www.KINDERART.com
Printer-Friendly Page

Grade: K-2

Age: 5-8

Activity Summary:

Objectives:

• Learning how to draw an elephant with the characteristics that give it personality.
• Learning how to follow step by step instruction for creating a strong contour drawing, with appropriate proportions.
• Estimating the size of the drawing within the paper boundary.

What We Used:

• Markers
• Chalk Pastel
• Construction Paper

What We Did:

1. Discussed elephants as a species, including comparitive size, differences and similarities between African and Asian elephants, relationship to people in cities and farms, behaviour of elephants in nature.

2. Found a place to start our elephant by finding the middle of the paper, and walking our non-drawing-hand finger over to the left side. We made a dot there, to mark the spot. This dot then became the eye.

3. From the eye, we worked up to the top of the head and then down to the trunk.

4. Children discussed options for the shape of the trunk. Several chose to have the elephant showering himself.

5. From the trunk. we skipped across to the ear, which begins directly adjacent to the eye, drawing the line down and up again in a curved semi-circle. Children could add creases, wrinkles and frills to the ears.

6. After the ear, we filled in the gap where the mouth and tusks are.

7. We then skipped back up to the top at the forehead, and drew the long surved line of the back, continuing down into the hind leg.

8. Adding the tail in the best place to make it look elephant like, was fun! We spoke about bangles made of elephant hair.

9. We added legs, both front and rear, and joined them with a large belly.

10. Final details of the drawing included elephant toenails and other embellishments, tick-birds, thorn trees and grasses.

11. Finally we used light chalk rubbed into areas to lend some depth and tone. I wanted to preserve the freshness of the drawings without too much color and decoration.

Recommended Books:

© KinderArt ®

Do YOU have an idea to share?