Lesson video

Hello, my name's Mrs. Alton.

Welcome to today's lesson on art and design.

Today is all about manipulating drawings, 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 develop your ideas by manipulating drawings in different ways.

Let's take a look at some keywords for today's lesson.

Manipulate is to control or change something to achieve a desired effect.

Develop is to expand and refine an idea to create a more complete outcome.

Layer, in art is when you add materials or techniques on top of each other to create depth or texture.

Today's lesson has been broken down into two learning cycles.

The first is all about layering media and the second is about layering with collage.

So let's look at learning cycle one.

Manipulating a drawing is how you control or change something to achieve a desired effect.

Take a look at these drawings here.

Can you identify how they have been manipulated with layering media? Well done if you recognise that this image has been masked and painted.

So you've got a black and white drawing underneath, and then masking tape has been layered on, and then paint in between the spaces.

And then when the masking tape is peeled away, you get this idea of the colour and the original drawing contrasting together to create these geometric shapes on top.

How do you think this second one has been manipulated? So you may have realised that this has been crumpled.

So you can see the original drawing and then all these kind of crumply lines where it's been scrunched up and soaked as well.

So you get even more of these very intricate lines going through the drawing.

And there's also some spills on there as well.

So you can see some of the red ink and watercolour coming through.

So manipulating drawings can spark new ideas and approaches, and we can see that in this example of a sketchbook where one drawing is then followed on to lots of different variations.

Assessment objective two in GCSE Art is all about creative making.

So it's really important that you show how you improve and develop your ideas in various ways as that's a key part of the assessment criteria.

So a key part of how your work will be marked.

Quick check for understanding.

Manipulating in art means.

Is it A, following a strict unchanging method.

B, changing something to achieve a desired effect.

C, creating artwork without adjustments.

Have a think.

Well done if you said B.

It's changing something to achieve a desired effect.

It's really important to remember that there is no right way to manipulate a drawing.

The possibilities are endless.

So it's all about your individual creativity.

All endorsements require some drawing.

So whether you are doing 3D, you might be working in ceramics or photography or film or whatever media that you are working in or endorsements that you are working towards.

It will require some recording, some drawing.

One way to make drawings a bit less precious is to work on photocopies of your work or to photograph your work regularly so that you can see the process and that you can always go back a stage if you feel that a certain technique hasn't worked how you wanted it to, and it just makes the process a whole lot freer.

So it really encourages you to develop your ideas in different ways.

A true or false question, there is only one correct way to manipulate a drawing.

Have a think.

Well done if you recognise that's a false statement.

Can you think why? Great answer.

Using different techniques and approaches allows for endless creativity and experimentation.

Splashing liquid paint or ink onto a surface is an unpredictable and exciting way to manipulate wet media.

And this creates energy and dynamic effects in the artwork.

Have a look at this example here.

Can you think of ways to manipulate wet media using splash drip or spray techniques? Laura and Andeep are sharing their thoughts on how they might manipulate wet media.

Laura says, "I could dip a drawing into watered down acrylic to create naturally occurring swirls." So she's thinking here almost like a or a sink where you get all that paint at the bottom of the sink and putting a paper on it and really thinking about how that might transfer some of these very unpredictable methods onto her drawing.

And Andeep comments that he could drip ink onto wet paper.

So a bit like the image we've just seen of the bee where all the inks are coming down and let the ink run down his drawing.

So again, this unpredictable element to a drawing that was quite realistic and tight in some ways.

Contemporary artists lay a non-traditional media, using splash drip and spray techniques to capture energy and emotion.

Artists who explore these techniques in portraiture include, Chris Ofilis "Head of Satar," Michael Shapcott's "Firefly Painting," Marlene Dumas' "Adonis frowns," Jennifer Packer's "The Body Has Memory," and Maggie Hambling's "Self Portrait." So these are really interesting portraits that use a variety of these techniques all kind of mixed together.

All very unique an individual.

But the one common thread that's kind of weaving through these examples is this idea of the unpredictability of the materials and how that can be linked in to this idea of capturing emotion through the artwork.

