Lesson video

Hello everyone, how are you today? I hope you're feeling really, really good.

My name is Miss Afzal and I'll be your art teacher for this lesson.

I'm feeling pretty good about that because I love teaching art and also because we're going to be exploring something rather interesting today, which is mass.

Our lesson is called "The Principles of Art: Mass" and it comes from the unit of work, the Principles of Art.

So it's really something quite principle and important when it comes to art is learning about mass and I hope you'll have an interesting time exploring this with me.

So if you're ready with some focus and enthusiasm, I think we'll begin.

The outcome for today's lesson is, I can use visual weight to create a typographic design.

We have some keywords in our lesson, let's go through them.

We have the words mass, visual weight, negative space and typography.

Let's find out what these words mean.

Mass is how heavy or solid an object feels or looks.

Visual weight, how heavy or light an element looks in an image.

Negative space, the empty space around objects in an artwork.

And typography, the style and arrangement of text in design.

These are our keywords mass, visual weight, negative space and typography.

Let's be on the lookout for them, let's listen out for them.

They will be coming up in our lesson today.

Today's lesson is called the principles of art, mass and it consists of two learning cycles.

First of all, we have compare physical mass and visual weight.

And next, we are going to apply visual weight in a graphic design.

Yes, we are getting really practical, we are designing and applying visual weight as we do so.

Let's begin though with comparing physical mass and visual weight.

Take a look at this artwork.

Which elements in this work stand out first and why? Pause the video and share with someone.

Here's Sofia, "The dark block text stands out especially on the lighter background.

The bright colours also leap off the page." I wonder if that's what you thought as well.

Elements in art stand out because of their perceived mass.

Physical mass refers to real weight.

Visual weight refers to how heavy or light elements appear to be in an artwork.

Pause video and share with someone which elements of the painting on the right hand side contain more visual weight as you're looking at this image? Thanks for sharing your ideas.

I feel those dark blues, especially the blue circle on the right, carries more visual weight.

Physical mass refers to the actual size and weight of an object.

In sculpture, a large, heavy statue has a lot of physical mass.

Henry Moore created large, smooth sculptures.

They have significant physical mass and an imposing presence.

Leilah Babirye makes bold and expressive forms, using mass to draw attention and convey powerful social themes.

Let's have a check for understanding, true or false? Physical mass is about real weight.

It describes how heavy an object is.

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

Well done if you selected true.

Indeed, physical mass describes actual weight or how heavy something is in real life.

Visual weight is how heavy or light something looks in a picture.

Lubaina Himid uses strong colours and bold shapes to create visual weight and draw attention to social themes like identity.

David Hockney creates vivid, bold paintings with contrasting colours to give objects and scenes a strong visual weight.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false? Visual weight is the same as physical mass.

Pause the video and decide if this is 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.

Visual weight describes how heavy something looks in a visual image, even if it has no physical mass.

Visual weight is affected by a few different factors.

Size: Larger elements generally have more visual weight.

Colour: Darker and more saturated colours often have more visual weight.

And shape: Solid, dense shapes usually look heavier than thin or delicate shapes.

So visual weight is affected by size, colour and shape.

Visual weight is also affected by texture: Elements with strong textures, like rough surfaces, can feel heavier than smooth surfaces.

Contrast: High contrast can increase visual weight.

Positioning: Elements appear heavier towards the base of an image.

And grouping: Multiple elements together create more visual weight.

So these are some further factors that can affect visual weight.

Texture, contrast, positioning and grouping.

Check for understanding.

Which elements do we consider when utilising visual mass? Is it A, shape, texture, photography.

B, size, colour, shape, line, tone, form and painting.

Or C, size, colour, shape, texture, contrast, position and grouping.

Pause the video while you decide which of these elements do we consider when utilising visual mass.

Well done if you selected answer C.

Indeed, size, colour, shape, texture, contrast, position and grouping contribute to visual weight.

Take a look at this artwork.

How has the artist used visual weight here? Pause the video and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

I wonder if you noticed how heavy objects are large and so easy to notice.

