Basic 7 · Creative Arts and Design · Design in Nature and the Manmade Environment
Design, Drawing Tools and Musical Pitch
In this topic you will explain what design is and find it in nature and the manmade environment, identify the tools and materials for still-life drawing, and sing the notes of the major scale in pitch.
By the end of these notes you should be able to:
- Explain design as a concept and give examples from nature and the manmade environment
- Identify the tools and materials used for still-life drawing and shading
- Explain pitch and sing the diatonic major scale ascending and descending
What you already know
- Elements of art such as line, shape and colour (Upper Primary)
- Singing simple songs in tune (Upper Primary)
Copy everything that has a blue line on its left into your notebook. The other parts are for reading.
Lesson 1
- Strand
- Design
- Sub-strand
- Design in Nature and the Manmade Environment
- Indicator
- B7.1.1.1.1 – Demonstrate understanding of design as a concept and its importance and role as a medium for creative expression of design in nature and the manmade environment
Introduction
Look around you. The veins on a cocoa leaf, the pattern on a tortoise shell, the weave of a basket and the shape of a chief's stool were all arranged in a particular way. Every one of them is a design.
1. What Is Design?
Design: The planned arrangement of lines, shapes, colours, textures and spaces to make something that looks good, works well or carries a message.
Design is both an idea and an activity. As an idea, it is the plan or pattern behind an object. As an activity, it is the process of thinking, planning and making something to meet a need. A carpenter planning a chair, a weaver choosing kente colours and a builder drawing a house plan are all designing.
Designs can be two-dimensional (2D), having only length and width, like a drawing, a poster or a printed cloth. They can also be three-dimensional (3D), having length, width and depth, like a pot, a stool or a building.
2. Design in Nature
Nature is full of designs that no person made. These natural designs are often the first source of ideas for artists.
| Natural object | Design you can observe |
|---|---|
| leaf | a central vein with branching veins, like a tree |
| tortoise shell | repeated six-sided shapes fitted together |
| pineapple skin | spirals of diamond shapes |
| spider's web | lines radiating from a centre, joined by rings |
| tree bark | rough vertical lines and cracks (texture) |
| butterfly wings | the same pattern on both sides (symmetry) |
3. Design in the Manmade Environment
The manmade (built) environment is everything people have made: buildings, roads, furniture, clothing, tools and household items. Ghanaian craftspeople have designed objects for centuries. The Asante stool, the Bolgatanga basket, kente and adinkra cloth, and the decorated walls of Sirigu houses in the Upper East Region all show careful design.
Remember: Many manmade designs copy nature. Basket weavers copy the criss-cross of palm fronds, and kente weavers name patterns after animals and proverbs.
New words
- design
- The planned arrangement of parts to make something useful or beautiful.
- natural environment
- Everything around us that was not made by people.
- manmade environment
- Everything around us that was made by people.
- three-dimensional
- Having length, width and depth.
Summary
- Design is the planned arrangement of lines, shapes, colours and textures.
- Nature provides many designs, such as leaf veins and spider webs.
- Manmade designs include stools, baskets, kente and buildings.
Class activity: Nature Walk Design Hunt
- Walk around the school compound with your group.
- Collect or sketch three natural objects and three manmade objects that show clear designs.
- Label each sketch with the pattern or feature you observed.
You need: Local leaves, Woven basket, Pencils
Exercises
Answer in your exercise book first, then check your answers.
1. Which of these is a design found in nature?
- A. Veins of a leaf
- B. Asante stool
- C. Kente cloth
- D. Roofing sheet
Show answer
Answer: Veins of a leafNo person made the leaf.2. A clay pot is an example of a…
- A. 3D design
- B. 2D design
- C. natural design
- D. flat drawing
Show answer
Answer: 3D designIt has length, width and depth.3. Only artists in big cities create designs.
- A. True
- B. False
Show answer
Answer: FalseCraftspeople in every community design objects.4. Everything around us made by people is called the ______ environment.
Show answer
Answer: manmadeAlso called the built environment.5. Give two examples of designs in nature and two in the manmade environment.
Show answer
Answer: Nature: leaf veins, spider web. Manmade: kente cloth, Asante stool.Any correct examples.6. Explain how a kente weaver might use nature as a source of design ideas.
Show answer
Answer: By copying patterns, shapes and colours seen in animals, plants and the environment, and naming patterns after them.Nature inspires designs.
Lesson 2
- Strand
- Visual Arts
- Sub-strand
- Design in Nature and the Manmade Environment
- Indicator
- B7.2.1.1.1 – Identify and determine the nature and uses of tools materials and techniques needed for still-life drawing and shading pattern making and modelling
Introduction
Before an artist draws a bowl of fruits or a calabash, they gather the right tools and materials. Using the right ones makes the drawing neater, clearer and more realistic.
1. What Is Still-Life Drawing?
Still-life drawing: Drawing a group of non-living objects, such as fruits, pots, bottles and calabashes, arranged in front of the artist.
In still-life drawing the objects do not move, so the artist has time to study their shapes, sizes, light and shadows. It trains your eyes to observe carefully and your hands to record what you see.
2. Tools for Drawing
| Tool | Use |
|---|---|
| HB pencil | light sketching and outlines |
| 2B to 6B pencils | darker lines and shading (the higher the number, the darker) |
| charcoal | bold lines and rich dark tones |
| pastel and crayon | adding colour and tone |
| eraser | removing guidelines and creating highlights |
| sharpener or blade | keeping pencils pointed |
| drawing board | a firm, flat surface to support the paper |
| viewfinder | a card with a hole to help choose what to draw |
3. Materials for Drawing
Materials are the things the artist draws on or with. The most common surface is cartridge paper, which is thick and slightly rough so pencil and charcoal hold well. Newsprint is cheaper and good for practice sketches. Manila card is stronger and can be used for finished work. A fixative spray is used on charcoal drawings so they do not smudge.
