Our school celebrated Chinese New Year recently so it was perfect timing to explore dragons! I had recently seen a dragon project in an old Arts and Activities magazine that would fit nicely with this art lesson.

We talked extensively about dragons and looked online for many examples. The students were more than eager  to create their own unique dragon and wanted to get started. I gave out recycled paper so the kids could practice and draw 2-3 dragons from which they would have to choose one for their final piece.

I gave out 18 x 24  white contruction paper. Each student made a 2 inch border and them proceeded to draw their dragon at a much bigger scale.  Wings and tails were allowed to come off the border  so the dragons would look more dynamic and not closed in.

Next, the dragons was divided into sections and filled with different kinds of lines to create texture. The borders had to also have an interesting pattern.

I gave out watercolor pencils and the borders and dragon were colored in.

When the students added water to their sections colored in with watercolor pencils they thought it was neat that it turned into waterpaint. The main background behind the dragon was painted with regular watercolors.

Once everything was dry, the students outlined all the lines with black sharpies. This is a great lesson you can do with older kids too.

I loved how these turned out, what do you think?

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