So really interesting examples if you have time to have a look at those.

True or false question for you.

Drawing always has to be neat, precise, and done with traditional materials like pencil.

Is that true or false? well done if you recognise that's a false statement.

Can you think why? Excellent answer.

Artists can experiment with non-traditional materials and looser techniques like splashes and sprays.

And this is going back to that idea of developing freedom and unexpected results in the artwork.

So here we can see a demonstration of a drawing technique using layering with a range of media to really create these unpredictable outcomes.

And on this drawing you can see that there's been hairspray that's been applied to a biro drawing to make the ink run and create this translucent background.

So if you do try this effect, you'll find that after you spray the hairspray on the back of the image, it's almost transferred through, which in itself creates quite an interesting manipulation technique.

You can also, if you haven't got hairspray, paint over fine liner, which works really well.

So different pens will give different tonal effects when you add water onto the paper.

So that's quite an interesting one to also experiment with.

Layering media such as marker pens can also develop a drawing and create interesting surface textures and effects.

So we can go back to this drawing of a bee, where there's been hairspray applied and then let it run down the paper.

And then thinking about what areas could we pick out with the marker pens.

And these have just been used to highlight certain aspects of the picture.

So we've got these quite neat approaches with these very unpredictable approaches.

So there's a nice kind of juxtaposition of ideas happening within the drawing.

So another demonstration here, and that's about discovering something new by layering with alternative tools and media.

And you can see here that there's been cardboard that's been used to smear the paint over the top half of the portrait and then some flicking of the paint as well to get these small kind of splashes happening.

And the artist Michael Snapcott actually uses a cloth to smear over his very, very beautifully detailed drawings.

So that's also a really nice method to bring in these other elements and these other tools into the way that you approach your drawing.

And it's really about going back to that idea of really adding intensity to these works.

And thinking about this flicks of a brush.

You can see in this demonstration, it's a very small movement, which is great if you're in a classroom and you need to be careful and you only need to do the smallest movement with your finger and the brush.

But if you're in a larger space or maybe outside or somewhere where it's okay to do, you can actually do more physical movements and that will give a different energy to your work.

So keeping an open mind helps you to keep on improving.

Is that A, by getting it right first time.

B, by discovering something new.

or C, avoiding making mistakes.

Have a think.

Well done if you said B.

It's all about discovering something new.

So let's think about how you might layer with different media if you were doing a different endorsement to fine art.

So if you were working in ceramics for instance, you might layer glazes over a relief clay tile.

So that will give you lots of different colours, shines effects, and that's a very experimental process as well as you never quite know how things are gonna come out once they've been in the kiln.

Maybe if you are working on graphics, you might draw on an iPad to manipulate the layers digitally and that will give you lots of options for effects that you might create and different layers to your poster or the way that you compose your text with your images.

Textiles, you might want to overlap drawings using wax batik and inks.

So this can be a very free way of working with the wax.

Again, it takes away that idea of control and it's quite an unpredictable method using the wax janting tools.

So that might be quite an interesting way to bring in this idea of manipulation into your textiles.

And photography, You might want to try layering long exposure and light drawings, so these can be really fun to do always a good drawing with light with a torch.

So another way to layer ideas and manipulate photography.

Another way you might want to work with textiles is to print an image onto fabric.

And that gives you lots more options in terms of the durability of the material.

So you can sew into that by hand or on a sewing machine to create lots of textures and layers onto the work.

And again, maybe you're working in 3D, so you might want to take a drawing into wire and that could come out of the page so you're not thinking always this has to be a kind of flat two dimensional response.

So let's have a look at our first learning task.

So create a drawing using biro, fine-liner pens, or both.

And have a gut manipulating the drawing by lightly spraying it with hairspray or using water if you're using ink as that will give you some tonal areas.

So thinking about be quick and experimental with the process.

And you can work directly onto a photocopied drawing as we've mentioned before, if you find that easier to get that kind of energy across in your drawing or you can even use a light box or use work directly on tracing paper can also be quite nice.

