Changing the Typical Picture – Class 6 Arts Chapter 2 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 6ArtsChapter 2NCERT book: Kriti - Arts Class 6

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 2 of the NCERT Class 6 Arts book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

🎧 Listen to the content

Chapter 2: Changing the Typical Picture (Visual Arts)

Introduction

Changing the Typical Picture takes you outdoors to discover the wonders of nature — its shapes, forms, colours, patterns and textures. You will record these details through drawing and painting, learn to make your own natural colours, and create tints and shades. The chapter's big aim: to help you think creatively and change the way you see the world.

Key Ideas

Observing nature with all your senses

Imagine being surrounded by trees, hills, streams, sea and sand: what do you see, hear and feel?

Notice the vastness of the sky, the colours and forms of clouds, the colour of soil, and the texture of stones and pebbles — smooth, rough, bumpy or grainy.

Leaves have different shapes, lines and patterns; animals, birds and insects have different forms when sitting, sleeping, standing or moving.

Where do colours come from?

Before ready-made colour boxes, colours came from nature:

Food and plants – e.g., turmeric makes dal yellow; many fruits and vegetables stain fingers and clothes.

Flowers can be used to extract colour.

Soil, stones and mineral deposits — for example charcoal (black) and lapis lazuli (a blue stone).

How natural colours are made (the book's four steps)

Source raw materials — soil, minerals, vegetables, flowers, fruit, roots, charcoal, etc.

Powder and filter the pigments finely to remove impurities.

Add a binder in the correct proportion so the colour sticks to the surface. Natural binders include gum arabic (sap from the bark of the babul tree), oils, milk, egg white and egg yolk.

Apply the prepared colour to the artwork.

Tints and shades

Colour + White = Colour Tints

Colour + Black = Colour Shades

Just like our moods change during the day — strong or mild — colours can be made vibrant, intense, dark, pale, light or mild.

Clothes fade in sunlight and washing, changing from bright to dull — a real-life example of changing colour.

Surfaces and materials used by artists

Before paper was invented, artists painted on rocks, cave walls, mud plaster, palm leaves, wood and cloth. They made 3-D objects from terracotta, stone, animal bone, leather, wood, metal and fibre, and invented special tools for each material. The book shows examples such as rock surfaces, fresco walls, floor surfaces and cloth, painted with earth colours, rice flour and mineral colours.

Activities in the Chapter

Nature walk – observe the sky, ground, plants, leaves and animals; draw three leaves with different shapes and patterns. Continue: keep a visual journal and draw every day.

Field trip – visit a museum or artist's studio; note the artworks, materials, artists, tools, techniques and how space is arranged.

Make natural colours – list fruits, vegetables, leaves and roots that give colour.

Make an artwork with natural colours – source materials, prepare colours with your teacher and peers, experiment with combinations, create and display your artwork with a title and material details.

Creating tints and shades – mix white and black into two or three colours. Alternative: a paper mosaic from magazine pages. Nature's Palette: match the colours of three leaves by mixing. Extension: find tints and shades in museum artworks and note the moods they create.

Surfaces and materials used by artists – experiment with non-paper surfaces.

My inspirations from nature – make an artwork of what nature means to you, "through your eyes".

Key Terms

Texture – how a surface feels or looks like it feels (बनावट)

Pattern – a repeated design (प्रतिरूप/नमूना)

Pigment – coloured powder that gives colour (रंजक/वर्णक)

Binder – substance that makes colour stick (बंधक)

Gum arabic – binder from babul tree sap (बबूल का गोंद)

Tint – colour + white (हल्का रंग)

Shade – colour + black (गहरा रंग)

Earth colours – colours from soil (मिट्टी के रंग)

Mineral colours – colours from stones/minerals (खनिज रंग)

Fresco – painting on a plaster wall (भित्ति चित्र)

Visual journal – daily drawing diary (दृश्य डायरी)

Mosaic – picture made of small pieces (पच्चीकारी)

Connect to Your Life

Notice the turmeric stain on your fingers after lunch, or how your favourite shirt has faded — both are lessons about colour!

Common Mistakes

Mixing up tints and shades — tint = white, shade = black.

Skipping the binder, so the colour flakes off.

Not filtering the powder, leaving grit in the paint.

Drawing a "typical" picture (mountains + sun + river) instead of what nature means to you.

Let's Reflect

What did you hear and feel on your nature walk?

Which natural material gave the brightest colour?

How do tints and shades change the mood of an artwork?

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Observe shapes, forms, colours, patterns and textures in nature
✓Explain the four steps of making natural colours, including the role of a binder
✓Create tints (colour + white) and shades (colour + black)
✓Know surfaces and materials artists used before paper
✓Create an original nature artwork 'through your own eyes'

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Take students outdoors for the nature walk with drawing books and pencils
→Bring turmeric, charcoal, beetroot and flowers to demonstrate natural colours
→Show how gum arabic or milk works as a binder by comparing paint with and without it
→Link tints and shades to moods using a 'mood of the day' discussion
→Organise a museum or local artist studio visit with the five guiding questions
→Hold a class exhibition with titles and material labels
→Encourage a daily visual journal as a habit

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the student describe the four steps of making natural colours?
Can they correctly make and label a tint and a shade?
Does the nature journal show close observation of texture and pattern?
Can they name surfaces used by artists before paper?
Is the final artwork personal rather than a 'typical' picture?

Ask the AI tutor about Class 6 Arts Chapter 2

Get question answers, important questions, a quick MCQ quiz or a simple explanation of “Changing the Typical Picture”. Free — sign in with Google.

How the AI tutor works →

👩‍🏫 Class 6 Arts classes near you — online or at home

Prefer a real teacher? TalentJR teachers take live online classes anywhere in India and visit homes in selected cities. Tell us what you need and our team will call you with timings and fees.

Live online classesSmall groups or 1:1 with a teacher, from home, any city.
Teacher at homeA TalentJR teacher visits your home (selected cities).
At a centreClasses at a TalentJR partner centre near you, where available.