This activity introduces graphic design for kids in a fun and easy way. During lockdown, why not delve into the world of a designer and explore the inner workings of colour wheel with your children as part of their art education?
The brilliant part about this exercise is that it really does appeal to all ages and the final product is something that is really personal to them. It looks great and helps them to understand about colour.
To start, take the red, blue and yellow in crayons or pens and lay them out – one at 12 o’clock, one at 4 o’clock and one at 8 o’clock. These are the primary colours. Then take the purple, green and orange crayons or pens. These are the secondary colours and sit between the two primary colours that are used to make that colour. For example, the green pen would sit between the yellow and the blue. Depending on your child’s age, here is where you can explain about colour mixing and how it works!
Have fun!
Now’s the time to have fun! Run around your house and garden finding things that fit within your colour wheel. Depending on how big you want to make it, try and find items that are of a similar size to make sure the end result looks amazing!
Design time
A huge part of designing is about understanding colour. Knowing what colours work together and what feelings and emotions colour combinations can have is all part of the design process. Starting with this basic but fun activity helps to introduce the idea of the colour wheel. For older children, ask them to look at the different tones of the items they’ve found. Are the green items more blue or more yellow? Ask them to place them accordingly.
Once all the items are in position, laying them out effectively is another task. This isn’t just about throwing them down in the right section of the wheel! Encourage the children to move the objects around until the layout looks balanced. This will help them to start thinking about how the positioning of smaller elements has a huge impact on the overall picture.
Here’s the final result of our colour wheel introduction activity. We all had great fun doing this and hope you do too!
