Nutcracker: Oil Pastel on Black Paper

By Kathybarbro @KathyBarbro
This is a breakdown of my Nutcracker drawing project, this time using oil pastels on black construction paper. My large construction paper comes in 18" x 24" size, so I cut long narrow panels of 8" x 24" for each student. Each also got a cardboard template measuring 7" x 4".1. Following the steps shown in my diagram, the students first placed the rectangle in the middle of the black paper, and traced it with a pencil.2. Two vertical lines are drawn up from the top of the rectangle, and one horizontal to divide that shape in half.3. The bottom of that rectangle is the face, and eyes, mouth, moustache, beard and hair are added.4. Half-circles are drawn for shoulder pads, arms and hands go below.5. Two legs are added under the body, with half-circle feet for boots.6. Uniform details are drawn on the body, along with a belt.7. I had my students then trace all the pencil lines with a black pastel, and then color the body in with lots of red, black, white, and a little skin color.California Visual Arts Standard: Creative Expression 2.o2.6 Use geometric shapes/forms (circle, triangle, square) in a work of art.This Nutcracker was drawn by Luc, a talented 2nd grader.