Great Artists and Designers
Learn about the work of artists, architects, craft makers and designers past and present; describe similarities and differences between their styles and methods, and make links to your own artwork
What a learner can do afterwards
- Name several artists or designers and describe what their work looks like (e.g. Van Gogh's swirling brushstrokes, Kusama's dots)
- Compare two artworks or buildings, pointing out similarities and differences in style, materials or purpose
- Try an idea borrowed from an artist in their own work and say where it came from
The lesson
Every artist and designer has their own way of making things. That special way is called a style. Once you know an artist's style, you can often spot their work without even seeing their name.
Vincent van Gogh painted with thick, swirling brushstrokes, so his skies look like they are spinning. Yayoi Kusama covers whole rooms, pumpkins and canvases in dots. Both are famous for a style nobody else paints in quite the same way.
Designers make buildings, chairs and posters too. An architect who designs curvy buildings with round windows has a very different style from one who designs buildings with sharp, straight lines and glass walls.
When you compare two artworks or buildings, look at three things: the shapes and colors, what it is made from, and what it was made for.
Every artist and designer has their own style, so comparing their work helps you spot it and borrow ideas for your own art.
Watch it
Where it sits
Learn first
This opens up
Nothing builds on it yet.
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.