LEVEL 3:

Students studied animals as part of a unit focused on developing drawing skills. Using photos from national
geographic, students explored pastels, coloured pencils and grey lead and learnt how these three media
can be used together to create texture and depth.

Students were quickly faced with the challenges of drawing in colour, and were able to experiment with the
pastels and pencils, finding ways in which colours can be used together to create harmony and balance.
If students were willing to take up a challenge I gave them fine liners and after realising they
couldn’t erase their mistakes, they produced highly detailed and spontaneous drawings.

I encouraged students to not only looking at an animal photo for what it is, an animal, but as a series of
shapes and line. Students soon learnt to draw what they saw in the animal, not what they thought the
animal should look like.

LEVEL 4:

As part of a drawing unit students studied both houses and animals, while developing skills
in applying
texture, tone, line and shape with a fine liner pen and pastels. Students were encouraged to draw
freely without the need to achieve perfection and to trust their eye.

We spoke about what gives a particular drawing “character” and how artists can
communicate
a sense of movement and feeling through the lines they apply in their drawing. No more rulers!

Students quickly established their own style and were motivated to draw harder and more complex images once
they realised what their true capabilities were. As an extension, students were able to explore pastels
while focusing on creating texture and tone in their drawings.

Glen Waverley South Primary School
Suitable for Levels 3 & 4