Developing Art Techniques
Improve control of drawing, painting and sculpture: shading and tone with pencil and charcoal, mixing and layering paint, building forms in clay; keep a sketchbook to record observations, test ideas and revisit them
What a learner can do afterwards
- Use shading, hatching or blending to show light and shadow in a drawing
- Keep a sketchbook of observations and ideas, and return to earlier pages to improve a piece (e.g. redrawing a hand study)
- Explain which technique or material they chose for a piece and why (e.g. charcoal for soft smoky edges)
1 · Read
You have tried pencils, paint and clay. Now practise controlling their effects. Tone means how light or dark a mark is. Look at a real ball's light and dark areas. Changing tone across a drawn circle can suggest the ball's round form.
Hatching builds tone with lines. Closer lines usually make a darker area. Wider gaps leave more light paper showing. Blending softens the change between tones. Follow the light and shadow you observe rather than always shading the same side.
Use a sketchbook for observations, ideas and material tests. Note what you changed and what happened. Return to an earlier drawing and choose one feature to practise. Redraw it, then compare that feature across both versions. A later drawing is not always better.
For wet-on-wet acrylic blending, brush adjoining colours together while both are wet. Once they dry, this method stops working. To layer acrylic paint, let one layer dry before adding another. Use materials made for children and follow the pack instructions.
Choose a material for the effect you want. Charcoal smudges readily, so it can suit soft edges. Pencil can make soft effects too. Roll, pinch and smooth clay to build a form you can turn and touch. Follow its instructions for joining and drying. Explain how your material helps your plan.
Shading, layering and revisiting your sketchbook are how your art gets better, one page at a time.
Readings and flashcards written for this dataset. Gold-ground panel painting is a Getty Museum video referenced through the academy collection.
More to read
Compare one change
Choose an effect to investigate. On one sheet, make several small pencil tests. Change one thing between them, such as pressure or line spacing. Note which change you made. Comparing tests on the same paper helps you see its effect. Keep a test that suits your plan, with a note explaining why. You can learn from materials you already have.
Draw an object again
Place an everyday object where you can study it safely. Draw its outline and notice its light and dark areas. Date the page. On another day, draw the object again. Choose one feature to compare between the drawings. Describe what changed and what you want to try next. Your sketchbook can hold questions and tests as well as finished drawings.
Observe a ball's tones
Compare a circle outline with a real ball. Look for the ball's lightest and darkest areas. Notice any shadow beneath it too. Make a drawing that records the changes in tone you see. Try hatching in one study and blending in another. Compare their effects. Neither method tells you where the shadow belongs; observing the ball helps you decide.
Soften a paint edge
Use acrylic paint made for children and follow the pack instructions. Put two small colour patches beside each other on a suitable scrap surface. While both are wet, brush across their meeting edge with a damp brush. Compare the softened edge with an untouched one. When the paint dries, wet-on-wet blending stops working. You can let it dry and add a new layer instead.
Study light on a face
Try a drawing study before painting a face. Use a mirror or a suitable reference picture. Look for the main outline, then observe the light and dark areas. Record those areas with pencil or charcoal. Test charcoal's smudging on scrap paper first. Keep the study so you can compare it with another attempt. Do not assume every face needs the same shadow pattern.
Explore more
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.