成人快手

Oliver Jeffers' drawing of a mug character with legs, arms and a crown

Introduction to drawing

Drawing is when you use lines to make a mark on a surface. It could be a , a figure or a plan.

It is an important technique used today by many people and in many jobs, including and .

Oliver Jeffers' drawing of a mug character with legs, arms and a crown
A cave drawing of an animal with horns.
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This drawing is in Lascaux Cave, France. It is about 17,000 years old.

Who made the first drawings?

cave art is one of the earliest forms of drawing. Many examples of cave art include drawings of animals and humans.

It is believed that cave artists used paints made from nature such as rocks, mud and berries to make their drawings.

The cave drawings of people and animals are made using simple lines and shapes.

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Watch how to bring your drawings to life

Find out what drawing is and all the different ways to do it with Oliver Jeffers

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Using shapes and lines to draw

A line drawing of a plate and some cutlery.
  1. Choose your and You could use a pencil or something unusual like a stick with some paint.

  2. Look around you, e.g. the room or space that you are in right now or even what is right in front of you.

  3. Choose something to look at and draw.

  4. Use your drawing tool to draw the shapes and lines that you can see.

  5. Of course, you can break the line at any point and carry on tracing your drawing.

A line drawing of a plate and some cutlery.
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Activity

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Handprints on red and orange rock at Cueva de la Manos in Argentina.
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Handprints on rock at Cueva de las Manos in Argentina.

Did you know?

The earliest known cave drawing of an animal is believed to be at least 45,500 years old. It was found in Indonesia.

Cave artists made paints from natural materials and blew them onto the cave walls.

To make handprints, they would have had to place their hands on the cave wall then put the paint over them.

Handprints on red and orange rock at Cueva de la Manos in Argentina.
Image caption,
Handprints on rock at Cueva de las Manos in Argentina.
A cave drawing in Indonesia.
Image caption,
A cave drawing in Indonesia.

The people who made these cave paintings would have used natural materials to make their art, such as:

  • sticks
  • an empty bone
  • tall long grass

The famous artist Pablo Picasso was so impressed by cave art that he is thought to have said: "We have invented nothing" and that "none of us can paint like this".

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Quiz

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A pot with four pencils

Glossary

Here are the meanings of some important words.

Sketch - A quick drawing.
Artist - A person who uses a skill or their imagination to make art, such as painting, sculpture, music or writing.
Designer - A person who makes plans for a project and creates a new style of product.
Prehistoric - A period of time before history was written.
Drawing tool - Something you can use to draw, such as a pencil.
Materials - Items or objects that can be used to make things, such as paper.

A pot with four pencils
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More on Drawing

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