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 refine and prepare a drawing of an insect for print.

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 keywords we'll be using today are sketch, or sketching, and texture.

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

Sketch.

Texture.

Good job.

Now let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean.

Let's take a look at each of their definitions.

Sketching means making quick and simple drawings to show ideas or the things we see.

Texture is the feel or appearance of a surface.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson: drawing the main shapes of insects, and adding details and preparing for print.

In the first learning cycle, we're going to draw the main shapes of insects.

You may remember creating drawings of your insects, and you'll need those drawings for this lesson.

Andeep and Sofia are looking over their insect drawings.

Here's one of them, the spider here.

When designing your insect for printing, it's best to keep the drawing simple so the details show clearly.

How can you make this drawing more simple? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? How could we make this drawing more simple? Which bits would we focus on? Well, you can simplify it by focusing on the main shapes and lines and leaving out small details that might not print clearly.

So can you see here in this drawing how we've picked out just the main shapes and lines, making it look much more simple? That means it will print much more clearly.

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

When designing your insects for printing, what is the best way to make sure the details show clearly? To add lots of tiny patterns and textures all over the insect.

To use light pencil lines and lots of shading.

To keep the drawing simple by focusing on main shapes and lines.

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 when you're designing your insect for printing, the best way to show the details clearly is to keep the drawing simple by focusing on main shapes and lines, you're absolutely right, well done.

For this timed drawing exercise, you're going to need a whiteboard and pen or a sketchbook and pencil.

And remember, your drawings do not need to be perfect.

Okay, let's have a go at these exercises.

So, we're going to draw the butterfly's head.

Okay? That top section there.

Can you see with the purple? So, I'd like you to draw the butterfly's head, and you've got 30 seconds.

Pause the video here, give yourself 30 seconds, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Well, hopefully you noticed that it has a small round shape for the head with two antennae.

Can you see from that drawing there how quick the sketch has been done just to capture the butterfly's head? Well done.

Now draw the thorax and abdomen.

So can you see the purple drawing on top of this butterfly here? That's where the thorax and abdomen is.

So, pause the video here and give yourself 30 seconds to draw the thorax and the abdomen, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Well, you might have noticed that the thorax is slightly longer and oval-shaped.

So can you see here we've got the butterfly's head? And now we've got the thorax and abdomen.

Now draw one wing shape.

So can you see here the outline that's been drawn in purple? I'd like you to just sketch one wing.

30 seconds.

So pause the video here, give yourself 30 seconds to sketch one wing, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Well, you may have noticed that the wing curves and has some sharp edges.

Well done for having a go at sketching that one wing.

When sketching, identifying, and drawing shapes, it can lead to more accurate drawing.

What shapes can you see in this spider? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you see? Could you see any circular shapes? Well, like highlighted here on top, you can see that we've got almost an oval shape for the body there, and then those long thin shapes on each of the legs.

And you can make your sketch stand out by drawing some lines darker and thicker.

So here are those outline shapes of that spider there.

And you could then go over the top and outline some darker, thicker areas.

To create a simplified design of your insect, follow these steps.

Look closely at your insect photo.

Spot the main shapes, like the body, wings, and legs.

And draw just the outline using clear, bold lines.

And leave out any tiny or tricky details that may not print very well.

And check your design.

Is it clear and easy to see? Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What is the best way to start your insect drawing for printing? Is it to fill the page with tiny details and light, sketchy lines? Is it to use colourful paints to decorate the insect? Is it to shade the insect heavily to make it look more realistic? Or is it to draw the outline using clear, bold lines and focus on the main shapes? 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 the best way to start drawing your insect for printing is to draw the outline using clear, bold lines and to focus on the main shapes, you're absolutely right, well done.

This brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to draw the main shapes of insects.

Choose three different insects from the photograph selection, and for each one, draw only the main shapes, the body, wings, and head.

And you could use bold lines to outline each shape clearly.

And remember, do not add any small details yet.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at this task, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Well, you may have drawn the main shapes clearly using bold lines, and here's some examples.

Can you work out which insects they are just by looking at these main shapes? Hopefully you can.

Can you spot the ant or the spider? Well, well done for having a go at drawing the main shapes of insects.

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

We're going to be adding details and preparing for our print.

What makes this drawing stand out? What features do you want to highlight in your print? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What do you think? What stands out in this drawing? Is it the spiky bits at the bottom of the wings, or is it the circles on the wings? Well, to make your drawing ready for print, you can also add textures that will show up clearly when printed.

Remember, texture is the feel or appearance of a surface.

To show texture of your insect, you can use lines, dots, or bold patterns.

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

You can use lines, dots, patterns, or a combination of these to show the special details of your insect.

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.

Using lines, dots, and patterns are some ways to show texture, shape, and detail in your drawing.

Think about what you want to include in your final print.

Look closely at your photograph again.

And think about which details really make your insect special.

Is it the patterns on its wings, the texture on its body, or maybe the shape of its legs? Looking at this ant here, it hasn't got any wings.

It has got some legs that could maybe be interesting.

But looking at the body, we can see some interesting texture there that we could include.

"I think I want to keep the butterfly's wings really bold with lots of lines and spots.

They'll really stand out when I print it." "And I'm focusing on the ladybird's spots and legs.

I think the spots are the focus for the ladybird, so I'm going to make them even bigger." So these are some ideas for printing the insects here from Andeep and Sofia.

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

Tiny details might not be a good idea in a print because they might not show up clearly.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video here and have a quick discussion with your partner, and press play when you're ready to continue.

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

Remember, when making a print, it's better to keep your drawing simple and clear.

Tiny details can be hard to see once printed, so focusing on bold lines and main shapes will help your design to stand out.

This now brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to add some details and prepare for your print.

So look closely at the photograph of the insect you've chosen.

Then add details to your drawing.

Focus on things like antennae, legs, patterns, or any textures you want to include, such as dots, dashes, or shading.

Make sure your details are clear and bold enough to show up in the print.

And then once you've done that, I'd like you to discuss with a partner why you chose that insect.

What makes it interesting to you? And how can you bring out the best details in your print? So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at adding details and preparing for your print by following each of these steps, and press play when you're ready to continue.

How did you get on? Were you able to look closely at your photograph of your insect and pick out those details that would work for your print, making sure that they are clear and bold enough? Well, you should have added clear details like antennae, legs, and patterns to make your insect drawing more interesting.

But also, you need to remember the details you add should be bold and easy to see when printed.

So if you look at this example here, we can clearly see the main body, the antennae, and the wings of this butterfly, but there is also some detail in the circles that have been added.

We've got some larger ones, some smaller ones, and also some line detail that's been included there to add that texture as well.

So it's interesting, but it's also really clear and bold.

And then when you discussed with a partner why you chose your insect, maybe you said something like this, "I chose this ladybird because I think the spots on its back will look cool in the print.

The pattern will stand out really well." Or maybe like Sofia, you said, "I picked the butterfly.

I like the wings, and I want to add some lines and dots to make it look more detailed.

I think it will look nice when I print it." So hopefully you were able to discuss with your partner why you chose your insect, why it interested you, or why you thought it would make a really good print.

Well done for having a go at adding those details and preparing for your print.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about refining and preparing drawings for print.

Sketching the main shapes first and simplifying details makes the design clearer for printing.

And adding details like patterns and textures helps to make the insect design more interesting and ready for print.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time!.