Students were required to pick an animal they felt best represented them. We talked about the symbolism of animals in art throughout history, their own character traits and how they would apply them in a hybrid drawing of themselves as the animal. Emphasis is placed upon their animal character. We had noticed how some of them are very interested in manga drawings so we allowed them to use that style if they wanted. We also had my daughter (who is in high school) visit and do a demonstration on Manga drawing. They seemed to really enjoy this project. Some students had never worked on black paper or the pastels so this really pushed them out of their comfort level. After a brief demonstration with the materials they were inspired to get to it.
Materials: Heavy black drawing paper, oil pastels, prismacolors