Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping.

And I'm really looking forward to learning with you today about new pop art through sculpture and mixed media.

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 develop ideas in your sketchbook using drawing, annotation, and experimentation.

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 sketchbook, development, experimentation, annotation.

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

Sketchbook.

Development.

Experimentation.

Annotation.

Good job.

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

A sketchbook is a space where artists explore, experiment, and plan their ideas.

Development refers to the process of growing or improving an idea, trying different versions.

Experimentation means trying out different styles, materials, and compositions to see what works best.

And annotation are written notes explaining artistic choices or ideas.

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

These are the learning cycles that we're working through together in today's lesson, generating ideas through sketching and developing an idea through sketching.

So in this first learning cycle, we're going to have a go at generating ideas through sketching.

How do artists explore ideas before making final works? 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, artists use sketchbooks to add in lots of different ideas.

Talk to a partner about how you think sketchbooks are used.

Who do you agree with? Aisha says, "They are used to record ideas." Jacob says, "Sketchbooks should only be used for making finished pieces of art." Alex says, "Notes, observations, and imagination." And Andeep says, "I think they don't have to be perfect." Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner about how you think sketchbooks are used, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? Who did you agree with? Well, like Aisha says, they are used to record ideas.

And like Andeep, they don't have to be perfect.

And they can also include notes, observation, and imagination, like Alex has mentioned.

Artists don't just draw, they explore.

A sketchbook is where artists test out their ideas, practise techniques, and plan compositions.

It's a personal and creative space, not just for neat drawings.

Experimentation is encouraged.

Sketching helps artists refine ideas through trial and error.

They might ask questions during this process like: what if I can change this? What works better? Sketchbooks help us explore these types of questions visually.

You can see here in this image that this artist is sketching different designs, maybe choosing different colours or different patterns to see which works best.

Pop art might at times look simple, but it is carefully planned.

Pop artists choose bold colours, repetition, and popular images for a reason.

In sketchbooks, we can plan how to use these features to express our own ideas and messages.

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

What is the main purpose of a sketchbook? To make only finished drawings, to copy famous artworks, to practise handwriting, to explore and develop your ideas.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about the answer to this question, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that the main purpose of a sketchbook is to explore and develop your ideas, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

Idea development means making small changes, trying alternatives, and finding out what works best.

You can use your sketchbook to explore ideas, experiment with techniques, and develop your art.

Sketchbooks help to generate ideas and explore different ways that they could be brought to life.

In this example, the same idea is changed through colour and composition.

Making these creative decisions through sketching can then inform a final piece later on.

So take a look at the sketchbook designs here of a dove flying.

Can you see that the artist has changed the way that the dove's wings are placed, how it's in flight? And they've also explored those different colours.

Annotations are notes that explain your ideas.

Adding annotations also helps us to explain our creative choices and thinking process.

Making three to four small sketch variations lets you test things quickly.

It's okay if some look messy.

The process helps you to think visually.

It doesn't need to look like a neat, finished drawing.

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

What does annotation mean in art? Colouring neatly inside the lines, writing notes to explain your ideas, drawing large outlines only, using a ruler to label shapes.

Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think about the answer to this question, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that an annotation in art means writing notes to explain your ideas, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

Now, you may remember that pop art is an artistic movement inspired by pop culture.

Can you think of any features of pop art? 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 you said bold colours, or repetition, or maybe even the use of those everyday objects.

Pop art often features those bright, bold colours, the repetition of images, the celebrities or the product imagery, or flat shapes with clean, bold outlines.

And also, pop art uses mixed media, like sculpture, painting, collage, printing, and drawing.

Now discuss with a partner pop art ideas you could explore through sketching.

Pause the video here and have a discussion, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What pop art ideas would you explore? Well, Sofia says, "I like the idea of having symbols from popular culture, like emojis, planets, or clocks melting in an ice cream cone.

I could sketch these ideas to see which one works best." And Jun says, "I might sketch different logos and brands but change the text to something else that is playful and funny." This brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to sketch an idea for a pop art piece in at least three different ways.

