Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today all about insects through drawing and printmaking.

We're going to do lots of thinking, talking, and exploring together in this lesson.

So shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to create a repeating pattern using an insect motif.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keywords.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The key words we'll be using today are printmaking, print, motif.

I'm gonna say those again and I would like you to repeat them after me.

Printmaking.

Print.

Motif.

Good job.

Now, let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean by taking a look at their definitions.

Printmaking means making pictures by pressing a design from a block, plate, or screen onto paper or fabric.

Printing is a way of making a copy of something.

And a motif is a repeated pattern, image, or theme.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords.

When you're ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we working through together in today's lesson.

Creating a repeating pattern and creating a repeating pattern with colour.

In this first learning cycle, we're going to have a go at creating a repeating pattern.

Where have you seen repeating patterns? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? When have you maybe seen a repeating pattern? Well, Lucas says, "Some of my clothes have repeating patterns on them." And perhaps, some of your clothes do too.

A motif is a repeated pattern, image, or theme.

What is the motif in this image here? Pause the video and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you're ready to continue.

What is the motif here? That's right, they are butterflies.

Now, the butterfly is the motif because it is the shape that repeats to make the pattern.

You see, there are lots of different butterflies repeated here.

For this lesson, you'll need a printing tray or a flat waterproof surface.

You need a roller and you need some printing ink.

You'll also need your insect foam plate.

Artists often repeat a print to make it more interesting, and there are several ways to repeat your print.

You could have a straight repeat by placing prints in rows like this, but Lucas asks, "How can I make sure my prints line up neatly each time?" Hmm, that's a good question.

Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, what do you think.

And press play when you are ready to continue.

How can we make sure that they are neat? Well, when creating a straight repeat, carefully spacing and alignment keeps prints even.

It also prevents gaps or overlaps for a clear and balanced pattern.

And you could do this by using a ruler, marking light guidelines, and carefully lining up each print.

You can see the ruler underneath here.

You could also do a rotated repeat, turning your print in different directions.

Can you see this example here, how the butterfly is rotating? Another example is a mirrored repeat that's flipping your printing plate each time up or down or side to side.

So like this or like this.

Which one do you prefer here? Up or down or side to side.

Images show repeating patterns.

Explain how you know to a partner.

So which ones of these show repeating patterns A, B, or, C? And explain how you know to your partner.

Pause the video here and give yourself enough time and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that images A, and B show repeating patterns, you're absolutely right.

A is an example of a mirrored repeat, and B is an example of rotated repeat.

This brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to have a go at creating a repeated pattern using your foam plate, and you can experiment with different ways to repeat your motif.

You could either do a straight repeat where you line them up neatly.

You could do a rotated repeat, turning the motif in different directions.

You could do a mirrored repeat flipping the motif.

Make sure you print your motif multiple times to create an interesting pattern.

So have a think now about what repeating pattern you'd like to have a go at first and really think about which one you preferred when you get the chance to experiment.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to create a repeating pattern using your foam plate and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Which pattern did you enjoy the most? Have you chosen to go with rotated repeats or with straight repeat? Well, hopefully, you've experimented.

The straight repeat keeps your foam plate in a nice neat order.

The rotated repeat allows you to turn your motif.

And then we've got the mirror flip here, and this is the up and down.

So which one of those did you like? I think, I liked the idea of the rotated repeat being able to show my butterfly almost in flight by turning it each time.

And I bet the straight repeat can be a bit tricky to get it neat and all in an orderly line.

But well done for having a go at creating a repeating pattern.

And hopefully, you've decided which one you prefer to do.

This now brings us to the second part of our lesson.

We're going to have a go at creating a repeating pattern with colour.

Artists can use colour to make their prints look more interesting.

And there are different techniques for how this can be done.

Taking a look at this colour wheel here, we've got lots of exciting colours to choose from.

Yinka Shonibare is a British-Nigerian artist.

He uses bright colours and patterns, and he often works with African-inspired fabrics and paisley patterns, for example, in his sculptural series, "Decolonized Structures," 2022 to '23.

His art tells stories about identity and culture.

How can Yinka Shonibare's use of colour inspire your insect print? Take a look at this paisley fabric and pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and then press play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? How could his use of colour inspire your insect print? Well, Lucas says, "I like the way the colours stand out against the black background." Yes, they really pop from that black background, don't they? Artists can use hot and cold colours to create their prints, which makes their work more interesting.

So we've got the cold colours on this side here, the purples and the blues and the hot colours, the red, the orange, and the yellow.

Cold colours can make an artwork seem more calm, peaceful, or distant.

While hot colours can make an artwork feel more warm, lively, or energetic.

Using both hot and cold colours in an artwork can create contrast.

So for example, using blue and using orange.

Jun reflects on his print, "I like my beetle print, but I could use more contrast or different colours like Yinka Shonibare, to make it stand out more." What colours could Jun choose to use? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Maybe some green and red, or perhaps, some blue and orange, that would create quite the contrast.

