Cave Paintings: The First Artists

Practice charcoal drawing in this art lesson: cave paintings: the first artists.

🎨 Studio Brief #1

Over 30,000 years ago, humans painted animals on cave walls in Lascaux, France and Altamira, Spain.

🎯 Your mission

Look at it. Then look at it for one minute longer.

⚡ The twist

Copy a master, then change ONE thing on purpose.

What you'll learn

Over 30,000 years ago, humans painted animals on cave walls in Lascaux, France and Altamira, Spain. Using pigments made from earth and charcoal, they created art that still inspires us today.

Get ready

Techniques you'll practise

charcoal drawingearth pigmentsstenciling

You will need

Colored pencilsDrawing paperScissors

Step 1 of 3

Crumple brown paper to create a textured 'cave wall' surface.

Step 2 of 3

Using charcoal and earth-toned pastels (brown, red, yellow), draw simple animal shapes: bison, horses, deer.

Step 3 of 3

Outline animals with charcoal. Fill with brown and ochre, blending with your fingers.

Did you know?

🤯 Mind = Blown

🤯 The Sistine Chapel ceiling took Michelangelo 4 years — and he hated every minute.

🌟 Artist Spotlight

🎨 Yayoi Kusama has been making polka dots for over 70 years and is still going.

You did it!

Next: Greek Pottery Designs All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Project

We'll pick an art project that matches exactly where your skills are right now.

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this: The next time you visit a museum (or look one up online), you'll see things others miss.

🏆 Try this week: Visit (or virtually tour) one museum this week.

👨‍👩‍👧 At dinner: “What's the most interesting piece of art you've seen this year?”

📖Share card

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Cave Paintings: The First Artists

Techniques you'll practise

You will need

Next Smart Project

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Cave Paintings: The First Artists

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