Distance Learning: The Colour Wheel

Kia ora everyone! I hope you are all safe and well with your families during this lockdown. I'm very much missing teaching art to you all so I thought I'd set you art activities to have a go with at home.

This week the activities are about the colour wheel. Have a watch of the two videos below to learn about the colour wheel. I have made three activities for you to choose from. The Found Objects Colour Wheels and Animal Colour Wheel are aimed at the junior school, the Object Study in Complementary Colours is aimed at the senior school.

Feel free to pick whichever activity suits you. You might even like to do more than one activity. I cant wait to see what you create! Post photos of your work online when you are finished. Have fun and happy creating!

Activity One: Found Objects Colour Wheel

This activity was really fun! I made two colour wheels, one with a collection of objects from around my house and one with objects from nature. Watch the video below to see how I made my artworks to help you make one too. Take a photo of your finished colour wheel and post it online for your teachers and classmates to see.

Go on a hunt around your house or garden to find objects that are red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Keep your eyes out for objects wherever you are, I found leaves and pine needles on my daily walk around my neighbourhood. Be responsible when collecting from nature. If you pick flowers or vegetables for your colour wheel make sure you use them afterwards by displaying them or using them in a meal.

If you love drawing and animals then this activity is for you! Choose an animal that you like and draw it six times.

Use the art equipment you have at your house to colour your animals in the primary colours (red, yellow, blue) and the secondary colours (orange, green, purple). I used coloured pencils but you might use paint, crayons, felts or pastels.

Be as creative as you want to with your design. Cut out your animals and arrange them in the colour wheel order.

Activity Three: Object Study in Complementary Colours

Choose an object from your home that will be interesting to draw. It could be anything - you might find something to draw in the kitchen, your bedroom or even the garage.

You are going to draw four different close-up views of your object. Turn your object around in your hands to find interesting angles to draw. Draw your object up really close and arrange the drawings so that they extend off the page.

I drew mine in pencil first and then went over the top with a black biro.

Now it is time to choose a pair of complementary colours for each square.

Complementary colours, or opposite colours, are colours that sit opposite each other on the colour wheel. When you put complementary colours next to each other they both look bright. Yellow complements purple, green complements red and blue complements orange.

Watch ‘The Advanced Colours Song’ above for some more information about complementary colours.

I used coloured pencils to add colour to my artwork but you can use whatever you have at home.

Think about how you would like to arrange your colours. I chose orange and blue as one of my pairs of complementary colours. In one square I used blue for the car and in another I used the blue in the background.

When you are adding the colour to your artwork look at where the light falls on it. Change how hard you press your pencil down on the paper to get darker and lighter sections.

I can’t wait to see what you create. Post a picture of your finished art online and then display your pictures proudly in your home.

Have fun everyone!