Key Stage 1 art and design · Art and design techniques

KS1 art: pattern and texture for Years 1 and 2

Pattern and texture are two of the elements of art that children are taught to use at Key Stage 1, with colour, line, shape, form and space. A pattern is something that repeats, and texture is how a surface feels or looks as if it feels. By exploring both, in Years 1 and 2 children become more proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other techniques, and they find that patterns and textures are everywhere, from a zebra’s stripes to a bumpy tree trunk.

Pattern and texture in art, explained

A pattern is made when a shape, line, colour or mark is repeated in a planned way. Children begin by spotting patterns in the world: stripes on clothes, bricks on a wall, spots on a ladybird, tiles on a floor. They then make their own, usually starting with a simple two-part repeat such as red, blue, red, blue, which some teachers call an AB pattern. Later they try three-part repeats (ABC) and patterns where the size, direction or position changes. They also learn the difference between a regular pattern, where the repeat is exact, and an irregular one, like the spots on a leopard, where similar marks repeat without a fixed order.

Making patterns uses many techniques. Children may print with sponges, cut vegetables, lids, cotton reels or their own fingerprints, draw repeated lines and shapes, fold paper and cut to make repeated shapes, or arrange cut-out shapes in rows. Mirror patterns, where the left and right sides match, introduce the idea of symmetry, which links to maths. Schools choose which technique suits the project, and some link patterns to cultural designs or to natural patterns such as scales, petals and feathers.

Texture is about touch. Real texture is what you can feel, such as rough bark, soft wool or smooth glass. Visual texture is what looks as though it would feel a certain way, like the drawn fur on a cat. Children explore texture by feeling things with their eyes closed, describing them with words like bumpy, prickly, spiky and slimy, and then recording them. A common technique is rubbing: place paper over a textured surface such as a leaf, a coin or a brick wall, and rub with the side of a crayon so that the texture appears. Collage with different fabrics, papers and found materials lets them make real texture, and different drawing marks show visual texture.

Pattern and texture often combine. A child might draw a fish and decorate its scales with a repeating pattern, then use rough torn paper for rocks and shiny foil for water. The curriculum names these as techniques to develop, so teachers look for children to try them, talk about what they chose and compare their work with what they see. Success is not a perfect repeat, but a child who can say what they repeated and why, and how a surface feels.

Words your child will hear

Pattern: Shapes, lines or colours that repeat in a planned way.
Repeat: To do or draw the same thing again, over and over.
Texture: How a surface feels, or how it looks as though it would feel.
Rubbing: A picture made by rubbing a crayon over paper laid on a textured surface.
Print: A mark made by pressing a painted object onto paper.
Symmetrical: The same on both sides, like a butterfly’s wings.
Rough and smooth: Words for how a surface feels: rough is bumpy or scratchy, smooth is even and flat.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 1 says:

Pupils should be taught to develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
Aim: pupils become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: a pattern and texture snake

Make a snake with a repeating pattern on its body and a different texture on its head.

Draw a long, wavy snake shape on paper. Divide the body into sections by drawing lines across it, like slices.
Choose a simple repeat for the body, such as AB: red stripe, yellow stripe, red stripe, yellow stripe. Say it aloud as you go to keep the order.
Try a harder one on the tail: ABC, such as a circle, a triangle and a square, repeated. Check each time that the order is the same.
Make texture for the head. Place a separate piece of paper over a rough surface such as a brick wall or a leaf, rub over it with the side of a crayon, then cut out a head shape and stick it on.
Look and describe. Ask, “Where is the pattern? Where is the texture? How would the head feel if it were real?”

The body shows a pattern because the stripes repeat in a fixed order, and the head shows texture because the crayon rubbing picked up the surface. A child might say, “The body is red, yellow, red, yellow, so it’s an AB pattern, and the head looks bumpy because I did a rubbing of the wall.”

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking a pattern is just a lot of things, rather than a repeat

Children cover a page with spots or stripes at random and call it a pattern. The word is used loosely at home.

What helps: Ask, “What comes next?” If you cannot say, it isn’t a repeating pattern yet. Start with two colours in a line and read it out together.

Losing track of a repeating pattern halfway along

Working memory is still developing, and children forget the order, especially when the pattern has three or more parts.

What helps: Say the order aloud as you draw and point to each part, or draw a faint guide in pencil first. Using blocks to build the pattern before drawing it also helps.

Believing texture is only something you can touch

The word is linked to feel, so children are puzzled when a flat drawing is described as textured.

What helps: Show a flat drawing of fur or a brick wall and ask what it looks like. Explain that artists use marks to show what a surface would feel like.

Making a rubbing where the texture does not show up

It is a delicate skill: thin paper, a crayon held the wrong way, and a surface that moves around all stop the pattern coming through.

What helps: Peel the wrapper off the crayon and use the side, not the tip. Hold the paper still with the other hand, or tape it down, and rub gently in one direction.

How to help at home

Pattern hunt. Look for stripes, spots, checks and repeats around the home, on clothes, curtains, tiles and food packets. Draw one, then change it by changing a colour or adding a step.
Make a rubbing collection. With thin paper and a wax crayon, make rubbings of leaves, coins, tree bark or a brick wall. Label each one with a describing word, such as bumpy or ridged, and make a texture book.
Print with kitchen objects. Dip a sponge, a bottle top or a scrunched ball of foil in a thin layer of washable paint and press it on paper to make a repeating row. Try changing the order to make AB, ABB or ABC patterns.
Feely bag. Put things such as a pine cone, a piece of velvet, a smooth pebble and a spoon into a bag. Ask your child to feel one without looking and describe it. Can others guess what it is?
Pattern on a plate. Laying out slices of fruit in a repeating order on a plate, such as apple, banana, apple, banana, makes a pattern that can be eaten afterwards. Wash hands first, let an adult do any cutting, and check for allergies.

Leads on to

Key Stage 2: Pencil and charcoal drawing
Key Stage 2: Painting techniques
Key Stage 2: Sculpture with clay

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Updated 20 October 2026.