Bobcats with Chalk Pastels

We are talking about predators and drew these bobcats this week. We talk about all the parts of the face and how he has spots AND stripes. We looked at the white around his eyes, the football shaped pupils, and the fur on the tips of his ears. We watched the videos below to see real bobcats.

We looked at bobcat art!

In the first video you can see the bobcat is surrounded by feathers. We talked about how bobcats are a nuisance to farmers, killing their chickens, but that the farmer was going to set him free somewhere far away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRsHYEL1mrM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnCfE6j9rss

Each student could draw the bobcat however they wanted. Then we used the chalk pastels to color them. We talked about value and blending.

I just love how this student drew his hiding in the grass!

Love the big eyes!

I made this as an example after the student above drew his in the grass. I wanted kids to see that they could draw him from different perspectives and that their drawings don’t always have to fit on the page or be in the middle! If you would like a copy of the lesson plan, just shoot me an email Natty241@hotmail.com

Next…..Gnomes!!

Finished Big Big Cats

2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade finsihed working on their Big Big Cats last week. Here are a few of the finished products. Students outlined and added details with oil pastels when finsihed. Some students drew girraffes and zebras in the background along with the Acatia trees. We used gold and copper tempra for the grass. I am sort of obsessed with metallic tempra paint. It's different, the kids like it, and it just adds an element of surprise and interest to a painting!

BIG BIG CATS!!

Do you ever feel like you could write a book of facts on a particular subject after teaching something over and over to group after group! Ask me about Big Cats!! "Why don't you look at the book when you read it, Mrs. Waggenspack" they ask. I guess its because I've read it four billion times!
So we are painting Big Cats on Big paper. Students have lots of pictures to look at. I show them how to draw a basic big cat face, then we look at the special markings on different cats.
All students are required to draw the iris, pupil, and reflection of light on any face we draw. We focused on using a dry brush for texture/fur, creating value by blending colors from light to dark, and using our watercolor knowledge for the background. We used tempra on the cat and watercolor and oil pastels on the background.


Some kids added interesting details like a fresh kill






First the students outline their drawings with a dark brown or dark orange.







Then they add light colors (yellow, white, light orange) to blend the edges from dark to light

We used my favorite super bright liquid watercolors from sargent to paint the background. I also let them use gold tempra in the grass and I put gold glitter paint in the orange paint to add a subtle sparkle to the cats! Kids LOVE anything that sparkles!!

I will post more cats as more groups finish them.