4. Choosing the Right Tool
An HB pencil is best for the first light outline because it is easy to erase. Softer B pencils and charcoal are used later to build up dark areas. Using a very soft pencil too early makes lines that are hard to remove.
Tip: Hold the pencil lightly and far from the tip when sketching outlines; hold it closer to the tip for detail.
New words
- still life
- A drawing of non-living objects arranged in a group.
- charcoal
- A black drawing material made from burnt wood.
- cartridge paper
- Thick, good-quality drawing paper.
- fixative
- A spray that stops charcoal and pastel from smudging.
Summary
- Still-life drawing records non-living objects arranged in front of the artist.
- HB pencils are for outlines; B pencils and charcoal are for dark tones.
- Cartridge paper, newsprint and manila card are common drawing surfaces.
Class activity: Tool Test
- Make a short line and a small shaded square with each tool you have.
- Label each test with the name of the tool.
- Write which tool gave the lightest and which gave the darkest mark.
You need: Cardboard, Wooden ruler, Starch paste
Exercises
Answer in your exercise book first, then check your answers.
1. Which pencil is best for the first light outline?
- A. HB
- B. 6B
- C. Charcoal
- D. Crayon
Show answer
Answer: HBIt is light and easy to erase.2. A fixative is used to…
- A. stop charcoal smudging
- B. sharpen pencils
- C. erase lines
- D. colour paper
Show answer
Answer: stop charcoal smudgingIt seals the surface.3. A 6B pencil makes darker marks than an HB pencil.
- A. True
- B. False
Show answer
Answer: TrueHigher B numbers are softer and darker.4. Drawing a group of non-living objects is called ______ drawing.
Show answer
Answer: still-lifeThe objects stay still.5. Name three tools used for still-life drawing and state one use of each.
Show answer
Answer: HB pencil for outlines; charcoal for dark tones; eraser for highlights.Any three.6. Why should an artist avoid using a very soft pencil for the first outline?
Show answer
Answer: Soft pencils make dark lines that are hard to erase, so mistakes would show.Start light, build dark.
Lesson 3
- Strand
- Performing Arts
- Sub-strand
- Media and Techniques
- Indicator
- B7.2.1.2.5 – Sing in pitch the diatonic major scale
Introduction
When a choir sings, some voices are high and some are low. Musicians call this highness or lowness of a sound its pitch. Singing in pitch means singing each note exactly at the right height.
1. Pitch
Pitch: How high or low a musical sound is.
A bird's whistle has a high pitch, while a big drum or a man's deep voice has a low pitch. When notes move upward from low to high, we say they are ascending. When they move downward from high to low, they are descending. Listening carefully to tell high and low sounds apart is called audiation, which means hearing music in your mind.
2. The Diatonic Major Scale
Scale: A set of musical notes arranged in order of pitch, going up or down.
The diatonic major scale has eight notes, from one note to the same note an octave higher. In tonic sol-fa the notes are named doh, ray, me, fah, soh, lah, te, doh' (written d r m f s l t d'). In the key of C major, these are the notes C D E F G A B C.
| Sol-fa | d | r | m | f | s | l | t | d' |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letter name | C | D | E | F | G | A | B | C |
| Degree | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th |
3. Curwen Hand Signs
John Curwen, an English teacher, created hand signs to help singers picture each note. Each sol-fa note has its own hand shape, held higher for higher notes. For example, doh is a closed fist, soh is a flat hand facing you, and te is a hand pointing upward at an angle.
4. Singing the Scale in Pitch
- Listen to the teacher, a keyboard or an atenteben play doh.
- Hum the note, then sing "doh".
- Sing up the scale slowly: d r m f s l t d', showing the hand signs.
- Sing back down: d' t l s f m r d.
- Check each note against the instrument and adjust if you are too high or too low.
Common mistake: Rushing up the scale makes singers go sharp (too high). Sing slowly and listen to each note.
New words
- ascending
- Moving upward from low to high pitch.
- descending
- Moving downward from high to low pitch.
- octave
- The distance from one note to the next note of the same name.
- tonic sol-fa
- A system of naming notes as doh, ray, me, fah, soh, lah, te.
Summary
- Pitch is how high or low a sound is.
- The major scale has eight notes: d r m f s l t d'.
- Curwen hand signs help singers picture and sing each note in pitch.
Class activity: Scale Singing with Hand Signs
- Sing the C major scale up and down with the keyboard or atenteben.
- Add the Curwen hand signs for every note.
- In pairs, one learner shows a hand sign and the other sings the note.
You need: Ghanaian atenteben, Keyboard, Printed sol-fa cards
Exercises
Answer in your exercise book first, then check your answers.
1. How high or low a sound is, is called…
- A. pitch
- B. rhythm
- C. tempo
- D. volume
Show answer
Answer: pitchPitch is height of sound.2. In the key of C, soh is the note…
- A. G
- B. F
- C. A
- D. E
Show answer
Answer: Gd=C, r=D, m=E, f=F, s=G.3. The major scale has eight notes from doh to doh'.
- A. True
- B. False
Show answer
Answer: TrueThe eighth note is an octave above.4. Notes moving from high to low are ______.
Show answer
Answer: descendingThey go down.5. Write the sol-fa names of the major scale in ascending order.
Show answer
Answer: d r m f s l t d'Doh to doh'.6. Explain how Curwen hand signs help learners sing in pitch.
Show answer
Answer: Each note has its own sign held at a different height, so learners can see and feel the rise and fall of pitch.Visual aid for pitch.
Homework
- Find two natural and two manmade objects at home with clear designs. Sketch them and label the design features.
- Practise singing the major scale up and down with hand signs.