Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you doing today? I hope you're feeling really, really good.

My name's Ms. Afzal, and I will be your art teacher for today.

We are going to be getting into some carving today.

Our lesson is called "Thinking in 3D: Carving with Soap." So we're gonna be moving from sketches and two dimensions into the three-dimensional world, and we will be carving with soap, which is really exciting.

I wonder if you've ever done that before.

And we'll be taking inspiration from the natural world, one area of the natural world in particular, which you will find out about soon.

Our lesson comes from the unit of work, "Being Curious About 3D Design." So I hope you're curious, I hope you've got some enthusiasm, and some soap and carving tools at hand.

If you're all set, we will begin.

The outcome for today's lesson is, "I can create a soap relief carving inspired by insects." Yes, I said we were gonna be taking inspiration from the natural world, and its insects that will be inspiring us today as we create our soap relief carving.

We have some keywords in our lesson.

Let's go through them.

Form, carving, relief, and roughing out.

Let's find out what they each mean.

Form is the structure of an object, referring to three-dimensional space.

Carving is cutting or chipping away from a solid material like wood or stone to shape a three-dimensional form or 3D form.

Relief is a sculpture where shapes are raised from a flat background, not fully 3D.

And roughing out is the early stage of a sculpture where the basic shape is formed before adding detail.

So these are our keywords: form, carving, relief, and roughing out.

Let's be on a lookout for them.

They'll be coming up in our lesson today.

Our lesson is called "Thinking in 3D: Carving with Soap," and it contains two learning cycles: sketching and planning an insect carving, and then carving soap to create a relief sculpture.

Yes, we are getting really practical today and we are gonna create our own carvings with soap.

Hope you're feeling excited about that.

I certainly am.

We'll begin now with sketching and planning an insect carving.

Thinking in 3D is a valuable skill in fields like architecture, design, and art.

We can see some architects, designers, and artists on our screen thinking about what they're gonna create.

And can you think of any examples of thinking in 3D for design? Pause the video and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

I wonder what you came up with.

Maybe designing a building, or I had to think in 3D one time when I was designing a kitchen where I lived, taking the plans off of two-dimensional space and really getting into thinking in 3D.

Thinking and sketching in 3D helps you: imagine and plan real things, consider different angles, build understanding of depth and form.

And remember, form is the structure of an object referring to three-dimensional space as opposed to simply something that's flat and two-dimensional.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Why is thinking in 3D a valuable skill in fields like architecture, design, and art? Is it A, it helps you imagine and plan real things? B, it helps you memorise facts more quickly? Or C, it is irrelevant to these fields? Pause the video while you share your answer with someone nearby.

Well done if you selected answer A, thinking in 3D is a valuable skill in fields like architecture, design, and art because it helps you imagine and plan real things.

How might we draw differently when thinking in 3D? Pause the video and share with someone.

I wonder what ideas you came up with.

Let's hear from Sofia.

"We could use contour lines and perspective." Really great thinking.

And Lucas, "We might draw lots of different sides of an object." Yeah, we can take a look at it from different angles.

Sketching 3D objects from different angles can help in understanding depth and form.

In this lesson, we'll be designing and creating a relief sculpture from soap, inspired by insects.

A relief is where shapes are raised from a flat background.

This means the base of the soap will not be carved, so the base will remain flat, but the rest of the soap will be carved.

Can you think of any local relief carvings? Pause the video and share with someone nearby.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

And perhaps if you're living in the same area, then you may know some of the same local relief carvings.

Artists and designers who've been inspired by insects in their sculptures include: Nicola Hicks created "Beetle" 1999 inspired by the Rhinoceros Beetle, which is installed in Bristol.

Gary and Thomas Thrussel have created a series of metal insect sculptures.

Amador Montes' "El lago de las tipulas" 2022 is a series of giant mosquito sculptures.

And Kate Kato manipulates paper to create a wide range of insects.

So many artists and designers have been inspired by humble insects.

Let's have a check for understanding.

How can sketching 3D objects from different angles help when creating sculptures? A, it can help plan how to create the object more accurately.

B, it helps you understand the shape and depth of the object.

C, it's good practise to improve your drawing skills.

D, it requires the use of tone to create the illusion of 3D.

Pause the video while you decide how sketching 3D objects from different angles helps when creating sculptures.

Perhaps you came up with these answers.

Sketching 3D objects from different angles helps when creating sculptures because it can help you plan how to create an object more accurately, and it helps you understand the shape and depth of the object.

Well done if you selected these answers.

Artists can work from a 2D image to design the depth and 3D form in their work.