So these are just things that you might want to try.

If the idea of just recording from direct observation you find that quite challenging.

So if you pause the video here while you complete this activity and I look forward to seeing what you get up to.

So how did you get on? I hope you enjoyed that activity.

Let's have a look what your work may have looked like.

So here we can see the bee example that we've been looking at throughout this learning cycle.

And here we can see a portraiture example where the ink has run from the biro using hairspray and water.

So let's have a look at the next learning task.

So manipulate your drawing by layering media using alternative tools and techniques.

And as you've seen in this learning cycle, I've given you some examples of how you might go about this and really looking at that artist's work, we'll give you a springboard for ideas about how you might use this next part of the activity.

So might you use a piece of cardboard or are you gonna smear with a cloth? How might you add depth and texture? And again, you can work directly onto a photocopied enlargement maybe of your drawing.

So if you've got your first drawing, instead of doing exactly the same one, but with layering of another media or another tool, you could just photocopy a section of it and enlarge it.

So already you are showing more stages of development, more kind of creativity in the way that you are manipulating your work.

So pause the video here and I look forward to seeing what you do.

So how did you get on with that second layering of media? I hope you found some interesting techniques to apply.

Let's have a look at what your work may have looked like.

So here we can see that the paint has been smeared over that original drawing of the bee after the hairspray as well.

So we've got these layers of media working together and here in the portrait, like on the demonstration we saw, we can see the yellow has been smeared across the eye.

So it really draws you into the portrait.

And again, this part of the image has been enlarged, so we can see a development going across.

And then that idea of masking and painting over the top.

So we get this kind of transparency that's coming through the drawing.

Let's have a look at our second learning cycle layering with collage.

So layering can be done in many ways to add depth and develop your drawing.

And here we can see Laura, Jacob and Jun, are manipulating their drawings by layering parts of their work using collage.

What do you think the benefits of this are for an artist? Collage can be a quick and effective way to manipulate a drawing by changing parts of its composition.

And Lucas says that sometimes when he's not happy with a drawing, he cuts it up to create a new form.

So that's a really good tip.

If you do something where you've experimented and you're not quite happy with the results, try not to throw it away.

I know it's tempting, but keep it to one side.

Maybe you'll have a folder with different drawings or experiments that you've done but you're not a 100% on.

And then you might think, how can I manipulate these and bring them together? And that can create new and exciting possibilities in your work.

So artists can layer with collage in many ways.

They might fold paper, cut paper, tear, or they might add depth with this idea of layering.

So to do that, they might include objects and materials into their work.

Or they might add sewing or different types of background.

Let's take a look at this check for understanding.

See how good your memory is.

So fill in the gaps.

Artists can layer with collage in many ways.

Well done if you said by folding, by cutting and tearing.

So layering drawings onto different backgrounds can create exciting possibilities and add to the meaning of the work.

And here we can see lots of different backgrounds that you might use.

They may include ready made materials such as newspapers or magazines or maybe handmade papers like you can see in these examples there's some marbling.

And there's even some origami papers.

And just the even a different colour will change the look and feel of your work.

You may even want to include decorative fabrics as that would be a really interesting background to work on.

Some artists that use layering in their work to add depth and change the narrative by combining foreground and background elements are Vic Muniz, who's a Brazilian artist in his "Pictures Of Junk Series." So this is where he's gone into rubbish sites in Rio de Janeiro and really thought about the impact of waste, something that we throw away on a daily basis and bringing that together with his photography and drawings.

So these are really interesting large scale pieces of work.

Sol Kesseler is an Argentinian embroidery artist, who creates detailed portraits with colourful thread and impressive needle work.

Hew Locke in his "Share Series," drew on share certificates as a window into the history of movement of people, money and ownership.

And this is really where he reworks and obscures part of the information to highlight areas and figures.

Representative of the local population of enslaved people at the time.

Anne Gollifer's work "Mother Tongue," refers to the 41 indigenous languages spoken in Mozambique.

Each of the 41 pieces that make up the artwork are embroidered with this name of a different language.

