Animal Silhouette on Gradient Background

 An inherited project from the previous art teacher that I try deeply to enrich and align with IB... And yet it still feels too simple and easy for my 8th grade Art II kiddos... I really think the only reason they don't complain about it is because they get to use acrylic paint in class for the first time.

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 This is one of their small summatives for the first unit (alongside the Pop Art Value Sneakers). The idea is for them to show me they understand color and value...Because so many of them unfortunately do not comprehend that you cannot see black silhouettes against a dark color until it is too late:

At least it looks cool as hell.

The previous art teacher prepped the kids by asking them what their favorite animal is, and I think that's the part that really struck me as elementary/primary... Nowandays, I tell my students they can do their favorite animal by default if they can't think of any other one they might want to do. I also allow (of course) mythical creatures like dragons, unicorns, wyrms, and even Pokémon.

It's a requirement that they mix their own secondary and tertiary colors. The only paint I provide them with are the primary colors and black and white--They will hate this. Supremely. You need to stand your ground. Once they start practicing mixing (lead them in a demo), it's like a spell takes over them... Something about mixing your own colors is always so calming (save for the occasional student who overthinks everything, bless them).

If your students are old enough to understand ratios (and not the slang definition), make sure they write down the ratios amounts of the paint they're mixing so they're able to recreate it again. I like to have my kids do swatches with the acrylic before they're allowed to start on this assignment.

Straight away, I will confess (and this is no surprise to any seasoned painter): mixing violet is the hardest endeavor every year. I've managed to skirt by this by cheating and including (optional!!) magenta and teal as substitutes for red and blue, respectively... Results are mixed, but at least much more varied and interesting than in previous years.

If your kids are too young for acrylics (or rather: too irresponsible, uncontrollable, immature, etc.) or your budget does not allow for acrylics, I've substituted watercolors in this lesson in the past. Same concept, but the kids aren't as excited because they've all already used watercolors last year in Art I:

A forever unfinished piece...how lonely

 

You're going to get a few students who want to do a monochrome background instead of analogous... It's up to you whether to allow it or not. I think it's a great exercise in learning how much white/black paint to use, as well as (potentially!!) learning to lighten and darken a color with another color rather than using a tint or shade!!