Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

I hope you're doing well today.

My name is Esther, also known as Miss Esther.

I'm an artist and art teacher, and I'm here today to share our lesson, Charcoal worlds: draw, smudge, imagine.

It's part of our unit, Imagine spaces and shared stories.

Fantastic.

Let's get started.

Our outcome for the lesson will be that you can use charcoal to create an imagined place.

Charcoal is one of my all-time favorite materials to use.

We have some keywords for our lesson.

I'll say them first.

You say them after me.

We have charcoal.

We have smudge.

And we have atmosphere.

Well done.

Brilliant.

Charcoal is a black, crumbly art material made from burnt wood.

Smudge is a blurry mark made when something like charcoal is robbed or smeared.

You might have used that technique before.

Atmosphere is the mood or feeling created in an artwork.

We'll have a look at our lesson outline now.

We will be trying different ways to use charcoal.

It'll be very experimental and exciting.

Inventing our own place with shapes, and changing a drawing to show atmosphere.

We'll start with trying different ways to use charcoal.

We'll have a look at the material first.

What is this material called? Some of you might know the answer to this already.

Pause the video and have a conversation with a partner about what you think this material is called.

Well done for sharing your ideas.

I also wondered if any of you thought about what the material was made from.

This material is charcoal.

Charcoal is made by burning wood slowly with very little oxygen.

It can be used in many different ways by artists to make marks.

Izzy is going to try different ways of using charcoal.

She starts by folding her paper into four sections.

There's the flat paper.

Izzy folds the paper in half once, leaves it folded, and then folds it in half again.

Izzy says, "When I fold my paper, I try to match up the corners so each section is the same size." Smart thinking, Izzy.

She then unfolds her paper, and I can see the lines where the fold lines were, Izzy's created her four sections.

Izzy says, "I can use a pencil to draw over each fold so that I know where each section is." Great.

Good thinking.

We'll find out a little bit more about how Izzy has folded her paper and the process that Izzy used.

Starting off with a full sheet of paper and then folding it in half longways vertically, and then folding it in half horizontally, resulting in our four sections of folded paper.

Pause the video and have a think about what Izzy did next to her paper.

Great thinking, everybody.

You might have considered how Izzy folded her paper.

You fold your paper into four sections and then try to match up the corners so each section is the same size, and then use a pencil to draw over your fold lines to make those sections really clear and easy to see.

Fantastic work.

Now, it's time for us to explore one of my favorite materials, charcoal.

Charcoal is a special material because it's soft and it's smooth to use.

Charcoal is different to pencil as it's less sharp and can make darker marks.

Charcoal can also be easily erased and moved around by an artist.

Izzy's going to start to explore the different ways she can make marks with charcoal.

Looking really exciting, Izzy.

Izzy says, "I have rubbed a patch of charcoal dust and blended it with my fingers in this section." Well, I think I can see some finger marks.

Now, Izzy tries another to make marks in the next section of her paper.

This looks very exciting.

I wonder how Izzy has done this.

Izzy says, "Here, I have used a rubber to draw by taking away charcoal." Really fantastic techniques, gives some very interesting, strong white lines in the charcoal.

Amazing.

Well done, Izzy.

And here's another way that Izzy is using her charcoal.

Izzy says, "I'm drawing a never-ending spiral! I'm trying not to lift my hand from the paper." How cool is that? What a great way to draw.

And yet another way Izzy's found of experimenting and exploring the charcoal.

Izzy says, "I've drawn shapes, almost like bricks.

I'm going to smudge the edges so the shapes have more depth." I wonder what she means by that, "smudge the edges so the shapes have more depth." Oh, I see.

When we look here, it looks like Izzy's used her fingers again to do some smudging around the edges of her shapes, and it does make them pop out.

They look almost like stones.

We'll have a check for understanding now.

Thinking about how charcoal is different to pencil, is it A, charcoal is harder and makes lighter lines than a pencil? Is it B, charcoal is softer and makes darker marks than a pencil? Or is it C, charcoal cannot be erased, but a pencil can? Pause the video and talk to someone nearby about what you think.

Is it A, B, or C? You might have come up with B, charcoal is softer and makes darker marks than a pencil.

