PIXEL AND FRIENDS - THE COLOUR SHOW
The following creative arts activities have been developed to be used in combination with teaching and learning activities developed for the B string of Connected Outcomes Group (COG) units of work.
Each activity addresses an aspect or aspects of the B string connection foci:
Early Stage 1
Connection focus: developing an understanding of who we are by exploring what we have in common with others, and what is unique. How we express ourselves and communicate with others is part of our identity.
Stage 1
Connection focus: exploring the many groups that have different roles in our lives, including family groups, special interest groups and community groups. We can better understand others by understanding what is similar and unique about our families and groups to which we belong.
Stage 2
Connection focus: knowing what it means to be part of a unified and changing community. Significant events and contributions made by ourselves and others contribute to our heritage, our values and our Australian identity.
Stage 3
Connection focus: examining how personal identity is shaped. Our identities, values and beliefs are influenced by significant events, significant people, our family, peers and the media.
Teachers can use these activities in each stage as appropriate to the connection focus, or as creative arts content in a multistage unit. The following table maps creative arts syllabus content addressed through the activities:
Stage | Dance | Drama | Music | Visual Arts |
Early Stage 1 |
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Stage 1 |
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Stage 2 |
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Stage 3 |
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Activity 1: The artist speaks …
Stages: most appropriate for Stages 2-3, with modifications for earlier stages.
In this activity, Kim Carpenter, Artistic Director of The Theatre of Image, talks about the process of creating Pixel and friends – the colour show.
Apologies - video coming soon
View the video and discuss:
- A definition of visual theatre
- How a visual storyboard is used as stimulus for creating a piece of theatre
- The stages in the process of making the work
- The director’s intention for the work
Activity 2: The story of Pixel
Stages: suitable for all stages.
View the visual storyboard for Pixel and friends – the colour show.* Discuss how the images represent a narrative.
- How many characters are in the story?
- Can you identified sections in the narrative?
- What happens to Pixel in the narrative?
* an alternative activity would be to view an excerpt only of the storyboard and ask students to summarise the narrative and project what happens next.
Select individual images and ask students to talk and write about how the artist has depicted the place/environment, character/s and mood. For example:
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| What colours have been used? Who are the characters and what is their relationship? How have the characters been drawn? Where are the characters? How has the artist depicted that “place”? What mood has been captured in this drawing? |
 | What colours have been used? What shapes and forms do you see in this drawing? How has the character been drawn? Where is the character? How has the artist depicted that “place”?What mood has been captured in this drawing? |
Visual arts extension
Select one image from the storyboard as a starting point for a short story about Pixel. Using four frames for the narrative, illustrate this story.
Dance extension
Select two images from the storyboard that show Pixel and Line exploring an environment. Create a short sequence of movement for each image. Link the sequences together using transitions.
Music extension
Learn repertoire that tells a story about a colourful or fantasy character, e.g.
‘Cinderella’ – Early Stage 1, Stage 1
‘Gary Galah’ – Stage 2, Stage 3
Activity 3: Colour study
Stages: suitable for all stages.
View and discuss the image from the visual storyboard where Line introduces Pixel to the world of colours through a series of doorways in the white space.
Ask students:
- What colours do you see?
- What meanings do individual colours have? (make reference to the meaning of colours in different cultures)
- What is your favourite colour and why?
- What is the importance of colour to Pixel in the story?
Visual arts extension
All stages: Paint a portrait
Focus of making for ES1/S1: colour, line, qualities of paint media
Focus of making for S2/S3: colour, line, form, qualities of a variety of paint media, large scale.
Dance extension
All stages: Adapt the lesson Emotional palettes (S3 Quantum leaps)
Focus for ES1/S1: action
Focus for S2/S3: action and dynamics
Drama extension
Coming soon
Activity 4: Character study
Stages: suitable for all stages.
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View and discuss images of the two central characters in the story, Pixel and Line.
Ask students:
- What can you learn about the characters from the way they are drawn?
Visual arts extension
All stages: Discuss character images as portraits. View other artist’s portraiture e.g
- Fauve - Matisse
- Cubist - Picasso
- Reg Mombasa/Mike Beare
- Recent Archibald work
All stages: digital portraits
Using interactive sketch tool, draw portraits of self and others. Focus on line and making marks with digital tool, proportion and detail
Dance extension
Select one character. Choose 3-5 images of that character in the visual storyboard. Create body shapes to represent each image. Link the body shapes with movement transitions to form a sequence of movement. Work with a partner who has created a sequence for Line. Compose a duet for the two characters.
Drama extension
Coming soon
Activity 5: Rhythm study
Stages: suitable for all stages.
View and discuss image of visual rhythm in the visual storyboard. Ask students:
- How many lines or sections are in the image?
- What colours can you see? Are these repeated?
- Are all lines the same width?
As a class group, create a rhythm based on the image by:
- Clapping
- Clapping, stamping and clicking
- Incorporating other sounds
Music extension
Coming soon
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