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Year 6 - Art and design

Researching the urban environment

Urban Life: Drawing and design

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils will learn the art of portraiture in greater depth. They will learn how artists create expressions, mood and feeling in their portraits using facial features, colour, lighting and props.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to create observational sketches of urban environments and use annotations to support your artistic ideas.

Key Notes

  • Urban environments offer a rich source of visual inspiration for artists.
  • Visual research involves observing, sketching, and annotating ideas from the world around us.
  • Textures, patterns, and shapes can be used to communicate the look and feel of urban spaces.
  • Drawing from observation helps develop attention to detail.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • urban: relating to a city or town; often busy, built-up areas with lots of human activity
  • observation: the process of looking closely at something to notice details for recording in drawing
  • texture: how something feels when it is touched
  • annotation: notes added to sketches to explain ideas, describe textures, or record thoughts
  • inspiration: the process of being mentally stimulated by something to create new ideas

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Urban art is just graffiti or vandalism.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the lesson in two key points.

Urban environments offer a rich source of visual inspiration for artists. Visual research involves observing, sketching, and annotating ideas from the world around us.

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

relating to a city or town; often busy, built-up areas with lots of human activity.

3. Correct this common mistake.

Mistake: Urban art is just graffiti or vandalism. Correction: Urban art includes many creative and meaningful responses to city life - from murals and installations to Fine Art inspired by architecture. It can be legal, expressive, and community-based.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 6 Art and design guide library.