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Year 5

Painting: finalising a facial expression painting

I can add expressive details to enhance a painted facial expression.

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New
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Year 5

Painting: finalising a facial expression painting

I can add expressive details to enhance a painted facial expression.

Download all resources
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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. Identify and apply finishing techniques such as blending, adding highlights, and creating texture.
  2. Use colour, tone, and contrast effectively to enhance a painting.
  3. Evaluate and refine an artwork as it progresses.

Keywords

  • Detail - a small part of something that adds to its overall appearance

  • Brush technique - the method of applying paint with a brush to create different effects

  • Contrast - the difference between light and dark

  • Blending - mixing colours or shades together smoothly

Common misconception

The largest features of a facial expression convey the most emotion.

Applying details and small adjustments to a facial expression such as tone, texture and highlights can make them more dynamic, expressive and realistic.


To help you plan your year 5 art and design lesson on: Painting: finalising a facial expression painting, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Encourage pupils to focus on small details like highlights, shadows, and texture to enhance expression. Use questioning to guide reflection: "What emotion do you see?" "How does tone or texture amplify it?" Celebrate progress, emphasising that refinement is part of the creative process.
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Teacher tip
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Equipment

Paints, paintbrushes, water in pots, palette for mixing paintings, pencils, rubbers, paper.

copyright

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.
How can eyebrows change an expression?
Correct answer: by altering angles
by changing colour
by growing longer
Q2.
What does red often symbolise in a painting?
calmness
sadness
Correct answer: passion or anger
Q3.
What does the term 'proportion' refer to?
the colour of something compared to another object
Correct answer: how big or small parts of something are compared to each other
how light or dark something is compared to each other
Q4.
What is meant by a ‘facial expression’?
a colour scheme
a painting style
Correct answer: a feeling or mood shown on a face
Q5.
What is the role of finishing touches?
change the subject
Correct answer: enhance expression
simplify the artwork
Q6.
Texture is an element of art that refers to how something or the appearance of a surface.
Correct Answer: feels, feel

Exit quiz

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5 Questions

Q1.
What can texture help to show in a painting?
the age of the painting
how many colours were used
Correct answer: the material or surface of the subject
Q2.
are areas where the light hits a subject.
shadows
Correct answer: highlights
mid-tones
Q3.
What technique would you use to show fine details, like wrinkles or hair strands?
thick layers of paint
Correct answer: stippling or fine brush strokes
using only a sponge
Q4.
Why is contrast important in portrait painting?
It makes the overall painting brighter.
Correct answer: It emphasises the differences between light and dark areas.
It removes shadows.
Q5.
What is a good way to improve your painting when refining it?
Correct answer: Use colour, tone, and contrast effectively to enhance the painting.
Cover it entirely with new paint to enhance the painting.
Use only one brush size to enhance the painting.

Additional material

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