Wild and Wacky Lions!

The inspiration for this lesson came from Deep Space Sparkle's Wild Wacky Hair lesson. Last year we did this lesson just as it appears on D.S.S., but this year I wanted to again follow our "Wild About Art" theme.

5th grade was studying the 5 types of LINE: Vertical, Horizontal, Diagonal, Curvy, and Zig-zag.

The line lesson doesn't usually excite the 5th grades, until I unveiled the project example. One student was so excited that he yelled out, "Oh, we're gonna make his mane out of lines!! COOL!"

I like to take the ordinary and make it extraordinary (anyone recognize that phrase?)

We began with a simple line drawing of the lion's face in pencil.

Face: Oval 

Eyes: Smiley face with a Sad face on top, parentheses ( ) with a vertical line

Cheeks: two Circles the same size at the bottom connecting in the middle

Nose: a bridge to connect the top of the cheeks, and to show the depth of the face add two lines that are backward parentheses ) ( to connect from the side of the nose to the inside of the eye. 

Mouth: smiley face and smiley face connecting the bottom of the cheeks and upside  down triangles for teeth. 

Ears: half Circles with little half Circles inside (add some zig-zag lines for fight marks)

Then, use all five types of line for the mane.

Trace over all pencil lines with a black oil pastel.

Complete with watercolor paint.