Texture and collage
Art & Design · Key Stage 1 · The School
Real texture
TEXTURE is how a surface feels. Lay thin paper over a brick. Or a coin. Or tree bark, or a drain cover. Now rub the side of a pencil across it. The texture appears. A page of rubbings is a collection. You can cut it up and use it.
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. Move the pieces around first. Only glue them when the whole arrangement works.
Lay paper over a coin. 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, for brick and for a leaf. Mount the six together. Real texture you can feel. Drawn texture only looks.
Making a texture you cannot buy
Rubbing is the quickest way to collect textures. Find something with a raised surface. A coin. Tree bark. A brick. The sole of a shoe. Lay thin paper over it. Rub the side of a wax crayon across. The pattern comes through. Collect six of them from different places. Then cut them up and use them as your collage material. Now the texture in your picture came from a real object. It did not come out of a packet. And no one else has the same set.