Cubism – Style of art which shows different viewpoints of a person or object in a single image

Note: It is called cubism because items represented in the work look like they are made of cubes and other geometrical shapes.

To remember what cubism is, recall the following:

He's using cube and prism (cubism) shapes, experimenting with different views in a single picture.

Project 1

To create your own cubist painting, select an item you'd like to draw and sketch it from the front and the side. 

Then, cut your sketches up into several pieces, using straight but angular cuts, rather than curved lines.

Rearrange the pieces and, when you're happy with the composition, stick the pieces down and use this as a reference for your final drawing. Don't worry about using all the pieces, it could start to get a little overcrowded!

Sketch the object again, in the new cubist composition, making some of the curved lines angular and out of proportion. It doesn't have to be perfect!

Colour your picture in with interesting colours and, for a final flourish, try adding some cut-up newspaper, sheet music or magazine pages to fill in some of the shapes. 

Project 2

Find a picture of a pet or your favourite animal.

Using the picture as a reference, break the anatomy down into its basic shapes.

Break the anatomy down once again, this time making some of the shapes more stylised, larger, smaller, or even change the shape completely!

Does the animal have any markings? Think about trying to incorporate them, while sticking to the cubist style.

Finally, colour in the animal in your chosen medium with bright and interesting colours. Try fading some of them from one shade to another or adding a pattern.

Cubism.