If you use a pencil, pencils could make sharper, more precise marks.

Well done for thinking about how two materials are different and used for different things by artists.

Fantastic.

We're now ready for task A, trying different ways to use charcoal, being explorative and experimental.

Let's have a reminder of how we might work.

We can blend charcoal with our fingers or use a rubber to draw by taking away the charcoal.

You could draw a never-ending spiral or smudge the edges of some shapes so they have more depth.

Pause the video and enjoy markmaking using charcoal.

You might have drawn a never-ending spiral, used a rubber to draw by taking away the charcoal, blended charcoal with your fingers and layered over some different lines, or smudged the edges of shapes so they have more depth.

Fantastic work.

It's really interesting to see what charcoal can do.

We are now going on to our next part of our lesson today, which is inventing a place with shapes.

I'm very excited to see what places we can dream up together.

What's happening here? Very bouncy.

(chuckles) William Kentridge is an artist who builds imagined worlds using charcoal and simple shapes.

He starts by drawing with charcoal on paper, making people, places, and stories with his marks.

Instead of making lots of drawings, he changes the same drawing over and over.

He rubs out parts and draws again on top, taking a photograph each time.

These photos become like a film, showing movement and action.

He uses charcoal smudges, lines, and shadows to create feelings, places, and ideas from his imagination.

We'll have a quick check for understanding.

True or false? Artists must draw what they see in front of them.

Pause the video and press play when you've thought about your answer.

Interesting sharing of ideas.

The answer was false.

We'll find out why the answer was false now.

Artists such as William Kentridge build imagined worlds using charcoal and simple shapes.

So someone like him, an artist like him, is not drawing exactly what they see in front of them all of the time.

You might start by thinking about simple shapes and materials you could use in your invented space.

Izzy says, "I really like the simple lines that show an idea of doorways and stairs." You might be interested in sketching doorways or stairs, stepping up or stepping down, depending on which way you see it, or towers to create buildings to look like a city.

Izzy says, "I will layer charcoal over my simple shapes and lines." You can work back into your drawing with charcoal.

To do this, you might use smudging techniques with a finger, shading techniques, maybe going back and forth with your charcoal, add some depth, marks to show some texture or very, very soft lines.

Izzy says, "I can use a paintbrush to soften the lines." Good thinking, Izzy.

We're going to have a quick check for understanding, just thinking about what Izzy said.

Which tool might be helpful to soften the lines of your charcoal? Is it A, a paintbrush, B, a pencil, or C, a plastic clay tool? Pause the video and point to the screen and share your ideas with somebody working next to you.

Great if you got the answer A.

The gentle bristles of a paintbrush can be helpful when softening the marks made by charcoal.

We're ready to start task B, inventing a place with charcoal shapes.

I'm really excited to do this activity with you.

Think about simple shapes you could use in your invented space.

Doesn't have to be complicated.

You might sketch doorways, stairs, towers, or create buildings to look like a city.

Work back into your drawing with charcoal.

Pause the video and have a great time building some shapes and places from your amazing imaginations.

Fantastic work.

I love that you've carried on exploring the charcoal.

When you did this activity, you might have made soft marks with a paintbrush, like this artist.

You might also have used smudging, shading, marks to show texture, and soft lines.

We'll do our next learning cycle now, which is our last one, changing a drawing to show atmosphere.

Some artists create atmosphere within their work.

We can see these drawings here.

They look very moody to me.

This means they make the artwork feel a certain way, such as quiet, spooky, happy, or busy.

They do this by using things like light and dark, colors, shapes, and line.

Let's just take a moment to look at these four images and think about what to us is the mood in them.

It might be a different feeling for all of us, and that's why art is so fantastic.

Dark shadows and smudgy lines might make a picture feel mysterious, while bright colors and smooth shapes can make it feel cheerful.

Atmosphere helps tell the story or mood of a picture.

With atmospheric artworks, we do not just see it.

We can almost feel it too.

I'm not sure how I would feel being in this artwork.

We're going to think about the work of an amazing artist now.

Kathe Kollwitz created atmosphere in her art by using dark tones, strong lines, and deep shadows.

She often worked in black and white, which made her pictures feel serious, quiet, and emotional.

