Ages 6-7
Insect Drawings
Skill Builders:
-Gluing
-Coloring
-Drawing
-Shapes
-Lines
-Overlapping
-Enlarging
-Cropping
Supply List:
-Glue Bottle
-Chalk Pastels
-12 by 18 inch black paper
-Pencil
-Eraser
-White Colored Pencil
-Ruler (if desired)
-Hair Spray (optional)
Alternative Supply List:
-No glue bottle do this project on white paper with crayons/markers/colored pencils
If you do not have a glue bottle or if you do not have chalk pastels/chalk create this project on white paper
with crayons/markers/colored pencils
-Chalk pastels can be substituted for regular chalk
-12 by 18 inch black paper can be substituted for another size of black paper or white paper
-A white colored pencil makes the drawing easier to see as your child works on it but is not necessary if
unavailable
Overview:
During this project, your child will be able to engage in drawing insects. Some of the “how to draw” resources will be easier and some will be more challenging in an attempt to reach children who have varied drawing ability levels. After drawing insects they will be able to practice drawing the insects “home” environment by drawing leaves and sticks. When creating the final drawing children will practice enlarging, cropping, and overlapping skills to create an interesting composition.
Project Directions:
Step One:
Fold a piece of copy paper in half hamburger style. Practice drawing two to four different insects using the link below as a resource.
Additional Learning Opportunity:
Discuss different insects, where they live, what they like to eat. Go outside and look at insects you can find in the yard.
Step Two:
Draw your insects on the 12 by 18 inch black paper. Draw your insects nice and large, pretend you are looking at the insects under a magnifying glass. If you are using crayons/markers/colored pencils instead of chalk pastels or you do not have a glue bottle I recommend using white paper. If you are drawing on black paper I recommend using a white colored pencil because it can still be mostly erased and what is not erased will be covered by chalk pastels. Additionally it is easier to see the white colored pencil on black paper rather than a pencil. If you do not have a white colored pencil a pencil can still be used. If a white paper is being used I recommend using a regular pencil.
Step Three:
Add branches and leaves. Remember that you are looking at your bugs under a magnifying glass so we are not going to draw full trees or the sun. Instead we will see enlarged branches and leaves. Don’t worry about drawing the sky or the ground either since we are looking under a magnifying glass we would only see the sky or the ground which we will color in later. In order to create an interesting composition we want to enlarge, crop, and overlap. You can enlarge your objects by making them nice and big. Look at how big my ladybug is, it is enlarged! You can crop your objects by having them “fall” off the edge of the paper. Look at how my leaves and branch fall off the paper, they are cropped! Finally, you can overlap your objects by having some objects going over other objects. Look at how my leaf goes over my insect, my leaf is overlapping my insect.
Click here to learn how to draw tree branches
Additional Learning Opportunities:
Go on a nature walk with or without a magnifying glass and look at the way trees and branches are formed. See if you can find the “Y’s” and “V’s?" Look closely at the leaves, what shapes do you see? How many different types of leaves can you find?
Step Four:
Trace your colored pencil/pencil lines with a glue bottle. Once glue is dry it will create black lines and will keep the chalk from covering the black lines. I recommend doing this step on top of a newspaper or some kind of placemat to keep the table clean. Don’t forget to let the glue dry on a flat surface. If you are doing this project on a white paper trace your lines with a black sharpie, black marker, black crayon, black colored pencil, etc. Try to make your lines thick so they are visible after you color with crayons, markers, or colored pencils
Step Five:
Once the glue is completely dry or when you are done drawing the black lines. You can color in your artwork. If you are using chalk pastels/chalk you can use your finger or a paper towel/napkin to smooth the chalk as you color. What color is the background? Is it the ground or the sky? What color are the leaves, branches, and insects you drew?
These two pictures are examples of this project done by kids your age!
Step Six:
This step is an optional step only for those who created their artwork with chalk pastels/chalk. As you may know chalk can be messy when anything touches it even after the artwork is completed. If you have hairspray it can act as a “fixative” meaning that the chalk will be “sealed in.” The artwork will still be a little messy to the touch but less so. If you do use hairspray, hold the hairspray about six inches away from the artwork and spray back and forth without soaking the artwork or spraying too long in one spot. Additionally you may want to spray it outside. You can spray it more than once if needed.