Lesson video

Hello everyone, I'm Miss Miah, and I'm really excited to join you on your learning journey.

I can't wait to explore new ideas, create amazing projects, and have fun with you all as we discover and learn together.

So welcome to our exciting art lesson today.

We're going to be exploring how to draw fossils in a creative and abstract way.

Some of you might have already learned about fossils in your science lessons, those ancient remains of plants and animals.

But don't worry if you haven't.

We'll cover everything you need to know, as we turn these ancient shapes into colourful artwork.

So in this lesson, you're going to be able to use simple shapes and lines to create your own abstract fossil picture.

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

Abstract art.

Complex form.

Rearrange.

Fantastic, these are the key words that you are going to be using in today's lesson.

Now let's find out what the definitions for these words are.

So abstract art is art that does not try to represent something realistically.

Now, you may have seen these types of pieces of art in galleries or maybe in your own home.

Now a complex form is a form which contains several different shapes combined within it.

To change the position or order of something means to rearrange.

You may have done this in your bedroom when you've been organising certain items, which means you may have changed the position of it.

This lesson is all about drawing fossils in an abstract way.

It's going to be a really exciting lesson because we're going to explore how to draw fossils in a creative and abstract way.

Some of you might have already learned about fossils in your science lessons.

You know, those ancient animals or plants.

But don't worry if you haven't.

We'll cover everything you need to know.

In our first lesson cycle, you are going to be drawing the simple shapes and lines of a complex form.

And then we're going to move on to rearranging the shapes and lines into an abstract picture.

We have a drawing of a fossil here.

It's very detailed and looks realistic.

Now I want you to think about why might an artist choose to draw a fossil? Pause the video to consider the question.

Now, an artist might draw a fossil to help scientists and others to understand what ancient plants and animals looked like a long time ago.

Fossils are like old bones or imprints left in rocks.

And by drawing them, the artist shows details that can help us learn about the creatures that lived millions of years ago.

These drawings are important because they can bring the fossils to life and make it easier for everyone to see and understand what the world was like back then.

Now, artists do this by recording the form, structure and details of the fossils, and they are able to capture what photographs might not be able to capture.

So did you know these drawings can actually be found in scientific publications, textbooks and museums? An artist might draw a fossil for educational purposes to help us learn about ancient animals and plants.

So these drawings make it easier for us to see and understand what creatures looked like and how they lived millions of years ago.

By looking at these pictures, we can then imagine the past and learn about history in a fun and interesting way.

And number three, an artist might draw a fossil as a source of inspiration because fossils have interesting shapes and patterns that can spark creative ideas.

So the unique details in the fossils, like the spiral of a seashell or the texture of a dinosaur bone, can inspire the artist to create something new and imaginative.

By using fossils as inspiration, artists can connect the ancient past with their own creative work, turning something old into something beautiful and fresh.

So fossils offer unique and fascinating subjects that can be interpreted creatively.

Aisha and Alex are studying a drawing of a fossil made by an artist.

Aisha says, "Wow, this is a beautiful drawing." Pause the video to consider what you notice.

Alex says, "It's very complex.

I might find something like that challenging to draw." The fossil that the artist has drawn is a complex form.

A complex form is one that is made up of different simple shapes and lines.

What shapes and lines can you see? Pause the video here to identify the shapes and lines that you can see.

Over to you.

What is a complex form? Is it A, one simple shape? B, two simple shapes placed next to each other, or C, a form that is made up of different simple shapes and lines.

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

So how did you do? If you got C, you are correct.

Remember, a complex form is a form that is made up of different simple shapes and lines.

Over to me.

What simple shapes can I see? Let's have a look at the drawing.

I can see a curved line and radiating lines.

So radiating lines are lines that spread out from a central point, like the rays of the sun.

They can be straight or curved, and they create a sense of movement or energy in the drawing.

So over to you.

What simple shapes can you see? You can pause the video here and click play when you're ready to rejoin us.

So what did you see? You may see a circle and a spiral, and you can see that that starts right at the centre of our fossil drawing.

These are some of the simple shapes and lines that the artist saw and drew.

They make up the complex form.

So here we've got a circle, then we've got a spiral, then we've got a curved line, and lastly, radiating lines.

