Animal Crafts

The Art of Eric Carle

Eric Carle's books are beloved by children the world over. One of his most favorite works "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" has been translated into over 30 languages including Spanish, Japanese, and Farsi. Eric Carle's goal as an author and illustrator has always been to make reading fun. He sees his books, which often have, cut out, pop-ups or sound elements, as a cross between a toy and a book. Many of the illustrations in his books are of animals, especially the tiniest animals: insects. His unique style of collage illustration can be easily adapted by children.

Allow at least 45 min for this craft (not including drying time)
Steps
1) Paint patterns on pieces of colored construction paper and set aside to let dry.

2)Using Eric Carle's books and pictures of real animals as inspiration, draw an animal out-line on the big paper. Be sure to WORK BIG!

3) When the painted paper is dry, cut or tear it into shapes and glue onto the outline. Cover over the drawn lines with the paper. Places the larger pieces first and fill in gaps with smaller pieces. When gluing, start with the body parts that are farthest back and move forward.

4) Use markers to fill in details: eyes, noses, etc...

Materials

1) Colored construction paper (variety)

2) Big Paper (the younger the child, the bigger the paper)

3) Tempera Paint
(ART HINT- foam egg cartons make GREAT paint trays)

4) Paint Brushes

5) Glue sticks

6) Scissors

7) Markers

Lion (Step 3)

Less Muss-and-fuss Option
Students can use cray-pas or paint-pens instead of tempera paint. This is a lot less messy with younger children. Plus, you don't have to wait for the paint to dry.

More Muss-and-fuss Option
You can paint on tissue paper (just like Eric Carle) instead of the construction paper. Tissue paper is much more difficult to work with. I would recommend this option for older children or a small group.

Finished Polar Bear