Shapes in Art

Core Idea

Shapes are everywhere in art and in the world! Circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, and stars are shapes you can draw, cut out, and use to build pictures. When you learn about shapes, you can see them in everything around you.

How It's Best Learned

Draw shapes on large paper. Cut shapes out of colored paper and arrange them into pictures. Go on a shape hunt around the room or outside. Use shape stamps and stencils. Build with wooden blocks and name the shapes.

Common Misconceptions

• Shapes must be drawn perfectly to count; a wobbly circle is still a circle.
• Shapes are only found in math class; shapes are the building blocks of all art and design.
• There are only a few shapes to learn; the world is full of many different shapes including hearts, ovals, diamonds, and more.

Explainer

Shapes are the outlines and forms you see everywhere. A circle is round like a ball or the sun. A square has four equal sides like a window or a cracker. A triangle has three sides like a slice of pizza or a party hat. These are some of the basic shapes you will use again and again in your art.

Artists use shapes to build their pictures. When you draw a person, you might start with a circle for the head and rectangles for the body and legs. When you draw a house, you might use a square for the walls and a triangle for the roof. Shapes are like building blocks for drawing!

You can find shapes in the real world too. Look around you right now. Can you find a circle? Maybe a clock or a plate. Can you find a rectangle? Maybe a door or a book. Once you start looking for shapes, you will see them everywhere. This is called having "shape eyes," and artists use their shape eyes all the time.

Shapes in art do not have to be perfect. Your circle might be a little wobbly. Your square might lean to one side. That is perfectly fine! In art, shapes have personality. A wiggly line and a bumpy circle make your art look like it was made by you, and that is what makes it special.