EXPLORING COLOURED PENCILS – Simple Techniques

Students use coloured pencils to explore a variety of ways to shade and blend colours and then use the techniques to create a 'cool creature'.

Required Time

80 Minutes

Grade Level

Grade 3 to Grade 8

Subject

Art Techniques
Mathematics

Vocabulary

Materials

Crayola Coloured Pencils - 24 Count Crayola Marker & Watercolour Paper - 22.9 cm x 30.5 cm (9" x 12") Small Pencil Sharpeners Rulers Pencils

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Steps

EXPLORING COLOURED PENCILS – Simple Techniques - Step One

Step One

  1. Use the Coloured Pencil Techniques worksheet, (Downloads - ColouredPencilWorksheet.pdf)
    -  or draw 7 small boxes about 7 cm x 10 cm in your sketchbook, one for each technique.
EXPLORING COLOURED PENCILS – Simple Techniques - Step Two

Step Two

STIPPLING 

  1. Make tiny dots beside each other to fill the space.
  2. Place the dots close together on one side of the box.
  3. As you move to the other side of the box gradually let the spaces between the dots get bigger.
EXPLORING COLOURED PENCILS – Simple Techniques - Step Three

Step Three

SCUMBLING 

  1. Make small, scribbly, circular marks without lifting your pencil.
  2. Build up layers of colour in part of the box to change the value from light to dark.
EXPLORING COLOURED PENCILS – Simple Techniques - Step Four

Step Four

HATCHING 

  1. Make parallel lines to fill the space.
  2. Make some of the lines close together and others farther apart to change the value from light to dark.
EXPLORING COLOURED PENCILS – Simple Techniques - Step Five

Step Five

CROSS-HATCHING 

  1. Make hatched lines going in one direction.
  2. Then make another set of hatched lines going in a different direction on top of the first set.
  3. Keep adding new sets of hatched lines to change the values.
EXPLORING COLOURED PENCILS – Simple Techniques - Step Six

Step Six

  1. Keep adding new sets of hatched lines to change the values.
EXPLORING COLOURED PENCILS – Simple Techniques - Step Seven

Step Seven

IMPRESSED LINE 

  1. Place a piece of paper over the drawing paper.
  2. Draw on it with a ball point pen.
  3. Press hard to make indented lines on the drawing paper under it.
EXPLORING COLOURED PENCILS – Simple Techniques - Step Eight

Step Eight

  1. Remove the paper.
  2. Colour across the impressed lines on the drawing paper.
  3. Build up colour.
  4. Add a 2nd colour to emphasize the lines.
  5. The lines will show through the colour.
EXPLORING COLOURED PENCILS – Simple Techniques - Step Nine

Step Nine

VARY PRESSURE 

  1. Change your drawing pressure to lighten or darken the colour.
  2. Start on one side of the box with light pressure.
  3. Gradually increase the pressure to make a slight change in value.
  4. Use back and forth strokes to apply smooth, even layers of colour.
EXPLORING COLOURED PENCILS – Simple Techniques - Step Ten

Step Ten

LAYERING 

  1. Make 3 horizontal layers of 3 different colours. 
  2. Leave a space between each colour.
  3. Use back and forth strokes to apply smooth, even layers of colour.
EXPLORING COLOURED PENCILS – Simple Techniques - Step Eleven

Step Eleven

  1. Make 3 vertical layers over the horizontal layers using different colours.
  2. Leave a space between each colour.
  3. Use back and forth strokes to apply smooth, even layers of colour.
EXPLORING COLOURED PENCILS – Simple Techniques - Step Twelve

Step Twelve

DRAW A COOL CREATURE 

  1. ​Divide the paper into 8 rectangles.
  2. Draw a big, imaginary insect on the paper. Make sure it has:
    - 3 distinct body parts
    - 6 legs
    - big eyes
    - antennae
    - wings
  3. Use a different coloured pencil technique in each rectangle to colour your bug. 

Learning Goals

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.

Extensions

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.

Prepare

  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) 

Introduction

  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. 

Activities

The Challenge

  1. Use 7 different coloured pencil techniques to create a variety of values.
  2. Use layering to blend colours with coloured pencils.
  3. Create a design using a variety of coloured pencil techniques.
  4. Demonstrate technical accomplishment and creativity.

The Process

  1. Make sure everyone understands the challenge.
  2. Establish success criteria with your students, for example,
    I know I am successful when I have:
    - used 7 different techniques
    - created a variety of values from dark to light
    - layered 2 different colours to blend them into a new colour
    - created a design that uses 7 different techniques
    - kept my paper in good condition
  3. Guide students through the steps outlined in this lesson plan.
  4. Remind students to sharpen their pencils when they become dull.
  5. Observe students as they work. 
  6. Provide individual assistance and encouragement.

Sharing

  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.

Assessment

  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))

 

Downloads

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