Draw Your Own Animal Characters That Tell a Story

Unusual facts and features of the animals are discussed as we view slides. Students will learn about the animals' habitat and what they eat, and often include these in the drawings.

I encourage students to tell a joke about the animal or an interesting fact about them to share. 

We explore both the realistic animal then a character version of it, and often draw both (time permitting). We look at ways to create a unique animal character. 

No prior drawing experience needed, as this class will accommodate a range of skill level. Sometimes a worksheet (drawn by me) is provided. If you don't have access to a printer, I plan an alternative drawing exercise.

 This class is structured but informal with social time as we draw. 

The class routine (loosely) follows: 

Classroom Expectations and Introduction - 3-5 min
Discussion and Slides of weekly animal  - 5 min
Active drawing and social time for students - 10 min
Show work and discuss - 15 min
Add colour & make adjustments (optional).

Many of the topics listed are requests from students. 

By now we've covered many animals including insects (blue whale, woolly mammoth, crab, lobster, pigeon, ostrich, caribou, blue heron, shark, mice, rhinoceros, moth, bison, wolf, raccoon, lion, giraffe, rattle snake, eagle, iguana, koala bear, octopus, etc). 

Some of the popular ones (like cats) we've repeated as per student request.

Animals completed for November, December and January: Dogs, ants, sloth, sunfish, shark, lobster, mice and starfish.

February and March upcoming animals: Dragon fly, walrus, crab, turtle, and beaver. I am always open to your animal suggestions.

We may not stop until every animal has been drawn in this class!