Aboriginal Art (2013)

My 8th grade students learned about the style of Aboriginal Art and how the tribal artists used patterned dots to create their artwork. Students chose an animal to be the subject of their artwork and found an image from the Internet to work from. Student first drew a rough draft in markers to practice the design of their patterned dots. Students then worked on a 9x12 canvas board and drew the contour lines of their animal. Students painted the background colors first that would be seen in between the dots. I provided 6 different sized wooden dowels that the students used to dot their painting. Student were not allowed to use the biggest size dot but had to show a variety in the dot size.  This project took about nine 55 minute class periods.