Elements with greater visual weight stand out.

Darker colours on lighter backgrounds create emphasis here with the text on the pale background.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to explain the difference between the physical mass and visual weight.

Give examples related to sculpture and painting.

So research examples to discuss.

Considering any artwork you have seen in person, consider the following.

Which elements capture your attention? Which elements hold the most mass? So pause here while you have a go at this task explaining the difference between the physical mass and visual weight and giving examples related to sculptures and paintings that you have seen.

See you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with this task? Explaining the difference between physical mass and visual weight and giving examples related to sculpture and painting.

You might have said something like this.

Let's hear from Andeep.

"This is a sculpture so it has a physical mass in real life.

The artists use different surfaces for texture which creates visual weight for the audience looking at it." Yeah, that's so interesting, that range and contrast in textures used there.

A great example from Andeep.

Here's Izzy, "This 2D artwork shows visual weight.

The darker shape at the bottom reflects the top triangle and appears heavier.

It helps to anchor the composition." Great how Izzy's noticing some of those different factors such as the position of objects can affect visual weight and the darker colours used.

Some really good reflections there.

And here's Lucas, "This still life is a visual representation of real life objects.

The objects would have had physical mass in real life, but the artist had considered the visual weight when making the composition balanced." Yeah, really careful consideration of positionality and balance.

And now we're on to our next learning cycle, apply visual weight in a graphic design.

Izzy is exploring mass by looking at a graphic poster she has seen in a music magazine.

Mass is used to convey importance.

Elements with more mass draw your attention.

Thinking about mass also helps to balance a design.

In graphic design, mass refers to the visual weight of an element within a composition.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Why did designers use mass in their work? Is it A, to convey importance.

B, to draw attention.

C, to create balance.

Or D, to create tone.

Pause the video while you decide why designers use mass in their work.

Well done if you selected the first three options.

Indeed, designers compose images thinking carefully about mass because it can draw attention, convey importance and create balance.

Well done if you selected these answers.

Designers often use typography in their work.

Typography means the style and arrangement of text in design.

Designers must consider mass to create an effective composition.

And considering mass helps create balance and focus.

Take a look at these two designs.

Which design is most successful as packaging for this tropical juice drink? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you selected the design on the left-hand side.

And now I'd like you to share with someone why is this design more successful.

Perhaps you said something like this.

This design uses mass carefully so the product and the brand name stand out the most.

So we can clearly see that this is called Zesty and it's a punchy pineapple drink.

Mass can be achieved through: Size, shape, colour and density, how close together elements are.

Which elements have greater mass in this design? Pause the video and share with someone.

The large bold heading has more mass than the small text, so the heading stands out.

Some of the smaller text also has a blue background.

This is a big, heavy bold area that stands out too.

Yeah, I'm glad you pointed that one out as well, Sofia.

When designing, you can use mass strategically to organise information.

Mass creates a sense of hierarchy.

It can guide the viewer's eye to certain elements first.

The element with the most mass stands out.

Pause the video and share with someone where is your eye being drawn to in this image.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

For me, the word depth is what's drawing me in as it has the greatest mass.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which statement is correct? A, mass creates a sense of hierarchy.

B, elements with the heaviest mass stand out the least.

C, mass can help guide the viewer's eye to certain elements first.

Pause the video while you decide which statement is incorrect.

Well done if you selected answer B.

Elements with the heaviest mass stand out the least is not correct and in fact, it's elements with the heaviest mass that stand out the most.

By understanding mass, designers can create more effective and visually appealing compositions.

David Carson uses bold typography and chaotic layered designs that create a sense of heavy visual weight.

Ananya Rao-Middleton is known for using eye-catching colours and powerful affirmations.

Her illustrations focus on telling stories.

She often uses composition to distribute visual weight evenly.

Take a look at this poster.

Which text has more visual weight in this image? Pause the video and share with someone.

The heading is bolder, darker and bigger, so it carries more visual weight.

Designers of newspapers use headings to catch your attention.

Take a look at this artwork.

