There is nothing like surprising kids by having them draw a whale… and then putting him in space. Keeping kids engaged while learning new art techniques is my passion, and this Space Whale Value Art Project is perfect.
Whales are accessible and exciting to all kids, but they are fairly easy to draw. Changing this up by giving kids only two colors of paint and letting them create value is a perfect way to add to it – not to mention they get to give their whale a fancy white space helmet.
Supplies
- 12×18 white sulphite paper
- Black liquid tempera paint
- White liquid tempera paint
- Paintbrush
- A paper plate
Drawing the Whale with Paint
When we talk about drawing, we often imagine a pencil. But there are so many other ways to draw, including black paint. In this project, kids aren’t given anything other than a paintbrush to draw with. They also aren’t given any water.
Start by drawing a flat edge letter-C on on the left side of the paper.
Draw a line extending to the other side of the paper for the whale’s back starting at the top of the C-shape and curving down near the end of the paper.
Return to the bottom of the C-shape and extend the line a couple of inches for the whale’s mouth. Draw a short vertical line down, and draw a shorter horizontal line extending from the bottom of the vertical line to form the bottom of the mouth.
If kids continue the bottom line towards where the tail will be, the tail is often too thick. Draw two leaf shapes where the back line ended. Draw a line from one of them to where the bottom of the mouth is, forming the whale’s belly. Connect the other leaf shape (the fluke) to the back line.
Painting the Whale
Without cleaning your brush, dip the brush in the white and start painting the whale. The black and white will mix on the paper forming a gray. Encourage kids to get more white or more black in order to make the color gray that they would like for their whale, and finish painting the entire animal. Paint a fin at the bottom.
Add more white to the brush and paint the belly of the whale so it becomes lighter in value and contrasts with the darker fin.
Putting the Whale in Space
Load your paintbrush with black and start painting the background. You may need more paint than was previously on the plate. As you paint, the whale is going to look lighter in value.
Wipe your brush on the paper plate and load your brush with white.
Draw a circle around the whale’s head and a thick stripe where the circle touches the whale’s body. Add a curved reflection stripe at the top left corner.
Holding the brush completely upright, dab small dots of white in the background for stars.
Paint planets in the corner without cleaning your brush. The black background and white on your brush will mix. Press harder with your brush on top of the planets to give them some texture.
Take black and draw the whale’s eye, and reoutline the whale’s mouth. You’re done!
Did you enjoy this Space Whale Value Art Project? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
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Don’t forget to tag us at @soulsparklettes on social media if you make this space whale art project with your kids or students – we love to see what you create!
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