At the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic continued to spread and became a global pandemic. Affected by the epidemic, online teaching has become the new normal. As the main form of online education, multimedia learning has attracted more and more attention. The study of traditional patterns has always been a particularly important element of art study in China due to cultural heritage and precious resources. Chinese traditional patterns are an important object of learning because of the heritage. This study examines students' understanding of the composition and evolution of traditional Chinese patterns in bronze mirrors by using different multimedia learning materials. A two by two factorial design is employed. The dependent variables includes (1) subjects' post-test scores and (2) the data of subjects' eye-movement behaviour. Data shows that students who use the animation with narration allocate a greater amount of visual attention than students who use animation with on-screen text. The students who use simulation with on-screen text demonstrated a greater amount of visual attention than students who use received simulation with narration. Furthermore, this empirical study confirmed a direct, positive correlation between the length of the subjects' eye fixation behaviour and the depth of learning. This result also provides evidence to prove that the use of multimedia learning materials is helpful in art education, especially in the study of the various elements of traditional Chinese art.