Art and artists
Line Safari
Go hunting for eight kinds of lines and draw one of each: zigzag, wavy, dotted, spiral and more.
Thinking sheet · Art and artists
Style Swap
Draw the same character in three styles: cartoony, blocky and super-detailed. Which style feels most like you?
- Grades
- 2–5
- Time
- about 25 minutes
- Topic
- Art and artists
- Kids practice
- art style, character design, comparing
What kids do
“Same character, three styles. Which is your style?”
- Cartoony (round and simple)
- Blocky (squares only)
- Super-detailed
- My favorite style was:
- An artist or book whose style I like:
How to run it
- Use a simple character: an alien, a cat, a cupcake.
- Show two picture books with very different styles.
- There’s no best style; artists switch all the time.
Talk about it
- Which style was fastest?
- Which style fits a funny story? A spooky one?
- Can you recognize an artist by style?
Take it further
Invent a fourth style and give it a name.
Pairs well with
Free for home and classroom use. Print as many copies as you need.
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Six circles, six different drawings. Can a circle become a clock, a pizza and a planet?
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Mix a Color Wheel
Color the wheel with three primary colors, mix the three in-between colors and record the recipes.
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Warm and Cool Twins
Draw the same picture twice: once in warm colors and once in cool colors. How does each one feel?
Free for teachers
Get the free Classroom Drawing Kit
12 printable pages: six step-by-step lessons, a grid activity, draw-and-write sheets and teacher notes, sent with your welcome email. After that, new classroom printables by email.