Sculpture: refine and finish creature creations | Art and design

Starter quiz

What should you think about when selecting materials for your creature?
- only the colour of the material
- the texture, shape, and strength of the material ✓
- how the material looks when it’s flat
- whether the material is heavy
You can only use one material to create your sculpture.
- True
- False ✓
What is the first step in creating your creature sculpture?
- Add decorations to make it colourful.
- Choose and gather materials for the structure. ✓
- Paint the creature’s details.
- Attach the creature to a base.
When you assemble a sculpture, you are putting different materials together to create the final piece.
- True ✓
- False
Match the term with its definition.
- maquette
  
  ⇔
  
  to put parts together to create a whole sculpture ✓
- sculpture
  
  ⇔
  
  asmall model used to plan a sculpture ✓
- assemble
  
  ⇔
  
  to fit together the different parts of something ✓
Put the following steps in order to create your sculpture.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  Select materials and build the armature (skeleton structure).
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  Create volume by adding materials to build up your sculpture.
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  Strengthen weak areas with tape or glue.
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  Add finishing touches, like eyes, colourful paint or patterns.

Exit quiz

To make your creature stable, you can use ______, tape, or glue to strengthen weak areas.
- newspaper ✓
- glue
- cardboard ✓
You should add decoration before you strengthen the structure of your sculpture.
- True
- False ✓
To make your creature stable and balanced, it's best to place the heavier materials ...
- at the top.
- at the bottom. ✓
- next to it.
Which materials are most suitable for adding texture, like fur or scales, to your sculpture?
- felt ✓
- pipe cleaners ✓
- buttons
- milk cartons

Worksheet

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Presentation

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

Using tools, paint, or additional materials to refine adds realism, texture, and character to a sculpture.
Adjust and strengthen the sculpture’s structure by securing joints and balancing weight.
Comparing your final sculpture to your maquette helps to reflect on what worked well and what could be improved.

Common misconception

Pupils may think that all parts of the sculpture must be detailed.

Remind children that it’s better to focus on key features like the face, wings, or texture, rather than decorating every part. This keeps your design clear and makes your creature stand out.

Keywords

Sculpture - a three-dimensional piece of art made by shaping or combining materials
Maquette - is a small, rough model of a sculpture used for planning
Refine - making small changes to improve a piece of art