CAN I USE MIXED MEDIA TO PRODUCE ARTWORK BASED ON THE PLANETS?

When we use a range of art materials to produce an image. These can be overlapped all on the same page to create different effects. How many different types of art materials can you think of? Have a look around your classroom – see if you can name at least 10! USE YOUR SKETCH BOOK FIRST TO EXPLORE TECHNIQUES! What works well?

HOW MANY OF THESE MATERIALS DID YOU THINK OF? -Acrylic paint -Glass paint (to use on plastic sheets / windows…!) -Spray paint (in cans) -Watercolour pencils -Watercolour paint (in tubes, or box) -‘Normal ‘ colouring pencils -‘Normal’ grey writing pencil / chunky granite (HB) -‘Soft’ sketching pencils (6B, etc.) -Felt tips (or highlighters) -Wax crayons -Oil pastels -Chalk pastels -Charcoal -PVA glue / glue sticks -Collage materials: string, tissue paper, sugar paper, feathers, magazine / newspaper cuttings, sand, straws… -ANYTHING THAT MAKES A MARK OR CREATES A ‘TEXTURE’!

WHAT ARTISTIC TECHNIQUES AND SKILLS COULD WE USE WITH THE MATERIALS? Blending Mixing Outlining

Why not make a class poster as you go along, of all the skills and words you are using this week!

AN OUTLINE OF HOW TO MAKE THE VECTOR PLANETS:  Use a compass to draw different sized circles around your paper (for some, this will be a new skill. Maybe watch your teacher demonstrate HOW to move your compass in a circle!)  You can also draw around different sized circular objects in your classroom (plastic beakers, bowls, etc…)  Make sure some of the circles over lap  Look at the example and see what the artist has done with the shapes that overlap – are they different colours?  Think about the materials you will use…  Think about the space on your page…  At the end, you could go over some of the shapes with a thin black pen, to make parts stand out…

TOP TIPS! Keep the background simple – it is the foreground that you want your ‘viewer’ to be focusing on. Try and use lots of bright colours – avoid using too much black (it just gets messy!) You can always mix darker colours like blues and purples. Let the paint dry first before you go over the top with the pastels, or else the paper will rip! Experiment with cross-hatching and other pencil patterns on top of other materials… Try not to leave any ‘white bits’ on the paper – can you cover the whole lot?