Izzy made an artwork with a similar atmosphere to Kathe Kollwitz.

Izzy says, "I used a photocopy of my first artwork." That's a brilliant idea, to photocopy your artwork, Izzy.

"I used charcoal to create clouds, rain, wind, and stormy skies." It looks like a very uncomfortable place to be.

She's smudged her work to show atmosphere and to show energy as well.

Amazing work, Izzy.

Well done.

We'll have a check for understanding here.

What do you think? Charcoal is just for coloring or outlines.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think about it, and press play when you're ready with your answer.

Interesting conversations.

The answer is false.

Why is it false? We will find out some more.

Charcoal is a powerful tool for mood and space.

It can create atmosphere.

We're going to think about an incredible artist's work now.

William Kentridge uses marks to show time passing in his artworks.

Here's Izzy.

Izzy starts by drawing a simple object, a simple moving object such as a bird or ball, onto a photocopy of her drawing.

Izzy says, "I chose a dot as I liked its simple, clear shape." Great choice, Izzy.

She takes a photograph of her artwork after she has drawn her first dot.

That's dot one.

Izzy says, "I'm using a tablet to take photographs on." She then rubs out the dot and redraws it slightly further on.

This is Izzy's first drawing, drawing one.

And then we have drawing two.

The second drawing.

Can you see how the dot has moved down? Izzy says, "I take a photograph after every drawing." Wow, Izzy.

That's lots of work.

Well done.

Izzy repeats this process until she has a sequence of photographs.

There's one.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Pause the video and talk to someone nearby about how each photograph is different.

It's like doing spot the difference.

Izzy says, "I've taken lots of photographs, rubbing out my dot each time." She's now made a sequence of photographs showing time passing, because we know the dot is moving through time.

We could count it together.

One, two, three, four, five.

Izzy says, "If I sequence them together on a digital program, I can make an animation." That's very, very cool.

Now, we'll have a check for understanding.

Which image shows a moody or mysterious atmosphere? Is it image A? And that's a very interesting and colorful image of some squares.

Is it image B? We have a black and white image with some lines.

Is it image C? We have three colors in this image with a kind of spiral shape.

Pause the video and have a think about what image to you is moody or mysterious.

Is it A, B, or C? Well done if you got B.

Dark tones and gestural marks can be used to show a moody or mysterious atmosphere.

So, ready for task C, everyone, changing a drawing to show atmosphere.

Use weather to add atmosphere to a photocopy of your artwork.

The reason we're using a photocopy is so that we don't smudge the original drawing, remembering this is charcoal and that's what it likes to do, is smudge.

When you do this, you might use charcoal to create clouds, rain, wind, and stormy skies, use a rubber to show wind and rain, smudge your artwork to show atmosphere and energy.

Pause the video and enjoy changing your charcoal drawing again and putting in some weather.

I wonder if it will be stormy or peaceful weather that you will choose.

Amazing work.

What great atmospheres you have created using all your gestural marks.

When you did your drawing, you might have used charcoal to create clouds, rain, wind, and stormy skies, used a rubber to show wind and rain, smudged your work to show atmosphere and energy.

We can carry on with task C, creating a sequence of photographs that show time passing.

When you carry on, remember to choose a simple shape of a moving object, take a photograph before rubbing out your drawing, so if you're drawing the dot, you photograph it every single time you draw it before you rub it out again.

Pause the video so you can explore how to make a movement that shows time is passing using charcoal.

Fantastic work.

When your sequence of photographs are joined together, it may look like your drawing is moving.

Well done, everybody, for working so hard in our art lesson today.

We'll just go through a summary of all the work we have done today.

First of all, we looked at how charcoal can be used in many different ways, smudging, shading, erasing, and layering to our experimental drawings.

And then we considered and really thought about how artists use marks, shapes, and atmosphere to build places and tell a story.

And you created your own amazing imaginary worlds to draw in with charcoal.

Last of all, we experimented with animation and looked at how animation or atmosphere can transform a still drawing, maybe through weather, maybe through something moving.

Incredible work, everyone.

You've been a joy to spend time with today, and I hope to see you in another art lesson very soon.

Goodbye for now.