Always a favorite at the Blackfoot Art Center, we completed this project for our last class of the school year and by request: oil pastel animals on black paper.
The children did a wonderful job and were quite surprised at the results and their own ability as artists! (I love it when that happens!) Oil pastels are similar to crayons, yet a huge step up as far as color intensity, blendability, softness, versatility, and so much more.
The secret to success is to use a resource photo that is the correct size (not too small) for a 9" x 12" sheet of black construction paper. They transfer the image to the paper using tracing paper and then carbon or graphite paper: it's like magic!
This technique eliminates the time taken (and stress of) trying to draw the image freehand. They can jump right into the oil pastels and fill in the colors.
They can then practice creating textures, blending colors, and adding shading and highlights.
Even the youngest children can learn to work effectively with oil pastels while creating an amazing masterpiece of their favorite bird or animal!
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