EXPLORING COLOURED PENCILS – Simple Techniques

Students will be able to:

• use 7 different coloured pencil techniques to create a variety of values;
• use layering to blend colours with coloured pencils;
• create a design using a variety of coloured pencil techniques; 
• demonstrate technical accomplishment and creativity.

Have students:

• create a How To illustrated book demonstrating how to draw something using a coloured pencil technique they have learned, for example, a drawing of a bird using only the stippling technique;
• examine a variety of illustrations in picture books to identify shading and blending techniques, and compare them with pictures that were made using different coloured pencil techniques.

1. Download images of drawings from the Internet.
   Rider
   House
   Plant
   Self-Portrait
   Young Man
   Woman
   Blue Eyed Woman
2. Download the Colour and Value posters available on this website.
3. Gather and make available drawing books, for example, How to Draw Cool Stuff: Shading, Textures and Optical Illusions, by Catherine Holmes; You Can Draw in 30 Days: The Fun, Easy Way to Learn to Draw in One Month or Less, by Mark Kistler; The Big Book of Realistic Drawing Secrets: Easy Techniques for drawing people, animals, flowers and nature, by Carrie Stuart Parks, and Rick Parks; The Fundamentals of Drawing, by Barrington Barber; Drawing Made Easy: Colored Pencil: Discover your "inner artist" as you learn to draw a range of popular subjects in colored pencil, by Eileen Sorg; and Basic Colored Pencil Techniques, by Bet Borgeson.
4. If you are planning to use the handout, download the Coloured Pencil worksheet - one per student. (Downloads - ColouredPencilWorksheet.pdf) 

1. View and discuss the downloaded images drawing attention to the different ways line, shading and colour have been used.
2. Use coloured pencil to demonstrate how to do various techniques seen in the images, for example,
   - hatching and crosshatching
   - layering colour
   - varying pressure to go from light to dark
3. Discuss the colour wheel and how colours can work together.
4. Discuss how value can be used to create contrast and depth in a drawing.
5. Explain that the techniques they are going to practice will be useful when they are trying to make effective drawings.
6. Introduce the challenge. 

1. Place students into small groups. 
2. Ask them to: 
   - Compare their work and describe to each other how they might use different techniques in future drawings.
   - Talk about what was difficult and what was easy for them.
   - Talk about which technique they like the best and why.
3. Share ideas with the whole class. 
4. Ask them to tell how they felt about doing this project.

1. Observe students as they work – thoughtful focus, discriminating, seeking more information, elaborating, experimenting
2. Observe students as they discuss the art works – active listening, insightful contributions, supporting ideas with evidence found in the artwork and from personal experience.
3. Use a checklist to track progress. (Downloads - ColouredPencilTechniques_tracking.pdf)
4. Have students use the self-assessment form to evaluate their work. (Downloads - ColouredPencilTechniques_self-assessment.pdf, or ColouredPencilTechniquesJunior_self-assment.pdf))