In each sketch, you should change the colours, try different layouts or compositions, and use annotations or describe what is different about each sketch.

Now, remember, they don't have to be perfect and neat.

They can be a bit messy.

This is your chance to have a go at experimenting.

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

How did you get on? Shall we take a look at an example? So like Sofia's ideas here, she said, "I sketched three different designs based on melting ice cream and ice lolly ideas.

I used emojis, a smartphone, and an Earth to represent different possibilities." So you can see those there.

She's had a go at those different designs, including those different symbols and different pop art examples.

So well done for having a go at sketching an idea for your pop art piece in at least three different ways.

This now brings us to the second part of our lesson, where we're going to be developing an idea through sketching.

Looking back helps you to move forward.

Good ideas often come from developing themes and ideas you've already established.

Artists review their sketchbook pages to spot strengths and weaknesses.

After reviewing your sketchbook, you might be able to make a refined plan using the most effective parts.

You don't need to choose just one sketch to develop and refine.

Maybe you like the colours in one version but the composition in another.

Use your final planning sketch to combine the best bits and the strongest elements to support your idea.

Here's an example of a refined planning page in a sketchbook.

How has the artist explored their idea before sketching the refined composition? 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 has the artist explored their idea before sketching the refined composition? Well, this artist has identified the parts they liked from earlier pages and used them to create a new, more detailed sketch.

So can you see how they've picked up on some of the colours? They've also picked the dove and drawn that in different ways.

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

Why might an artist sketch the same idea in different ways? To waste paper, to waste time, to fill paper, to explore different versions and improve the idea, as a form of decoration.

Pause the video here and give yourself time to think about the answer to this question, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that an artist might sketch the same idea in different ways to explore different versions and improve the idea, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

After sketching several versions of an idea or exploring a concept in your sketchbook, you can build upon this by creating a more developed drawing or artwork.

You can see in this sketchbook here some drawings of everyday objects.

What can you see here? You've got a mug, some scissors, a little Lego figure, some glasses, some pencils, lots of different things.

Annotations can be used to capture your thoughts and ideas around sketches.

You might comment on the colour choices, the composition, the style and technique, and the meaning or the symbolism.

You can see this sketchbook here has some painted landscapes.

Can you see the annotations that have been added onto the page? Sketchbooks are working spaces.

They're for exploring and experimenting, not perfecting.

Artists use them to test, plan, and reflect, not to make polished work, and so can you.

Your ideas might be inspired by the works of other pop artists.

Jani Leinonen is a Finnish artist who uses a pop art style appropriation of logos and symbols with strong political themes.

Claes Oldenburg is a Swedish-American artist who makes large sculptures of oversized everyday objects, like food.

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

What should you do after sketching several versions of an idea? Reflect and choose the best parts to combine, colour them all in the same way, throw away the ones you don't like, erase them out if they are messy.

Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner, and press play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that you should reflect and choose the best parts to combine after sketching several versions of an idea, you're absolutely right.

Well done.

This now brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to develop one of your sketches from Task A into a refined composition.

You should redraw and refine your idea into a larger, more detailed sketch.

And also add colour.

When you've done that, I'd like you to annotate and explain what your subject matter is, what pop art techniques you are using, what you want the viewer to think or feel in response to your artwork.

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

How did that go? Shall we take a look at an example? So here we've refined this image from Task A, and we've started to add annotations to explain.

So here, adding details on the cone to make it look more realistic.

Here, adding highlights and shadows to make the colours pop.

And could be made into a 3D sculpture in clay or recycled materials like card.

And then you might have said, like Sofia, "I developed my ice cream melting Earth sketch into a more refined drawing.

I used contrast to make it clearer, with highlights and shadows too.

In another sketch, I liked the melted puddle beside the cone, so I added it here too.

The design makes me think about the fragility of the planet in a playful way.

So well done for having a go at developing your idea through sketching.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about sketchbook idea development.

Sketchbooks help artists think through drawing and develop multiple versions of an idea.

Artistic thinking involves trial and error, visual notes, and self-reflection, which can be shown through annotation.

Experimentation leads to stronger, more meaningful final outcomes.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you the next time.