 Pointillism is a technique that uses tiny dots of ink or paint to create an image. We're going to try making a drawing using this technique. But first, have a look at two famous examples below. Click on an image to enlarge it; click again to reduce it.
Both of the paintings above were created by applying many dots of different colours of oil paints. From a distance they visually blend together. Pointillism is an art movement that was important during the late 19th century. Pointillism became popular among French and Belgian painters, under the leadership of artists Paul Signac and Georges Seurat. Rather than mixing primary colours on a palette as was customary, the Pointillists applied the paint to their brushes and then put the pure colours on the canvas in small square or round strokes. Make your own Simpler images in the pointillism style can be created using a pencil and fine black pen or marker. The student first makes a normal pencil sketch, with detail and shading. This should be done very lightly, so it can be erased completely after the ink is applied.  Dots of ink, all the same size, are applied over the pencil. Make sure to use a pen or marker that won't smudge after it dries. Darker areas in the sketch get many dots close together. Shadows get dots also close together, just less so than the dark areas. Light areas get few or no dots. 
 Have a look at some Smarties pointillism. |
