Learn about how visual elements and principles like line, color and shape are used as tools to build works of art. To do so

• Watch an animated demonstration
• Find examples of the concept in works of art from museums
• Create your own composition

And watch videos of a couple of professional artists put these principles in action.

This is a Flash-based interactive.  You will need a Flash emulator extension on your browser, such as Ruffle, to use it.

Jan Brett, a popular author and illustrator of children’s books, offers almost 30 videos, most of which show students how to draw animals.  She breaks down the process in easy-to-follow steps, so you can draw along as she draws a baby chick, dolphin, rhinoceros, bunny, elephant or horse, to name a few.  She also has videos that let you tour her home and learn how she is inspired to draw.

Doodle 4 Google is a yearly competition Google sponsors to invite K-12 students to play around with the Google logo and see what new designs they can come up with. The contest typically begins in September and ends in December.

Each year, there is a new theme, and the competition is open to students in all U.S. states and territories. There are gifts for the finalists in different age groups. The winner receives a scholarship and the winner’s doodle will actually replace the Google logo for an entire day.

Check out the site to see past winners. Then register your school and get those students doodling!

The National Gallery of Art website and app have tons of activities for creating interactive art online.  The student can create a still life that emulates the old masters, or an abstract paint brush image, or a jungle landscape, to name a few.  There are 15 different activities for young artists as well as news on what’s happening at the NGA. 

The section for Educators has lessons plans and activities for K-12 students. The website version requires Shockwave to run. The app version of NGA Kids Art Zone is available for iPad. And you can borrow a CD versions from the National Gallery of Art, with more interactives, from their Learning Resources portal.