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Year 4 - Art and design

Drawing natural forms in an abstract style

Recording, noticing, and caring: responding to nature and the planet

Unit Summary

Pupils will look at the theme of fossils as a starting point for this unit. They make and abstract a drawing of a fossil using chalk pastels and charcoal. Pupils design and make a 3D fossil of the future sculpture using the casting process and design principles.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to draw the simple shapes and lines of a complex fossil then rearrange them into your own abstract picture.

Key Notes

  • The complex forms we observe can be drawn by breaking them down into simpler component shapes.
  • Abstract art can be made by simplifying and rearranging shapes and lines to our own artistic intentions.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • abstract: art that does not try to represent something realistically, but uses lines, colours and textures instead
  • rearrange: change the position or order of something
  • complex form: a form which contains several different shapes combined within it

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • There is a right and wrong way in which to rearrange lines and shapes when making abstract art.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the lesson in two key points.

The complex forms we observe can be drawn by breaking them down into simpler component shapes. Abstract art can be made by simplifying and rearranging shapes and lines to our own artistic intentions.

2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'abstract'

art that does not try to represent something realistically, but uses lines, colours and textures instead.

3. Correct this common mistake.

Mistake: There is a right and wrong way in which to rearrange lines and shapes when making abstract art. Correction: There is no right or wrong - in abstract art shapes and lines can be rearranged according to the intentions of the artist.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 4 Art and design guide library.