So by breaking down the complex form, the artist was able to draw the ammonite fossil.

So, we can notice and then draw simple shapes and lines of a complex form, such as a circle, a spiral, a curved line and radiating lines.

Onto the main task for this lesson cycle.

You're going to notice and draw the simple shapes and lines in one or more of these complex form ammonite fossils.

And then for the next task, you're going to explain to a friend what you noticed and how you drew the simple shapes and lines.

You can pause the video here.

Have fun with the task.

Remember to break down the complex form into simple shapes and lines to help you draw it.

Off you go, have fun and click play when you're ready to rejoin us.

So how did it go? You may have noticed and drawn a spiral to begin with.

That's something I would've drawn as well.

And then you may have focused on the radiating lines, and some of you may have actually started off with the different shapes that you saw.

So here when it came to the spiral we had, you may have drawn something like this, the radiating lines here, and you may have drawn radiating lines that look like this.

And notice here, how the radiating lines start off quite small and can actually also be drawn in a spiral as well.

And lastly, the shapes.

You may have drawn something like this.

Some of you may have seen triangles.

Others of you may have seen the circle within your ammonite fossil.

Well done if you gave that a go and managed to pick out the simple shapes and lines within those pictures.

Now, for task two, you might have talked about looking for shapes and lines that you're familiar with, such as circles and spirals, curved lines and the radiating lines.

Now, noticing other shapes, and by looking more closely at the ammonite fossils, you may have noticed other shapes.

Sometimes it does take a bit of time when it comes to spotting the different shapes.

You may have also talked about how you may have simplified and drew the lines and the shapes that you noticed.

Remember, there's no right or wrong answer.

It really does depend on what simple lines and shapes you saw first and how you drew them.

Now, let's move on to the second lesson cycle.

So in this lesson cycle, you're going to be rearranging the shapes and lines into an abstract picture.

In abstract art, lines and shapes are used in expressive ways to convey emotions, ideas and compositions, without representing real world objects.

For example, wavy lines can make a picture feel calm, while zigzags can actually make a picture feel more exciting and tense.

Big, bold shapes can show strong emotions, like happiness or anger, and softer curved shapes can feel gentle or peaceful.

So by playing around with these elements, you'll be able to create artwork that expresses how you also feel, even without drawing a specific object.

So obviously here we're drawing an ammonite, but do you see how using certain lines and shapes can really help towards the mood of a picture? I find that really interesting.

Colours can also play with the mood of an image.

And here we can see that different colours have been used.

So let's see how we can combine all of this together to create an abstract picture.

Using lines and shapes in these ways, abstract artists create pieces that invite viewers to interpret and feel, rather than recognise specific objects.

Moving on, Aisha and Alex are discussing what they know about abstract art.

Aisha says, "Abstract art is art that does not try to represent something realistically." Alex says, "I remember learning about abstract art and looking at some examples.

The paintings had lots of shapes and lines in them." Over to you, true or false? Abstract art copies exactly what something looks like.

Is it true or is it false? You can pause the video here and click play when you're ready to rejoin us.

So what did you think? Well, it's false.

Why? You can pause the video again.

So why is this the case? Abstract art is art that does not try to represent something realistically.

Remember, it's the use of simple shapes and lines that put together an abstract piece.

The simple shapes and lines from the fossil drawing can be rearranged to create an abstract piece of art.

So remember, to rearrange means to move things around and put them in a different order.

It's almost like changing the way things are set up or organised.

So what I'd like you to do now is look at the image on the screen.

There is an abstract picture there.

Can you find the shapes and lines in the abstract art? I can.

You can see the radiating lines.

They've been placed to the top left of the image.

And right next to the radiating lines we've got our spiral.

Then we've got a lovely bold curved line.

And lastly, we've also got another curved line, which is underneath our radiating lines.

Hmm, I really like the positioning of the simple lines and shapes because it makes me look from one simple shape or line to another, almost like a circle.

Now, this video shows how the artist rearranges the simplified fossil shapes into an abstract picture.

Now what I want you to think about are these questions.

Did the artist copy the fossil exactly? And how did the artist decide where to draw the shape and lines? <v Artist>Now I'm gonna draw some of those radiating lines,</v> and again, I can draw them wherever I like.

I could draw as many as I like or as few as I like.

