Lesson 03: Texture, Mark-Making and Negative Space
Pre A Level Art & Design · Unit 1 · U1·L3 · ← L02 | L04 →
At a glance
| Session | W3, one Wednesday double (~90 min) |
| Dates | Wed 2026-09-16 |
| Focus | Texture and the mark that makes it; negative space |
| Deliverable | Traced-hand texture sheet; observed texture grid; one negative-space study |
| Feeds | A1 and CS1 are announced this session (you sit A1 in W5, 09-30; CS1 checks in W4, 09-23) |
| Homework | Finish the texture worksheet; MB posting |
Goal
This session covers two ways of looking. First: a surface is drawn by choosing the right mark, not by labeling it — so marks and textures are taught as pairs. Second: the shape of the air around an object is as drawable as the object — and often more accurate. Both feed into the final drawing that starts next week, and A1 is announced at the end.
How it runs
- Warm-up (10 min) — mark inventory: copy eight marks from the Drawing Basics taxonomy fast (cross-hatch left and right, zigzag, dragged side-of-pencil, spaced dashes, herringbone, serrated rows, wavy horizontals). Name each; they are your vocabulary for the next hour.
- Studio 1 (25 min) — Drawing Exercises 4, the traced-hand sheet: trace your hand, give each finger a different texture, following the sheet’s how-to notes. This forces five distinct mark decisions.
- Studio 2 (20 min) — the texture grid: four to six cells, each a real surface from the table (fabric, wood grain, metal, sponge, skin), drawn from observation. Match the mark to the surface; a peer should be able to point from cell to object.
- Teach (10 min) — negative space: the drawing subject is the holes — the shapes an object cuts out of the air. Figure and ground flip. One demo silhouette.
- Studio 3 (15 min) — negative-space study: a chair or stool against a plain wall; draw only the spaces, shade them solid, never draw the chair itself.
- Close (10 min) — A1 and CS1 are announced. A1 is one final observational drawing plus a short written reflection, made in class in W4–W5, marked on observation, tone, composition. CS1 checks next week and covers the four exercise pieces: contour work, the value scale/tonal study, texture, negative space. Both are posted on MB.
Assessment
A1 (Wed 2026-09-30) and CS1 (Wed 2026-09-23) are announced today. Today’s texture grid and negative-space study complete the CS1 set. Register: PAL S1 Assessments.