Supplies: watercolor paper, pencils, erasers, black
sharpies, colored pencils (you could also use colored sharpies, crayons or pastels), watercolor paints, salt (optional)
1.
First, I led the class through a how to draw an
elephant on watercolor paper. We used pencils to start and drew light, erasing
as needed. DRAW LIGHT UNTIL YOU GET IT RIGHT is the mantra for my art room.
2.
We looked at pictures of Indian elephants (some
are grey and some are brown) and talked about the designs and patterns painted
on them for celebrations in India. You can go as culturally deep
with this as you like, there is a lot of great information. Students drew their
own patterns and designs on the elephants.
3.
When everything was drawn, I gave them a black
sharpie to go over their designs. We erased any pencil marks that did not line
up with our sharpie lines.
4.
Next, we colored in the patterns - ONLY THE
PATTERNS - on the elephants with colored pencils, but in the past I’ve used
colored sharpies, crayons, and oil pastels.
5.
Lastly, we used watercolor paints to paint the
elephant’s skin, the ground, and the sky. Some students chose to sprinkle salt
on their sky or grass. I thought it looked great for the elephants skin. For the
salt effect to work, you must sprinkle the salt while the watercolor is nice
and juicy on the paper, and brush it off only after it has dried completely. If
it goes on too thick, it will not brush off. But this is just a “happy
accident” as now their art has texture.
This project takes about 45min to an hour. Have fun!
