Paper Curl Observational Drawing

This is a super simple observational drawing lesson that has, in my opinion, very elegant, fresh and contemporary results. Plus it's very inexpensive!!!

I found the lesson HERE on the Painted Apple art blog.

I taught this to my Grade 7 - 9 drawing elective class.

I cut a bunch of strips of heavier weight white paper using my paper cutter. 

Between about 6 - 8 " in length. Have students choose a strip and then twist/bend/manipulate it into some type of curl. I was impressed by the variety of curls students came up with.

Students had already learned how to do a simple line contour drawing, so they started with that, drawing lightly with a HB pencil until they got the proportion just right. 

Then, using darker drawing pencils, blending stumps/ tortillons and kneaded erasers (my students love these), they started adding shading. They were encouraged to use the entire value scale.

I turned all the classroom lights off and just let in the natural sunlight 

which come from only one side of our room; it created a consistent shadow on all of the curls.

Most students managed to finish one curl in an 80 minute period; a few needed more time, 

especially those with more complex and/or larger curls.

I loved this 'Tower of Babel-esque' curl below!!!

my quick demo on my easel

Completed Grade7/8/9 drawings:

Laurel Burch Fantastic Felines

Another classic and popular Art teacher project: Laurel Burch style cats.

You can find many examples of these online- here's how my Grade 3 students made theirs:

We looked at photos online of Burch's "Fantastic Felines", as they're called. We talked about the colours and the patterns used. On 12 x 18" white paper, students drew large Burch style cats. We discussed how these cats are slightly 'stylized'. Then they outlined them in permanent black marker.

I did a short demo on how to paint carefully, to prevent bleeding, with watercolours. 

Then the kids went to town painting their cats. 

Once they were dry, some students added final details with gold markers.

For a final step, students cut them out 'bubble' style; leaving about 1/2 an inch of 

white paper as a border.

I love how they all have their own unique personality!

this is a 'ninja' type cat complete with nunchuks

Big Puffy Fish

Another school year underway! 

I have tons of photos of new projects- just need to find the time to start editing them all! The first couple weeks back is always such a crazy busy time as teachers and students all know!!

First up: Big Puffy Fish created by Grade 4/5 students. I have a new display mini-room attached to my art room, so wanted to fill it with a 3D project. I used large sheets of white paper from a big paper roll (the kind schools have to cover bulletin boards, etc)  I pulled off a long sheet, and folded it in half. I did this for each student. They each ended up with a folded piece of paper about 24" wide or so. We looked at pictures of different types of fish, They could choose to do a realistic one or create a fantasy one. Then, on one side of their folded paper, they drew their fish- really big. Then, they traced over the lines with a black wax crayon. They then took this drawing, and held it up to a window, and traced the design onto the other side. So then we had a perfect two-sided fish.

They added first accent lines with oil pastels, then used tempera paint (in the puck/disc style) to paint the fish. One class we painted one side, then the second class the other side. Once each fish was dry, students did what I call a 'bubble cut' around their fish, meaning they left a 1" border of white paper around the edges. I stapled all around this, leaving a bit of space for stuffing. Students stuffed their fish using paper towels. Then I stapled them shut, punched a hole at the top, and the kids tied a long piece of yarn through the hole for hanging purposes.

Here's the first drawing stage with the black wax crayon...

One side painted and drying....

Finished works- had to photograph them on the floor because they were so big!

side view to capture the 3D effect