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Year 3

Sculpture: refine and finish creature creations

I can add finishing touches to enhance the appearance of my sculpture.

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New
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Year 3

Sculpture: refine and finish creature creations

I can add finishing touches to enhance the appearance of my sculpture.

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Share activities with pupils
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These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Using tools, paint, or additional materials to refine adds realism, texture, and character to a sculpture.
  2. Adjust and strengthen the sculpture’s structure by securing joints and balancing weight.
  3. Comparing your final sculpture to your maquette helps to reflect on what worked well and what could be improved.

Keywords

  • Sculpture - a three-dimensional piece of art made by shaping or combining materials

  • Maquette - is a small, rough model of a sculpture used for planning

  • Refine - making small changes to improve a piece of art

Common misconception

Pupils may think that all parts of the sculpture must be detailed.

Remind children that it’s better to focus on key features like the face, wings, or texture, rather than decorating every part. This keeps your design clear and makes your creature stand out.


To help you plan your year 3 art and design lesson on: Sculpture: refine and finish creature creations, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Focus on quality over quantity by guiding pupils to prioritise key details and stability in their sculptures. Allow extra time, as refining and decorating may take longer. Early finishers can move onto creating a “habitat” for their creature using additional materials.
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Teacher tip
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Equipment

Cardboard, newspaper, magazines, milk cartons, small boxes, pipe cleaners, string, scissors, gum tape, mark making tools, tissue paper, fabric scraps, foil, beads, buttons and bottle caps.

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What should you think about when selecting materials for your creature?
only the colour of the material
Correct answer: the texture, shape, and strength of the material
how the material looks when it’s flat
whether the material is heavy
Q2.
You can only use one material to create your sculpture.
True
Correct answer: False
Q3.
What is the first step in creating your creature sculpture?
Add decorations to make it colourful.
Correct answer: Choose and gather materials for the structure.
Paint the creature’s details.
Attach the creature to a base.
Q4.
When you assemble a sculpture, you are putting different materials together to create the final piece.
Correct answer: True
False
Q5.
Match the term with its definition.
Correct Answer:maquette,to put parts together to create a whole sculpture
tick

to put parts together to create a whole sculpture

Correct Answer:sculpture,asmall model used to plan a sculpture
tick

asmall model used to plan a sculpture

Correct Answer:assemble,to fit together the different parts of something
tick

to fit together the different parts of something

Q6.
Put the following steps in order to create your sculpture.
1 - Select materials and build the armature (skeleton structure).
2 - Create volume by adding materials to build up your sculpture.
3 - Strengthen weak areas with tape or glue.
4 - Add finishing touches, like eyes, colourful paint or patterns.

Exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
To make your creature stable, you can use , tape, or glue to strengthen weak areas.
Correct answer: newspaper
glue
Correct answer: cardboard
Q2.
You should add decoration before you strengthen the structure of your sculpture.
True
Correct answer: False
Q3.
To make your creature stable and balanced, it's best to place the heavier materials ...
at the top.
Correct answer: at the bottom.
next to it.
Q4.
Which materials are most suitable for adding texture, like fur or scales, to your sculpture?
Correct answer: felt
Correct answer: pipe cleaners
buttons
milk cartons