Complete a story artwork: colour and detail
I can complete a story artwork by adding colour and detail to communicate symbolic meaning.
- Year 6
Complete a story artwork: colour and detail
I can complete a story artwork by adding colour and detail to communicate symbolic meaning.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Colour choices can strengthen the meaning and mood of a story.
- Detail makes symbols and characters clearer and more expressive.
- Artists use contrast and tone to guide the viewer’s eye and highlight important parts.
Keywords
Colour symbolism - the use of colour to express emotions or ideas (e.g. red for danger or passion)
Detail - small features added to make the artwork clearer, more realistic, or more meaningful
Contrast - the difference between light and dark
Common misconception
Colouring everything in neatly makes a finished artwork.
Finishing an artwork isn’t just about colouring - it’s about choosing colours and adding details that help tell the story more clearly and powerfully.
Equipment
Pencils, erasers. Colouring materials (coloured pencils, felt tips, or paints - poster, acrylic or watercolour). Fine liners or black pens for detail.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.How did Diego Rivera help viewers understand stories in his murals?
Q2.What does the foreground in a picture show?
Q3.Match the technique to how it improves your artwork:
Q4.Put these parts of a scenic composition in order from front to back:
Q5.Put these parts of a drawing in the order they are usually added:
Q6.What word describes the part of your artwork that the viewer looks at first?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What does colour symbolism in art mean?
Q2.What does contrast in art help with?
Q3.Which of these is a detail an artist might add to tell more of the story?
Q4.Match each colour to a possible symbolic meaning:
