Animals in Art
Class 3 · Arts
4 ideas in Class 3 Arts, explained in plain words, with games and quizzes to practise.
Looking Closely at Animals
Part of: Seeing animals
Before drawing an animal, a child looks at it with care: its shape and size, its colours, how its skin feels, and any spots, stripes or marks on it. For example, a tiger is known by its stripes and a deer by its spots. Close looking gives the drawing true details.
Why it matters. Children who draw from memory alone often miss what makes each animal special. Careful looking builds attention and makes their art easy for others to recognise.
Try it in two minutes
- Pick one animal picture and ask your child to name its shape, colours and marks.
- Ask how its skin looks: smooth feathers, hard shell or soft fur?
- Ask what one mark makes this animal different from others.
Try at home. Watch a sparrow or squirrel nearby and list three things about how it looks.
Homes of Animals
Part of: Seeing animals
Animals live in many places: birds in the sky and trees, fish in water, cows on land, and worms underground. A home fits the animal that uses it. When children imagine a pet, they can build it a home from sand, leaves and sticks that fits where it lives.
Why it matters. Matching an animal to its home builds early sense of habitat. It also stops funny mistakes like drawing a fish nest on a tree.
Try it in two minutes
- Name four animals and ask where each one lives.
- Ask why a fish cannot live in a tree nest.
- Build a tiny home for a toy animal using leaves or sand.
Try at home. Spot three animal homes near your house, like a nest, a burrow or a web, and say who lives in each.
Drawing Animals with Shapes
Part of: Making animal art
Every animal's body is made of simple shapes: an elephant's body is like a big round ball and its legs like thick pillars. The steps are easy: close your eyes and see the animal, think which shapes fit its body, draw those shapes, and colour at the end.
Why it matters. Starting from shapes stops the fear of the blank page. Children learn that drawing is built step by step, not in one perfect line.
Try it in two minutes
- Ask your child to close her eyes and picture a cat.
- Ask which shapes she sees: round head, oval body, thin tail?
- Let her draw only the shapes first, then add face and colour.
Try at home. Draw a dog using only circles, ovals and rectangles, then colour it.
Masks and Animal Acts
Part of: Making animal art
A mask shows an animal's face: its eyes, nose, ears, and the lines and colours on it. Children pick an animal, study its face, draw the mask and make it with paper and colours. Then they wear it and act: walking, sounding and playing like that animal, and even telling a story as a group.
Why it matters. Mask-making trains children to pick the few features that identify an animal. Acting builds voice, movement and teamwork through play.
Try it in two minutes
- Pick an animal and ask what its ears, eyes and nose look like.
- Draw the face big on paper and cut eye holes with help.
- Wear it and walk, sound and play like that animal.
Try at home. Make a cat mask from a paper plate and act a day in the life of your cat.
What your child will practise
- Drawing Animals with Shapes: Jungle Quest (Match It Up)
- Drawing Animals with Shapes: Jungle Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Homes of Animals: Animal Parade Sort (Sort It Out)
- Looking Closely at Animals: Desert Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Masks and Animal Acts: Space Puzzle (Clue Puzzle)
- Quiz: Drawing Animals with Shapes (8 questions)
- Quiz: Homes of Animals (8 questions)
- Quiz: Looking Closely at Animals (8 questions)
- Quiz: Masks and Animal Acts (8 questions)