Objects and Still Life – Class 6 Arts Chapter 1 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 6ArtsChapter 1NCERT book: Kriti - Arts Class 6

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 1 of the NCERT Class 6 Arts book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 1: Objects and Still Life (Visual Arts)

Introduction

The Visual Arts section of Kriti opens with an ancient verse from the Vishnudharmottara Purana:

Rupabhedah pramanani bhavalavanyayojanam / Sadrsyam varnikabhangam iti chitram shadangakam

Meaning: The six limbs of art are — knowledge of appearance, proportion, emotions, aesthetics, similarity, and skilful use of tools and colours.

Chapter 1, Objects and Still Life, invites you to make ordinary objects "narrate a story". The chapter says you will learn to add life to still objects by connecting with them, building a story around them, observing their arrangement, and watching how light falls on them to create shades and shadows. You will also notice how objects that look separate from one point of view overlap from another.

Key Ideas

The six limbs of art (Shadanga)

Rupabheda – knowledge of appearance (how things look and differ)

Pramana – proportion

Bhava – emotions

Lavanya-yojana – aesthetics (beauty and grace)

Sadrishya – similarity (likeness to the subject)

Varnikabhanga – skilful use of tools and colours

Seeing objects closely

Every object has a material (wood, metal, clay, plastic, cloth) and a shape that often has a reason behind it.

Look at the space around an object, and look at it from different angles — it changes!

Two-dimensional shapes become three-dimensional forms when you add depth.

Light, shade and shadow

Light falling on an object creates light and dark areas (tones) and a shadow on the other side.

Varying pencil pressure in rhythmic strokes gives light, medium and dark tones.

What is a still life?

Artists arrange objects in a group to create drawings, paintings, sculptures and photographs. Such artworks are called still life.

Flowers, plants, vegetables, fruits, food items, clothing, tools and household objects can all be part of a still life.

A still life shows things that are still and do not move — but in the artwork, the objects get a new "life".

A lot of thought goes into the choice of objects and how they are arranged.

Perspective

When you draw furniture and correct your lines, angles and shapes so that the drawing shows dimension and depth, this is called perspective. It gives a feeling of three-dimensional space.

Activities in the Chapter

Explore objects from surroundings – observe materials, shapes, space around objects and different angles; choose two or three objects to draw.

Draw objects in different ways –

- draw an object with one continuous line (without lifting the pencil);

- draw each part separately (e.g., the cap and container of a water bottle) and notice proportions;

- draw the same object from three angles.

- Riddle: "Wherever you go, I follow… you can see me but cannot touch me." Answer: Shadow.

Light and shade – observe shadows, practise light-to-dark pencil strokes, then shade your objects and draw their shadows.

Through the eyes of an artist – study a still life painting by Amrita Sher-Gil and discuss its objects, arrangement, light, shade and shadows.

Create your own still life – in groups of four or five, arrange two or three objects of different materials in the centre of a circle and draw them.

Drawing furniture – draw two or three pieces of furniture and edit the drawing to show perspective. Continue: draw doors, windows, pipes, taps, shutters, fans and lights.

Make a flipbook – cut an A4 sheet into eight equal pieces, staple them on the shorter side, draw an object near the right edge of the last page, then trace it on each earlier page with a slight change in position. Flip quickly — your object moves!

Artists and Traditions Mentioned

Amrita Sher-Gil – an important modern Indian woman artist, born in 1913. Her mother was from Hungary and her father from India. She studied art in Paris, returned to India at 21, and travelled to small towns and villages with her canvases and oil paints. Her paintings have rich earthy colours and show the life and conditions of common Indian people.

Vishnudharmottara Purana – source of the verse on the six limbs of art.

Key Terms

Still life – artwork of arranged, non-moving objects (स्थिर चित्र)

Shape – flat, two-dimensional outline (आकार)

Form – three-dimensional shape with depth (रूप)

Proportion – size relationship between parts (अनुपात)

Tone – lightness or darkness (तान/छाया-स्तर)

Shade – darker area on an object (छाया)

Shadow – dark shape cast by an object blocking light (परछाई)

Composition – arrangement of objects in an artwork (संयोजन)

Perspective – showing depth and 3-D space on a flat surface (परिप्रेक्ष्य)

Overlap – one object partly covering another (अधिव्यापन)

Flipbook – small book whose drawings seem to move when flipped (फ़्लिपबुक)

Continuous line drawing – drawing without lifting the pencil (सतत रेखा चित्र)

Angle of view – the position you look from (दृष्टिकोण)

Connect to Your Life

Look at your study table, kitchen shelf or school bag — each is already a still life! Notice how the morning and evening light change their shadows.

Common Mistakes

Drawing objects only from the front — try other angles.

Forgetting the shadow, or putting it on the same side as the light.

Pressing hard everywhere — tones need varied pressure.

Thinking "still life" means dead or boring — the artwork gives objects a new life.

Let's Reflect

Why do you think it is called a still life?

Which of your three angle drawings did your classmates find most interesting, and why?

In the Amrita Sher-Gil painting, where is the light coming from?

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Name the six limbs of art (Shadanga) from the Vishnudharmottara Purana
✓Observe objects for material, shape, space around them and different angles
✓Create light, medium and dark tones and show shadows accurately
✓Understand what a still life is and arrange one thoughtfully
✓Use perspective and flipbook animation to show depth and movement

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Set up a still life at the centre of the class with objects of different materials before starting
→Use a torch or window light to show how moving the light shifts the shadow
→Run the one-continuous-line challenge and let classmates guess the object
→Display Amrita Sher-Gil's still life and ask students to point out light, shade and shadow
→Pair students to draw the same object from three angles and compare
→Follow the chapter's advice: avoid drawing on the board to show 'how'; let students explore
→Make flipbooks in pairs and hold a short 'flip show' at the end

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the student list the six limbs of art?
Does the drawing show light, medium and dark tones with a correctly placed shadow?
Is the still life arrangement thoughtful (materials, overlap, visibility)?
Does the furniture drawing show perspective?
Does the flipbook show smooth movement across pages?

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