So here we have a 2D photo of an insect.

Here's an observational drawing, and here we have some sketches planning the 3D form.

Pause the video and share with someone what is the difference between the observational drawing and the sketches planning the 3D form.

Thanks for sharing your responses.

Perhaps you noticed that the observational drawing has a lot of detail on it, has shading, quite detailed, whereas the sketches are a lot simpler and have just some simple bold lines.

Take a look at these drawings.

So we have a few different perspectives.

We have the top of the insect, the back, and the front.

Notice how the shapes in each image create the slope of the surface in 3D.

We can break down complex forms into simpler shapes to make the object easier to understand.

So we have our quite complex, very detailed, beautiful drawing of the insect.

And here we have the sketch.

These simplified shapes can be translated onto a material such as soap before carving begins.

Let's check for understanding.

True or false? Artists only use detailed, complex drawing in their sculpture planning.

Pause the video and decide whether this is true or false.

Well done if you selected false.

Now I'd like you to say a little bit more about your answer.

Pause the video while you do this.

Perhaps you said something like this.

While artists might make detailed and complex drawings as part of their process, they can break down complex forms into simpler shapes to make the object easier to understand.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to draw an insect to understand the depth and 3D form.

And I'd like you to capture at least three angles, the front, side, and the back.

You could use the images provided or select your own images.

So pause the video while you choose your insect, and then have a go at drawing your insect to understand the depth and 3D form.

I'll see you when you're finished.

Great to be back with you.

How did you get on with drawing your insect to understand the depth and 3D form and capturing at least three angles? There are many possible outcomes, but you might have produced something like this.

Love that top front and back of the insect.

Sam says, "I had to think hard about the 3D forms and now feel like I really understand it." And that was the intention, so that's wonderful.

"I removed the beetle's legs to make it more appropriate to carve." Sure, that's a good idea.

It makes sense.

For the next part of your task, I would like you to trace your design, simplifying the shapes, ready to transfer onto your soap for carving.

You should: work on tracing paper the same size as your soap; use simple, organic, and geometric shapes to simplify your design.

So pause here while you have a go at tracing your design, simplifying the shapes, ready to transfer onto your soap for carving.

I'll see you when you're finished.

Good to see you again.

How did you get on tracing your design, simplifying the shapes, getting ready to transfer onto your soap for carving? Perhaps you created something like this.

Here's Andeep.

"I like how you traced around your soap, Sam, and made sure that it is long enough on the curved sides." Great point, and I hope you enjoyed this first task.

Now we are onto the second learning cycle.

Yes, we are getting into carving.

We'll be carving soap to create a relief sculpture.

I have a question for you.

How can we turn our sketches and a piece of soap into a relief sculpture? What are the stages going to be in between getting from what we see on the left to what we see on the right of the screen? Pause the video and share your ideas with someone.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

So in this lesson, we'll be carving the soap into a relief sculpture and we'll be finding out how in due course.

Carving is an ancient art form and continues to be popular with modern sculptors including: Valda Jackson, who's created a number of carved relief works over her career which adorn public spaces; Kim Lim and Ronald Moody, who are well known for their carvings; Anthoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia Church in Barcelona features intricate carvings of various insects.

And oh my, this is a very tall, spectacular building.

If you ever get to visit, I would highly encourage you, but maybe not if you're scared of heights because there's some very steep stairs to climb in the Sagrada Familia Church.

Further examples of carving include: Balinese wood carving, which is a tradition renowned for its intricate, detailed designs.

Stone carvings have been traced back to Ancient Egypt, including those of scarab beetles.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false? Carving is an ancient art form that has been forgotten over time.

Pause the video and share if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected false.

And can you say a little more about your answer? Pause the video while you do this.

Perhaps you said something like this.

Carving is one of the oldest art forms and continues to be popular with sculptors now.

Hopefully, it will be popular with you as well.

For carving, it's best to remove small amounts at a time to achieve a more refined and detailed relief sculpture.

Can you think of any other benefits to removing only a little at a time? Pause the video and share with someone.

Perhaps you knew that when carving, you cannot add material back once it has been carved, so it's important to carve in gradual layers.

Sculptors start with a stage called roughing out to ensure they have the correct form.

Check for understanding.

True or false? If I carve too deeply, I can fix it later by glueing the material back to the sculpture.

Pause the video and decide if this true or false.

Well done if you selected false, and now I'd like you to say a little more about your answer.

Pause the video while you do this.

Perhaps you said something like this.

When carving, you cannot add material back once it has been carved, so it's important to carve in gradual layers.

