Camouflage Painting

Can you see the student’s hand in this picture? My 2nd graders had such fun doing this project! After studying camouflage, they had this chance to literally put themselves in their artwork. Prep work: I first mounted letter-size white paper to larger sheets of cardboard so that the painting could easily be moved around. I also printed out closeup images of three types of animal fur: tiger, zebra and leopard. 1. After talking about some of the patterns that animals have to help them hide (thin stripes, thick stripes or spots) students were given four cups of tempera paint to work with; orange, black, yellow, and white. They began by choosing a main background color and painted their white paper accordingly.2. Students placed their non-painting hand on the paper and painted over it all with either stripes or spots. They were encouraged to have both thick and thin lines in their painting, with as much detail as possible.3. I photographed the student’s work so they could have photos to keep. Tip: Shoot the hand while wet if possible, the shiny colors have so much more impact.