Raccoons!

We made raccoons!


This is such a fun mixed media project, and I've decided it's one of my very favorites!


Aren't they the cutest little rascals?

First we look at our resource of photos of raccoons and we determine where the raccoon will be in the composition. Will he be sitting on a log or climbing a tree? We sketch two lines to represent the tree shape. 

Using a soft pencil or vine charcoal, we start with a quick step-by-step lesson on how to sketch the raccoon's face. 

We select our oil pastel palette: black, grays, browns, tans, and yellows; and we fill in our raccoons with furry texture, using the photos as a guide. 




Then we add cute little eyes, a shiny black nose, sharp little claws, and other details.

Next, we add the bark to the tree and a soft watercolor background.








For an added 3-D effect, we cut out some autumn leaves from crayon rubbings, fold them slightly, and glue them to the artwork. 

My sample