Teaching colors is one of the basic building blocks of art class. Whether you’re teaching big kids or little, at home or in a school building, use these printable resources to create a quick and easy bulletin board or reference display!
When kids begin drawing they naturally draw flat shapes that get put together to make objects, think coloring book style pencil outlines. This lesson introduce one point perspective to take drawings from flat to fat!
Whether you’re teaching your own kiddos at home as a homeschool mom (me) or you’re an art teacher trying to get the message across to a crowd (also me) the elements of art are a good place to start. They’re basics, building blocks for fun stuff to come.
The principles of design in art can be a little abstract which can make them tricky to introduce to kids. But once kids understand that these principles are just tools that artists use it all falls into place.
Here’s the thing about the element of shape- kids draw shapes all the time. Young children naturally draw in two dimensions. There are some elements like form and space that can be little more daunting for a student of any age to really understand and illustrate. But, shapes? Exploring types of shapes in art can be enjoyed by even the youngest artist.
Forms have length, width, and depth. This simple one page download is a great place to introduce the element of form and begin learning what form is and how to create the illusion of form in two dimensions!
The concept of value in art has many possible definitions. For most kids the element of value in art may bring to mind a valuable painting they saw in a museum or maybe even a good deal on a new set of paints.
The element of space is a pretty special one. It’s that secret ingredient that makes art go from coloring book outlines to art that looks like you could reach out and touch it.
As kids get older they tend to get a little more hesitant to create art. They begin to notice how their “ability” stacks up to the artist next to them. It’s not lost on them when their artwork doesn’t look much like the teacher example hanging at the front of the room.
The element of space helps kids create realism!
Using the tips included in the printable below gives kids distinct steps to create the illusion of depth in their artwork, and thereby create some realism! Having some tools to draw from gives kids the courage to keep making art!
Perspective is a great way to create the illusion of space!
I have to admit any kind of art that requires breaking out a ruler is not my favorite! But this book by Liron Yanconsky may make me reconsider my dislike of teaching perspective and try it again! Perspective Drawing for Kids: A Perspective Drawing Guide for Kids, Including Detailed Explanations & Step by Step Exercises is a great resource for both teacher and student! This book is especially good if you don’t feel extraordinarily confident in teaching your child about perspective but think your child would enjoy this side of art. It is something you can learn together!
While perspective is not my favorite art practice what I do love about teaching perspective is that it tends to appeal to a group of kids that maybe don’t love some of the more creative, loosey- goosey forms of art. These tend to be the kids that veer toward the logical; the ones that would make great architects and engineers gravitate towards this type of art making.
This is a great time to talk about the idea that not all “artists” sit around painting pretty pictures for a living. Art can be useful. And there are MANY ways to be an artist!
How to use this element of art printable
The goal of this printable is to give kids an easy way to record some basic ideas about how to create space. I would suggest limiting the subject matter in each “square” to something as simple as a circle. Using only a circle they can illustrate how to overlap, how to turn a circle into a sphere with shading, etc.
Using only circles (and maybe a horizon line) in each illustration will keep this exercise short and to the point.
Want to grab the element of space printable…
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Looking for more elements of art resources…
I think that teaching the elements of art is the perfect place to start when teaching the elements of art! So much so that I created a huge vereis of printable element of art resources- all free! Check them all out here!
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Texture in art can be a tricky thing to define. It can mean how something feels (actual texture) or how something looks like it would feel (implied texture.) Use this free printable about the different types of texture in art to help explain this art basic to your student!