Overview
In this lesson, you will explore how artists use lines, textures, and shades to describe weather.
Materials and Tools
- White paper — 3 sheets
- Pencil
Objectives
Artists love to use different lines when they draw!
Lines can show movement, create details, and describe textures.
In this lesson, you will learn how to:
- Identify and draw different types of lines
- Use a pencil to create dark, medium, and light shades
- Create drawings that describe various types of weather
Activities
Step 1:
Here are some different types of lines.
Can you name and draw any other types of lines?
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/SIAS_Resource-Sheet_Lines.jpg)
Step 2:
Lines can also show texture, or how something feels.
Look at the drawings below. Can you find something that looks:
- Smooth?
- Spiky?
- Soft?
- Prickly?
- Fuzzy?
- Furry?
What lines did these artists use to create these textures?
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-58-400x400.jpg)
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-59-400x400.jpg)
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-60-297x400.jpg)
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-61-400x400.jpg)
Step 3:
Artists use shading to show areas of light and dark, and to make their drawings appear three-dimensional.
Practice drawing different shades with your pencil by applying different amounts of pressure: the harder you press with your pencil, the darker your line will be.
Try making dark, medium, and light shades.
You can use the side and the tip of your pencil to make shades.
Try blending your lines with your finger!
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-63.jpg)
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-64.jpg)
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-62.jpg)
Step 4:
Now let’s begin drawing different types of lines and shades.
Fold your paper in half.
Make it smaller by folding it in half again.
Then, fold it one more time and open it up.
It will look like this when you are done:
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-65.jpg)
Step 5:
In each box, show these types of weather using only lines and shades.
Imagine that you are looking up and drawing what you see in the sky.
Try to fill the whole rectangle.
Remember: you are not drawing a picture of the weather, you are using line, shade, and texture to describe the type of weather.
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-66.jpg)
Remember to just use different types of lines, textures, and shades to show the weather.
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-67.jpg)
Whoops, not like this!
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-77.png)
Yes, like this!
This artist thought about what the sky might look like on a windy day. They used spiral lines and wavy lines to describe the wind.
Resources
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SIAS_Resource-Sheet_Lines.jpg)
Here is a print by the artist Utagawa Hiroshige. He enjoyed showing different types of weather in his work.
What kind of weather do you see?
What kinds of lines did Hiroshige use to show that kind of weather?
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-68.jpg)
Here is another print by Utagawa Hiroshige.
What kind of weather do you see?
What kinds of lines did Hiroshige use to show that kind of weather?
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-69.jpg)
What type of lines did artist George Elbert Burr use to describe a storm in this drawing?
![](https://createart.studioinaschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-70.jpg)
Here are links to some more examples of artists who used lines, textures, and shades to describe weather:
What lines and shades did they use to show weather?
Credits
Written By:
Belinda Blum, Artist Instructor
Copyright © 2023 Studio in a School NYC LLC