A Ram on the Farm
As you and your kid look for new and exciting art project ideas, consider the rich realm of farm animals. From simple farm animal drawings to more complicated farm animal figurines, the barn and stables are full of inspiration. You can get a firsthand look at horses and pigs at a local farm or simply browse a book for animals to re-create. Your farm animal projects can focus on a single animal or they can capture the bustling life of the entire farm.
Farm Animal Drawings
A farm animal drawing is the most basic way to use farm animals in your art activities. To draw a farm of chickens, pigs, goats, sheep and other typical farm animals, you need nothing more than drawing utensils and a drawing surface. If you have access to a farm, take a quick visit and snap some pictures to serve as inspiration. For those who wish to stay at home, search the Internet for pictures of farm animals. Then, use a combination of crayons, colored pencils and markers to draw individual animals or full farm scenes. For kids who want to expand their farm animal depictions, consider watercolors, pastels or charcoal.
Younger children who cannot yet draw animals, or anyone who wants to focus on color more than form will enjoy farm animal coloring books. Websites such Alphabet-Soup.com offer many farm animal coloring book pages as downloads. Just download, print and color to your heart's content.
Farm Animal Masks and Costumes
For a farm animal art activity that will delight long after the activity ends, consider farm animal costumes. A kid can continue to find joy with a farm animal costume for years to come. From Halloween to at-home dress-up, farm animal costumes are cute and enduring ways to celebrate farm life. To make a simple farm animal costume, pick out your favorite farm animal. Note that animal's basic features. For instance, let's say you want to dress up as a goat. You can go all out and make a full body suit with a gray shirt and pants and a goat's tail or you can stick to a goat's facial features and make just the horns and billy goat beard.
To make horns, consider the use of paper mache. If you don't want to go through the trouble of paper mache, you can create convincing goat horns out of gray construction paper or even aluminum foil. Use a gray wig or gray fabric to create your billy goat beard.
Farm animal masks are a good alternative to costumes. For a simple paper mask, draw a large farm animal face on a piece of paper. Cut out the mask's outline and include eye, mouth and nose holes. Use felt and other decorations to make your paper mask stand out. If you have more time on your hands, consider an elaborate paper mache mask. With wire or a mold, create a mask frame and then layer your paper mache mixture on the frame. Use small strips to create different animals' noses and ears. Once you have dried your paper mache, paint your mask with the appropriate colors.
Farm Animal Figurines
To create a farm animal figurine, you have a variety of material options. From clay to origami to cardboard, you can transform any material into a farm animal with a bit of creativity. While advanced artists may opt for detailed depictions of cows or donkeys, novice artists can hone in on a few of the animals' defining characteristics. To create a pig figurine, use a pink eraser for the body. Tape a pipe cleaner on the back of the eraser for the pig's tail and use a push pin as the snout. If you want your pig to stand, use push pins for feet. For a sitting pig, use pipe cleaners or paper clips. Since most of these supplies are found in many an American office as well, cubicle workers can kill their boredom by making simple farm animals.
Tags: farm animal, farm animals, paper mache, farm animal, farm animal, paper mask, simple farm