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      Explore a variety of painting techniques

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use tints, shades and a variety of paintbrush techniques to achieve different effects.

      Key learning points

      1. Artists can create tints and shades that they see within a landscape.
      2. Tints are made by adding white to a hue of colour, while shades are achieved by adding black.
      3. Paintbrushes can be used to create many different effects, including blending, dry-brush and wet on wet.

      Keywords

      • Tint - created by adding white to the original hue of colour

      • Shade - created by adding black to the original hue of colour

      • Effect - a result produced by using materials in different ways

      Common misconception

      A paintbrush can only be used for one effect.

      Remind children that a paintbrush can be used to create many different effects, such as dry-brush and wet on wet.

      Teacher tip

      For Task A, pupils can choose to explore thier landscape in a variety of ways in their sketchbook. Encourage pupils to explore different ways of presenting their experiments, such as tearing their landscape to find segments of colour, or centralising their image to create work around.

      Equipment

      watercolour paints, paintbrushes, waterpots, images of local landscapes

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0
      except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions
      (Collection 2).

      Lesson video

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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the words to their definitions.

      Correct Answer:Line,A mark made by a moving point

      A mark made by a moving point

      Correct Answer:Shape,A flat figure or form that has boundaries

      A flat figure or form that has boundaries

      Correct Answer:Pattern,A design in which lines, shapes, or colours are repeated

      A design in which lines, shapes, or colours are repeated

      Correct Answer:Colour,has hue, intensity, and value

      has hue, intensity, and value

      Q2.
      What's the best definition of a landscape?

      A view of a scene
      A person's face
      Correct answer: A repeated shape or line

      Q3.
      What do artists analyse to better understand an image?

      Correct Answer: formal elements

      Q4.
      True or False? Artists use only geometric shapes in their artwork.

      True
      Correct answer: False

      Q5.
      What type of shape has straight lines and angles?

      Organic
      Correct answer: Geometric
      Abstract
      Freeform

      Q6.
      Name one way artists might improve composition when analysing a landscape.

      Correct Answer: rule of thirds, rule of three, thirds

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Tints are created by adding to the original hue of colour.

      Correct Answer: white, White

      Q2.
      What is a shade?

      Adding white to a colour
      Correct answer: Adding black to a colour
      Mixing two colours together

      Q3.
      Match the term to its definition:

      Correct Answer:Tint,Adding white to a colour

      Adding white to a colour

      Correct Answer:Shade,Adding black to a colour

      Adding black to a colour

      Correct Answer:Effect,Result of using materials in different ways

      Result of using materials in different ways

      Q4.
      True or False? Artists can create tints by adding grey to a hue of colour.

      True
      Correct answer: False

      Q5.
      When using a paintbrush, rolling it can create a edge.

      Correct Answer: rough, rough edge

      Q6.
      Which technique uses wet paint on wet paint?

      Dry-brush
      Correct answer: Wet on wet
      Layering

      To help you plan your 4 art and design lesson on: Explore a variety of painting techniques, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...