This Art and Design scheme of work video introduces pupils to the concept of tone, highlights and shadows, helping them understand how light affects what we see and how we draw. Children explore how light creates highlights and shadows on an object. They’ll begin with a simple sketch using basic shapes, then build on this by adding tone and shading to create the illusion of form, making their drawings appear three-dimensional rather than flat.

The video demonstrates how to use thick and thin lines and vary pencil pressure to show depth. Pupils learn to observe how light changes across a surface, and how to recreate this with different drawing tools such as pencils, rubbers, charcoal or soft pastels. Highlights can be created by gently rubbing out areas of pencil, while coloured pencils or pastels can be used to add light and dark tones.

The video is part of Kapow Primary’s Year 4 Exploring tone, texture and proportion unit. This video supports the development of observational drawing, encouraging children to look closely at what they see and represent it more accurately.

See more of our Year 4 Art and design scheme of work.

Art and design, Year 4, *Updated* Drawing: Exploring tone, texture and proportion, Lesson 1: 3D pencil drawings.