Texture and collage
Art & Design · Key Stage 1 · The School
Real texture
TEXTURE is how a surface feels. Lay thin paper over a brick, a coin, tree bark or a drain cover and rub the side of a pencil across it — the texture appears. A page of rubbings is a collection you can cut up and use.
Drawn texture
You can also make texture with marks: tiny dots for grit, short strokes for fur, crosshatching for shadow, wavy lines for water. This is INVENTED texture — the paper is still smooth, but the eye is convinced.
Collage
Cut edges are sharp and precise; torn edges are soft and rough. Choosing which to use is a real decision. Build a picture from magazine paper, rubbings and coloured scraps, and glue only when the whole arrangement works — move pieces around first.
Lay paper over a coin and rub with the side of a pencil: you have RECORDED a real texture, and you can feel the coin under the paper. Now draw the coin's ridges by hand: you have REPRESENTED it, and the paper is smooth. Do both for tree bark, brick and a leaf, and mount the six together. Real texture you can feel; drawn texture only looks.