And these are your choices.

You have to decide where to put them.

Now I'd like to draw my curved line.

And again, where will I put it? I could draw my curved line here going that way, or I could put it here going that way.

Now lastly, we have our circle.

I think I'd like to do it just so that- (charcoal scrapes) (charcoal scrapes) it goes off the page.

Okay, I'm gonna get some colours now.

I've got some colours here.

And then we've got our finished drawings.

And I hope yours doesn't look exactly the same as this.

I hope you've got your own personal abstract fossil drawing.

<v Miss Miah>Over to you.

</v> Aisha and Alex are talking about creating an abstract fossil picture.

Who is correct? Aisha says, "I have to copy the artist and place my spiral and radiating lines in the same position." Alex says, "I decide where I arrange the shapes.

I am the artist, so I decide where I want the shapes to go." You can pause the video here and click play when you've got the answer.

So what did you get? Well, Alex is correct.

You being the artist means you have the power to decide where you place the different shapes and simple lines onto your sugar paper.

And because there is no right or wrong answer, you really can experiment with what works for you.

And that's what makes creating this abstract piece so exciting because there can be so many different outcomes.

Onto the main task for this lesson cycle.

For task one, you're going to create your own abstract fossil picture using chalk and charcoal by rearranging your simple shapes and lines.

Now, you could use the long side of the charcoal to make thick lines, and then you could use the point of the charcoal to make thin lines.

So have a go with playing around with that.

You may find that it changes the mood or the emotion of the picture that you're creating.

You could also add your own choice of colours with chalk pastel.

You may find that some colours are quite harmonious with each other.

It really depends on what mood or emotion that you are trying to convey.

If you want to challenge yourself, you can try and combine these different elements together.

But remember, it's all about the little decisions that you make along the way.

One of my favourites is to then blend some of the chalk with tissue.

Now, using a tissue stops us from transferring colours that we don't want onto different colours.

Do keep a damp piece of tissue next to you so you can quickly give your fingers a wipe when moving on to using a different colour.

And for part two of this task, you're going to reflect upon how you made your abstract art and the different techniques you used with the charcoal.

You may have found that you started off using one technique and you moved on to another.

Now remember, if you really want to challenge yourself, you may combine several of these techniques.

You can pause the video here.

Off you go, take your time to think about the decisions and where you're going to place the difference simple shapes and lines onto your sugar paper.

You can pause the video here.

Off you go, have fun and click play when you're ready to rejoin us.

So how did you do? To be successful in this task, you would've rearranged your simple shapes and lines.

If you did that, well done.

You may have used the long side of the charcoal to make thick lines.

You then may have used the point of the charcoal to make thin lines.

You may have also added your own choice of colours, and then you may have also blended the chalk with tissue.

If you managed to combine all the different techniques that you see here, fantastic work.

You have created your own abstract piece.

Aisha and Alex are reflecting upon how they made their abstract artwork.

Aisha says her drawing is successful because her artwork looks abstract and not realistic, even though you can still see the lines and shapes from the fossil.

Alex says, "I feel like I worked like a real artist.

I was able to rearrange my shapes and lines a few times before I was happy with my abstract art." This may have been you as well, and that is not a problem.

Remember, sometimes when we create a piece of work, the first piece might not always be the finished piece.

In fact, for most artists, it never is.

It's a work in progress.

And if you find that you kept chopping and changing, not only for the rearranging of your simple lines and shapes, but also the decisions that you are making, that is absolutely fine.

This is what most artists do when they are creating their piece.

Both Aisha and Alex continue to reflect on their work.

Aisha says, "I like the way you can use charcoal to make thin or thick lines, depending on which part you use." Alex says, "I thought that using the tissue to blend created a really good effect when I used two different colours." Fantastic, we've made it to the end of the lesson.

Thank you so much for joining me.

Now, let's summarise what we've learned.

So today, you were drawing fossils in an abstract style.

The complex forms that we observe can be broken down into simpler shapes and lines.

Now, this doesn't only apply to ammonite fossils.

You can literally do this with any object that you'd like to draw as an observational drawing.

Abstract art can be made by simplifying and rearranging shapes and lines to our own artistic intentions.

Thank you so much for joining me, and I look forward to seeing you in the next lesson.