Australian Animals in Aboriginal Artworks

A "never fails to please" artwork.

I have taught this artwork to many, many students and it always manages to work out well. It is a very visual artwork that starts with a grid drawing.
I have 1cm gridded animals images and 2cm grids on A3 paper ready to use. I give a demo on how to use the grid drawing technique, having one finger on the image to hold the place in the image, while you draw onto the big gird with the other hand. The grid drawing technique enables students to achieve something close to accuracy and a better way of copying than simply tracing. I don't like tracing by the way!!!

1cm gridded image
2cm grid drawing

Students then trace this drawing onto white litho paper and complete it as a lead pencil drawing. Students are shown how to create tone with a lead pencil by manipulating the amount of pressure they apply.

 
A line is drawn about .5cm from the edge of the drawing. A second line is drawn about .5cm wide. This line is coloured in with black markers and creates the illusion of a white and then black outline around the animal. The drawing is then cut out along the edge of the black marker line.

The image is glued onto an A3 background. In this example, I created the background by putting leaves on coloured cardboard and spraying over them with coloured spray paint. I layered the leaves and used all least two colours. This lesson prep can be a bit expensive so I replaced the paint spray cans with line marking spray paint and it was heaps cheaper. The colours are floro which is the only drawback.
   On the background, students draw Aboriginal symbols in lead pencil.  I provide a laminated worksheet that has symbols on both sides. They can use all or part of the symbol. Students need to draw big and any single lines need to be turned into a shape. They then go over the symbols with a black marker.  

Colour is applied to the symbols with Posca pens and metallic markers. Sometimes I have students add in a line of dots with paint but this final step is optional.
Here are some examples of artworks I created to show the students...
 
 

 

 





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