Sculptors can alter the design and carve the whole work deeper to resolve carving too deeply.

The process of carving generally has three steps.

First of all, rough out.

Basic forms are blocked out by removing large chunks of material.

Next, carving.

Smaller tools are used to shape the sculpture, adding more accurate forms. And finally, finishing.

Smallest tools are used to add detail and texture is created.

So these are three steps when carving.

First of all, roughing out, next carving, and finally finishing.

Check for understanding.

Which of the following shows the correct order of steps in the carving process? A, carving, finishing, and roughing out.

B, finishing, carving, roughing out.

C, finishing, roughing out, carving.

Or D, roughing out, carving, finishing.

Pause the video while you decide which of these shows the correct order of steps in the carving process.

Well done if you selected D.

Indeed, we start by roughing out, then we move on to carving, and we finish with finishing.

Your simplified sketch from Task A can help you plan the rough out stage.

Trace your design using simple shapes.

Place your tracing on soap and then apply pressure to transfer the lines so you'll finish with those lines on the soap.

The rough out stage should result in blocky geometric forms, a lack of detail or texture, that will come later, and looped clay tools are effective for this stage.

There are a few important things to consider though when carving soap with clay tools.

You should: always carve away from your body, keep your workspace tidy, take your time while carving to stay in control, avoid touching your face, share space sensibly, only use tools for their purpose, and wash your hands after carving.

These are our key considerations when carving soap with clay tools.

It's time for your next task.

I would you to use clay tools to carve soap into a relief sculpture.

First of all, you're going to transfer your design onto the soap.

So place your tracing on the soap and then apply pressure to transfer the lines onto the soap.

Pause the video while you do this.

Well done for completing that first part of your task.

Onto the next task.

I'd like you now to use the looped clay tool to rough out your design.

So you'll be looking to create blocky structures.

You're not going for detail at this point.

You should: avoid carving too much at a time, the soap might break; keep your design on hand as a reference; work slowly and gently.

You could: use a hair grip or paperclip instead of a looped clay tool.

So pause here while you have a go at using the looped clay tool or another tool to rough out your design.

I'll see you when you're finished.

All right, how did you get on using the looped clay tool to rough out your design? There are many possible outcomes.

You might have created something like this.

Here's Izzy.

"Sam, I really like the carved forms you have created.

I see that you have adapted some shapes to fit the process." Adaptation is always good.

Next part of your task, I'd like you to carve your design in more detail, correcting forms and adding details.

You should: gently scrape small layers of soap; keep looking from all angles; avoid carving too much at a time, the soap might break; keep your design on hand as a reference; work slowly and methodically.

Pause the video while you have a go at carving your design in more detail, correcting forms and adding details.

I'll see you when you're finished.

Okay, great to be back with you.

How did you get on carving your design in more detail, correcting forms and adding details? There are many possible outcomes and you might have created something like this.

Oh, wow.

I love these.

Alex says, "There's a lot more detail now." Yes, glad you're noticing that.

"I can see the eyes and the pattern on the beetle's back.

Nice use of a toothpick." I agree.

And finally, I would like you to finish your design using small tools to add details and smoothing the surface.

You could:use a toothpick to carve fine detail, polish with a damp brush to gain a smooth finish, keep looking from all angles, keep your design on hand as a reference, work slowly and methodically.

I'll see you when you're finished.

Pause here.

Great to be back with you.

How did you get on finishing your design using small tools to add details and smoothing the surface? There are many possible outcomes.

You might have created something fabulous like this.

Oh my, love seeing that insect from all these different angles.

Here's Jun, "Even though you didn't finish the smoothing, the overall effect of your soap carving is really effective.

Well done." That's so lovely, Jun.

Maybe you could give each other some feedback like this.

And Sam, "Thank you, I'm proud of my work, but next time would add more textures." Great, it's always good to have things to work towards for next time.

In our lesson "Thinking in 3D: Carving with Soap," we've covered the following.

Thinking in 3D is a valuable skill in fields like architecture, design, and art.

Breaking down complex forms into simpler shapes makes the object easier to understand.

Carving is an ancient art form and continues to be popular with modern sculptors.

For carving, it's best to remove small amounts at a time to achieve a more refined and detailed relief sculpture.

The process of carving generally has three steps: rough out, carving, and finishing.

Well, everyone, it's time for us to finish this lesson, and I'm really proud of how you got on exploring carving, thinking in 3D, and then getting right into carving your relief sculpture from soap.

I hope you enjoyed this lesson, I really did, and I'm looking forward to seeing you at another art lesson soon.

Until then, stay creative.