Developing our sketching skills

We had a very determined request last week: when can we do more sketching? In lieu of heading outside for sports in the wet and cold weather this week, we had to oblige. So we have spent the cold and wintry afternoons perfecting our observation and shading skills. This is new learning for some of us and building on previous skills for others.

Sketching is a very fine motor skill that requires deep concentration and observation. Developing our concentration and fine motor skills also have benefits for writing. Creating the illusion of depth on a flat surface has links to the maths skills of estimation (of distance) and getting to know the properties of 2D and 3D shapes.

We are learning how to create the illusion of depth on a flat surface with clever tricks. We have been practising how to press hard and softly to create different shades, as well as notice the outer lines of shapes and how the light hits a surface in different ways.

Here are some examples of our sketching this week.

Filling in lines to practice adding depth with shading:

Tracing our hands and adding lines and shading to create depth: