The Arty Factory website provides free art resources based on three themes:
The Art Lessons section offers step by step support for a wide variety of art works. One example – drawing an ancient Egyptian head to fit with any ancient Egypt project – is split into 8 steps; however, with children I may stop after step 5, giving a great picture. The next three steps involve using Indian ink, so they may be a step too far; nevertheless, the help up to this point is a good guide to follow. There are help guides for pencil sketching, charcoal drawings, acrylics, animals, still life, pop-art and more.
The Art Appreciation section gives a good starting point for children beginning to understand the art of different artists. There is an art timeline; it then goes on to discover famous artists, still life artists, portrait painters, landscape painters, animals in art and more.
“The Visual Elements of Art are line, shape, tone, color, pattern, texture and form. A knowledge of how they are used in art will help you to understand how artworks are created. You can learn how to analyse an artwork by breaking it down to its component parts, so that you may appreciate the skill and imagination that the artist has used in composing it.” (Arty Factory)
The Design Lessons section covers patterns, colour theory, composition and typography.
“Our Design Lessons explore the basic elements of design such as imagery, color, pattern, composition, layout and typography and explain how to evaluate their effectiveness in the creative process.” (Arty Factory)
This site is not designed for young children, it is largely for adults and older children to develop their own artistic skills and understanding. However, it is a useful site for teachers, teaching about art appreciation and techniques. Some sections, such as the already mentioned Egyptian Face drawing may be useful for older primary aged children.