Well, Jun experiments choosing brighter, colder colours and repeating patterns.

So for A, he's gone for these bright greens.

For B, he's had a go at creating a different type of pattern.

So he's got the straight pattern in A, and in B, he's got that rotating pattern.

And C, he's had a go at doing the straight pattern, but he's introduced a new colour.

He's got green and blue.

And then with D, he's also had a go at introducing that new colour and had a go at the rotating pattern.

Which of these patterns do you prefer and why? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Well, I think I quite like C.

I like the difference in colour, but I like the nice, straight, neat pattern.

Experimenting with colour and repeating patterns can make prints more bold and exciting.

Before changing colours, it is important to wash and dry your foam plate, but be careful not to snap the foam.

You can use a damp cloth to clean the plate gently.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

You need to wash your foam plate before changing colours.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that's true, you're absolutely right.

You should wash your plate before changing colours to keep the prints clean and avoid mixing colours.

So if I were to have a go now, I've chosen two colours to create a straight repeat pattern in print.

When printing the first colour, I need to leave spaces for the second print.

So there we go.

I've had a go at those two purple.

And then can you see how the blue has been inserted into those spaces afterwards? So I'm going to use the purple ink first before I wash off for the blue.

So you have a go now, choose two colours to create a straight repeat pattern in print.

And when printing the first colour, leave the space for the second print.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to do this and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Well, hopefully, you were able to create your print and maybe you chose a different colour to me like this example of the blue and the green.

And you could choose one colour or create a gradient.

To do this, you place both colours next to each other on your inking tray, but don't have them touching just yet.

Then use a roller to spread each colour until it's smooth and makes a sticky sound.

Then use a clean roller to roll across where the two colours meet.

Can you see in the image there how the roller is picking up half and half of those colours and creating that gradient in the middle.

Keep rolling back and forth to blend them in the middle, you'll see a gradient appear.

So to make your print, you gently roll the ink from one end of the plate to the other, so the gradient transfers.

Then place the plate face down onto paper and rub or press down evenly, lift carefully to reveal your print.

Like this example here.

Can you see how it's picked up the gradient of those colours? How has the artist used space between the butterflies to make the pattern? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press play when you're ready to continue.

So what did you think? Well, the artist has left space between each butterfly to make it neat, and then they have filled the gaps with black ones to make it look fuller.

Jun says, "I think printing a darker colour with a lighter colour makes my design contrast more." You can see how those butterflies really stand out.

Contrast means difference between light and dark.

The dark colour and light colours are so different, they make the design stand out.

How could you improve this print to make the pattern clearer? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Well, you could make the butterflies the same distance apart so they do not overlap like this one at the top here.

This now brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to create a repeat pattern print using contrasting colours.

Select your colour palette considering colour contrast.

You could consider the use of colour of artists such as Yinka Shonibare.

Use between two to three contrasting colours.

Consider creating a gradient of colour and consider hot and cold colours.

And then select which form of repeated pattern you would like to choose.

Mirrored flip repeat, straight repeat, or rotated repeat.

Then use your foam printing plate to create your repeat pattern using colour, make sure you roll ink evenly over your plate.

You apply even pressure when printing.

You keep your hands clean and you're careful not to move the plate when printing to avoid smudges, then reflect and discuss with your partner which style of pattern do you like best and why? How successful was your choice of colour? How successful was your print? And finally, what would you like to improve about your print? So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to go through each of those four steps of creating a repeating pattern with those contrasting colours and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Were you able to choose your colours and then your pattern and have a go at creating that print before reflecting on how it went? Well, let's take a look at this example, shall we? So first of all, you should have chosen a colour palette.

So here, this artist has chosen two colours to create a gradient because they've been inspired by the bright use of colour and contrast in Yinka Shonibare's work.

Then if you selected your form of repeat pattern, maybe you had a go at a pattern like this one, and hopefully, you used your foam plate to have a go at creating a different design.

Can you see on this one, we've got a repeating pattern and we've applied that firm even pressure to get really good, clear prints.

And we've also got a contrasting colour.

We've got these light colours in the gradient, but also a black that really pops against those light colours.

And then reflecting on how it went, maybe you said, "I like the mirrored flip repeat best because it makes the pattern look like a kaleidoscope.

My choice of colour was really successful because the yellow contrasted well with the black." Or maybe, you reflected on what you wanted to do next time.

Maybe next time, I want to improve my printing so the shapes line up better.

I could use a ruler.

I did use hot and cold colours like in Yinka Shonibare's series, "Decolonized Structures." So well done for having a go at creating a repeated pattern with those contrasting colours.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about making a repeat pattern print.

Artists can use a printing block multiple times to create a continuous design.

Artists can explore symmetry, rotation, and spacing to develop an effective repeat pattern.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.