Florida Animal
This is a fun project to have as the first assignment in Advanced Art. It's quick and demonstrates two techniques that are easy to do. The warm-up is a sketchbook lesson on animals from Florida. It ranges from easy to challenging. It also includes the iguana. I know it is not a native animal but has become very visible in the sunshine state just like the python. Then I do a painting demonstration for the glazing technique. Students then draw three different rough drafts. Since there is no background, the animal should take up at least 70% of the composition. The rough drafts also need to include the three colors they will use. I tell students that contrast is vital to making this composition standout. Therefore, all light or all dark colors would not work. I recommend a combination of bright and light colors. The dark outline will also help with contrast. I just give students white cardstock and it works well for this assignment.
Part 1 Florida Animals.mp4Part 1: Florida Animals
Part Two Florida Animals.mp4Part 2: Florida Animals
Glazing in Watercolor
This project is mostly about painting techniques. The first is about glazing as opposed to wet-into-wet. The video shows how I did that. I also show how to paint thick to thin lines with the paintbrush. They need to slightly dash in the outline so that it does not look like a cartoon.
Glazing Technique
This video demonstrates how to paint with the glazing technique.
Follow-up Assignment
Once, I had a semester exam in which students had to create a beverage drawing with Florida as the theme. My example shows three sodas with animals from Florida. I know the iguana is not native to the sunshine state but has become a very visible animal there just like the python. Students were allowed to choose the medium. Mine is watercolor, colored pencil, and ink.