Art at Hosmer: Tints & Shades, Two Ways

Monday, March 27, 2017

Tints & Shades, Two Ways

Recently, 5th grade artists explored tints and shades through color mixing. A tint is a color mixed with white and shades are made by mixing in black. Students experimented with creating tints and shades of three different colors to help them decide which color they ultimately wanted to use in their artwork.

The following class, students were given two different options for painting tints and shades. The first option involved a technique called masking, where students used masking tape to seal off different areas of the paper to create separated areas for their tints and shades.

Students who chose this option placed the pieces of masking tape on their clothing first, to make it a little less sticky so that it would not rip the paper when removed. Then students mixed tints and shades of once color, painting each section with a different tint or shade. After the painting dried, students gently removed the tape to reveal the paper underneath, which created white lines that neatly separated their tints and shades.

The second option involved repeating a shape, like a circle, starting with the lightest tint in the center and adding concentric rings of gradually darker tints and shades. Below are examples of both options for our tints and shades paintings. Some of them are also on display in the connector hallway!