Good Learning Co.
SavannahYear 8
← Art & Design
Art & DesignArtists, culture and society22 min★★ difficulty

Comparing artists and makers

Comparing two artists side by side often teaches you more than studying one alone — differences make each choice stand out clearly.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Artists and context: Study the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing differences and similarities and making links to their own work

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Study the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing differences and similarities and making links to their own work

Key learning points

  • • Describing formal qualities
  • • Finding similarities and differences
  • • Making links to your own work

This lesson at a glance

  • 22 minutes
  • 14 parts to scroll through
  • 3 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

artistsmakersdesignersdescribingdifferences

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 14 · Discover7%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 14

Watch first

Comparing artists and makers

An English teaching video on this topic from LearnFree. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Study the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing differences and similarities and making links to their own work

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 14

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Describing formal qualities

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 14

Learn

Describing formal qualities

When comparing artists, look at formal elements: colour, composition, mark-making, scale and material. For example, a painter using thick impasto paint creates texture very differently from one using thin, flat washes of colour.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 14

Learn

Finding similarities and differences

Two artists tackling the same subject — such as a portrait or a landscape — might share a subject but differ completely in style, mood or technique. Naming exactly what is similar and what differs sharpens your own critical eye.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 14

Quick check

Which of these is a 'formal quality' of art?

6

Reset break

Part 6 of 14

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
7

Quick check

Part 7 of 14

Quick check

Why compare two artists on the same subject?

8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 14

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Making links to your own work

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 14

Learn

Making links to your own work

Studying other makers is not just analysis — it should feed back into your practice. Try borrowing one technique, such as a way of applying colour or a compositional device, and adapting it in your own piece.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 14

Quick check

What should studying other artists lead to?

11

Challenge round

Part 11 of 14

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

12

Challenge round

Part 12 of 14

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

When comparing ____, look at formal elements: colour, composition, mark-making, scale and material.

Studying other ____ is not just analysis — it should feed back into your practice.

13

Mastery quiz

Part 13 of 14

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Comparing artists and makers

3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. Which of these is a 'formal quality' of art?

  2. 2. Why compare two artists on the same subject?

  3. 3. What should studying other artists lead to?

14

Lesson round-up

Part 14 of 14

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Article

Reading a portrait

Artists make choices before they make marks. A sitter placed high in the frame looks powerful; the same sitter low in the frame looks small. Light falling from one side sculpts a face into shadow and bone; flat light makes it open and plain.

Objects do work too. A book says learning, a dog says loyalty, a wilting flower says time passing. Viewers in the past read these signs as easily as we read a logo.

When you look at a portrait, ask three questions: where is the light coming from, what has the artist put in the sitter's hands, and where am I standing — above, below, or level with them?

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Choose a portrait and answer the article's three questions about it.
  2. Explain how you would light a portrait to make someone look kind.
  3. Plan your own portrait, listing two objects you would include and what each one says.

  • Sketchbook page

    Diagram

    Make your own piece, then photograph it for your sketchbook page.

    1 finished piece

  • Annotation

    Writing

    Write around your work: what you tried, what worked, what you would change.

    6 sentences

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 14 · Watch & discover

How this is going

  • Not looked at yet

    Study the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing differences and similarities and making links to their own work

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