And in this artwork you can see how many different fabrics have been used for the background of the work.

Mark Powell is a British artist known for his intricate portrait drawn with biro on antique documents, often incorporating postmarks and typography onto his detailed compositions.

Can you think of tools and techniques of quick and effective ways to develop and manipulate a drawing? Izzy's having a think.

She's considering that actually a digital editing tool might be a really quick and effective way to change aspects of her work.

And free digital editing tools like Adobe Express can be fantastic tools for editing drawings.

She also considers that maybe photocopying her drawings, as we've seen in the first learning cycle, can be a really good way to then work and layer on top of them.

Projection can also be a fantastic way to enlarge a drawing and if you're really worried about getting all the proportions correct, it can be a great foundation to then work onto.

Also this idea of enlarging.

So you can take a small area, enlarge it and really change the composition and perspective of a piece.

True or false.

Developing a drawing in many different ways can help you reach a stronger final outcome.

Well done if you identified that that's actually true.

Can you think about why that might be? Think about the assessment objectives for art and design.

Well done, if you recognise that exploring different possibilities offers a wide range of options and this can really help refine that final outcome.

So let's look at how you might layer with collage in different endorsements.

So for sculpture, you might assemble found objects, materials, or textures.

And that could be a bit like Vic Muniz, the way that he used junk materials for instance.

In graphics you might layer images digitally to create a product or packaging.

In film you could use overlays of video clips or split screens or double exposures.

In textiles, you might wanna try applique using different fabrics of varying textured patterns and colours.

So applique is a bit like collage fabric where you're cutting and layering different aspects of textiles together.

Art, craft and design.

You might try plastic heat bonding to layer and trap inside materials.

And this can be a really fun way of experimenting with lots of different textures and surfaces.

In clay, you could build up layers to create a textured or pattern surface.

So a bit like a relief tile for instance.

Let's take a look at our second task.

Manipulate your drawing from task A.

layer with collage to add depth and experiment with foreground and background elements.

So foreground being the things that are closest to you and background in the distance.

Consider the message or intention of your artwork as you experiment.

So really thinking about what do you want to achieve with your work? What's your intention? What are you setting out to do? And that will really help you to form your message within your work and what you're trying to say.

You might layer by sewing into your design, as we've seen by Sol Kesseler.

Using alternative backgrounds as we've seen with Hew Locke and Mark Powell.

Or adding objects and material as we've looked at with Vic Muniz.

Pause the video here while you manipulate your drawing from task A by layering with collage.

So how did you find that? I hope you had fun experimenting with lots of different ways to layer your drawing.

So you may have layered sewing into your design like this example.

And using stitch can really enhance the lines in your drawing.

So we're adding this kind of textual aspect to your work.

You may have layered an alternative background.

So you can see here there's parts of a map that have been added.

So that might change the narrative and story in your work depending on what background you've chosen.

And that might be in contrast in terms of the surface and texture and pattern of your drawing.

So here we can see very, very controlled sewing and patterns in contrast to that very loose ink work on the bee.

You may have layered with objects as we saw with Vic Muniz.

And that may be materials that are conceptually different.

So have a different idea or theme so that the two things together make an alternative message about your work.

So the next activity is to reflect on how your manipulation techniques, so your layering media and collage develop the message or intention of your artwork.

So this is really reviewing your process so far and thinking which ones really fit with that idea of what you wanted to achieve.

So pause the video here while you reflect on your manipulation methods.

Let's take a look at what you may have said.

So Aisha here is layering media with splash, drip, and spray techniques.

And she's combined that with sewing, which gives her drawing of a bee a sense of movement and really encouraged her to be bolder and more expressive with her use of colour.

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

Manipulating drawings with media, collage and layering techniques allows you to explore endless creative possibilities.

Experimenting with different materials and backgrounds can help you develop your ideas leading to unexpected discoveries and a stronger final outcome.

Understanding the message in your artwork makes it more impactful and clear.

Thank you for learning with me today and I look forward to seeing you soon.