Strokes

- Choose colors from the color palette to make a background.
Use wide strokes to completely fill the page.

- Then choose either black or white.
Use strokes of different widths to make a painting.

The half-tone palette

Insects and reptiles are always interesting subjects for creators. They have strange forms and varied colors.

You can see insects at the site of the The Montréal Insectarium .

With the half-tone palette and strokes of different widths, create an insect or a reptile.

The grayscale palette

Find a subject that you would like to paint using just only shades of gray. Close your eyes and let the light grays, the medium grays and the dark grays float in your mind. Do you start to get ideas?

Use the grayscale palette and strokes of different widths to make a painting.

The texture palette

- Visit the wildlife in the ecosystems of the Montréal Biodome by going to the site
Montréal Biodome .

- Create an animal of your choice or an imaginary animal.

Use the texture palette to draw its fur, feathers, scales or skin.

Draw the animal in its habitat.

Transparency

A stained-glass window is an artwork made with colored glass. The transparency of the glass lets the light change the picture throughout the day.

Use the color palette and transparencies to make a picture.Transparent colors mix when they are laid on top of other colors. By layering the colors you can get new colors.

Surround the transparent forms with a stroke that is not transparent, but opaque. The result is similar to a stained-glass window.

Smudging

The smudging or smearing tool lets you extend a color or mix it slightly with the neighboring color. This tool is in the box at the bottom right of the half-tone palette.

Choose colors from the color palette and
apply them to the page.

Use the smudge tool to extend the colors.

This tool can also be combined with different textures.