How has the artist applied visual weight in this gelli print? Pause the video and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Here's Izzy, "The large, dark T-shape in the corner stands out.

Pale peach areas seem lighter visually.

Rough edges look heavier than sharp ones.

High colour contrast makes smaller text carry more visual weight." Really great observations there.

And I wonder if you made these observations too? Graphic designers often incorporate text into their designs.

Gelli printing is an effective way to transfer text or stencils to your design.

Stages to make a gelli print.

Step A, roll a thin area of acrylic over the plate.

Step B, press in stencils and remove.

Step C, add additional layers of colour.

Step D, roll with a thin layer of acrylic before covering with paper and peeling off your print.

Oh, I love that moment of revealing the print.

So let's take a look at what the process of gelli printing looks like in practise.

After rolling out the paint, stencils or flat objects are pressed in to remove layers of paint.

You need to take care to let each layer dry before moving on to the next.

When preparing stencils for a gelli print, you can consider using both positive and negative space.

So we can see the negative space there where the letter T has been cut out, and the positive space is the cutout of the letter T.

Using positive and negative space can create balance or contrast by separating elements.

Alex is planning to use magazines and oil pastels to transfer text into his print.

He could use oil pastel transfer or magazine text transfer.

So here we can see some oil pastel transfer and some magazine text transfer.

"I'm going to press in glossy magazines to transfer text," decides Alex.

"I will experiment with oil pastel transfer too for a more personal effect." Love that experimentation.

And what does that look like in practise? So write in oil pastel, the colour doesn't matter.

Go over it to make sure it's bold.

Collect words from glossy magazines.

Some magazines work better than others, so choose a range.

And then press words from the magazine or written in oil pastel face down into wet acrylic on the plate.

Add pressure and then peel to reveal the word.

How do you think this typographic artwork has been created? Pause the video and share with someone.

There are many ways to create a typographic graphic design.

This artwork has been created using collage and stencils.

I wonder if that's what you had guessed as well.

You might choose to create a typographic design using stencils and collage like this.

Step A, collect your materials and create stencils.

Step B, use a sponge or brush to paint through the negative space.

And then step C, add collage and additional layers of colour to adjust the visual weight.

Alex and Aisha are preparing to create a layered typographic design.

They are discussing how to use mass in their work.

I need to decide what's most important and make it stand out using mass.

I will use dark colours and bold letters to create more visual weight.

Some great ideas there.

And now it's time for your next task.

I would like you to use typography to create a layered design that applies visual weight to create emphasis.

Create a gelli print or a mixed media collage using paint and paper stencils.

Consider the positive and negative space in your work.

Think carefully about how to apply visual weight.

Size, colour, shape, texture, contrast, position and grouping can all support with this.

So pause here while you have a go at using typography to create a layered design that applies visual weight to create emphasis.

I'll see you when you're finished.

So, how did you get on with your task using typography to create a layered design that applies visual weight to create emphasis? You might have made a gelli print like this.

Love it.

Here's Alex, "I created a high contrast in the centre between the pink background and the dark lettering, which stands out and has a lot of visual weight.

The texture also adds mass to the design, especially in the top left lettering." Very true, Alex.

Or you might have made a mixed media piece like this.

Here's Aisha, "I painted my stencil in black to create a heavy shape that draws your eye.

." It certainly does.

"It's balanced by the dark red texture over the brown paper I used in the collage." Wonderful contrasts.

In our lesson, Principles of Art: Mass, we have covered the following.

Mass relates to solid matter, but in an artistic sense, it refers to visual weight, how an object appears within a space.

Elements with more mass are more likely to grab the viewer's attention.

This can be physical mass or visual weight.

Graphic design uses mass to determine what will carry the most significant visual weight.

Graphic designers utilise typography and negative space to make an impactful composition.

Well done everyone for joining in with this lesson.

I loved exploring the principle of art that is mass together and then getting right into creating your own designs using typography, negative space and all that we have learned about creating visual weight.

I hope you've enjoyed this lesson, I certainly have and I'm looking forward to seeing you at another art lesson soon.

Until then, stay creative!.