colour, size, and transparency.

That was some fabulous thinking.

Well done.

Artists can also use colour to fill a space.

Here, we can see that those spaces are being filled with lots of different bright colours.

In a dreamscape, the colours do not have to reflect reality, so you can really let your imagination go wild.

To fill a shape with colour, your digital programme might have a filling tool.

It might look like a paint pot that has a drop of paint falling from it.

Shapes can also be overlapped to add depth to your dreamscape, making it look more like a three dimensional scene.

These shapes are transparent so we can't see any depth.

Can you see how we can see that red square through the centre of the circle? These shapes are not transparent.

It looks like the red shape is behind the blue shape, which adds depth to our work.

Artists might choose to use a mixture of transparent and solid shapes when they overlap shapes to add depth.

Let's look back at our cityscape background.

Because some of the shapes are solid, we still have the impression that these shapes show depth.

It looks like some of those shapes are behind others.

Time now for our next question.

Which of these tools would be useful when filling a shape with colour? Is it A, is it B, or is it C? You can pause the video now or I will pause for five seconds to give you some time to answer and think about that question.

Some great thinking there.

Well done.

Let's have a look at the answer together.

It's B, the symbol for a filling tool can also look like a paint pot with a drop of paint falling from it.

Now it is time for our final task of today's lesson.

Our Task 1 is to fill a digital space using colour and shape to create a dreamscape background.

You might think about including a variety of different shapes.

You might think about circles or triangles, perhaps for mountain peaks or abstract elements, or you might use rectangles that could represent buildings, doors, or windows like we looked at earlier.

You might think about using colour to fill a space.

Think about the bright colours that you might choose to use to really let your imagination go wild, or perhaps you might want to create a dark and moody atmospheric dreamscape with darker colours being used.

Think about the order of your shapes and how they may overlap to show depth.

Layering shapes on top of each other and changing their sizes might be helpful with this.

Larger shapes could be in the front of the image, which will appear closer, while smaller shapes in the background can represent objects farther away.

As you add shapes, allow some to overlap.

This will create the illusion of depth.

For instance, a cloud overlapping with the sun can give the impression that a cloud is closer than the sun.

After you have created the background for your dreamscape, it's time to add the manipulated images.

These can be photos or digital art pieces you've altered, cropped, adjusted brightness or contrast, or added effects to, and now want to insert into your scene.

I can't wait to see how you get on with that task.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the wonderful artwork that you produce.

I'm going to pause the video here or you may want to stop it yourself to give time to answer and complete that task.

Wow, haven't you had some wonderful ideas for today's task? Let's have a look what you might have done.

Task 1 was to fill a digital space using colour and shape to create a dreamscape background.

Did you go for those bright colours and shapes or did you go for a slightly darker atmosphere? You might have used a mixture of those different shapes.

You might have overlapped shapes to add depth, and you might have filled shapes using different colours.

Let's have a look at what you might have done for the second task.

You might have inserted your manipulated images.

You may have arranged your images in a triangle composition.

You may have overlap shapes to add depth.

And finally, you might have repeated images several times in your digital dreamscape to make it look a little bit more interesting.

That really was some fantastic artwork that you have produced today.

Well done.

Let's have a look at the summary of today's lesson and what you have learned.

You have learned that artists can digitally manipulate images and photographs using crop, brightness, saturation and contrast adjustment tools.

You have learned that shapes and colour can be used to fill a digital space, and you have learned that an artist can overlap images to add depth to their composition.

Thank you so much for joining me in today's lesson.

I hope you've really enjoyed it.