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Year 1 Creative Arts

Shapes in Art

Circles, squares, and triangles are everywhere! Learn how artists use simple shapes to draw amazing pictures.

Shapes Are Everywhere!

Look around you. Can you see a circle? A clock! A square? A window! A triangle? A roof! Shapes are all around us. Art uses shapes to make amazing pictures. You see shapes every single day!

The Three Main Shapes

There are three shapes you need to know. They are the building blocks of art!

Circle

Round like a ball. No corners!

Square

4 equal sides. 4 corners!

Triangle

3 sides. 3 pointy corners!

Drawing with Shapes

You can draw almost anything using shapes! It is like a puzzle. Put shapes together and you get a picture!

🏠

A House

Square + triangle on top!

👤

A Person

Circle for head, rectangles for body and legs!

🌲

A Tree

Circle on top of a rectangle!

Shapes in Buildings and Nature

Windows are rectangles. The sun looks like a circle. Mountains look like triangles. Artists and builders use shapes to create everything you see! Next time you go outside, try to spot as many shapes as you can.

Think About It

Can you draw a cat using only circles, squares, and triangles?

What shapes can you see in your classroom?

Why do you think most wheels are circles?

Knowledge Check

Test what you have learned about shapes in art!

Question 1

A clock is shaped like a...

Question 2

How many sides does a triangle have?

Question 3

Which shape has no corners?

Question 4

To draw a simple house, you could use a square and a...

Question 5

Shapes are useful in art because...

Key Concepts Summary