MODERN ART LESSONS · STUDENT WORKSHEET
Backpack Penguin: Poses That Talk
Make a three-pose drawing featuring a penguin with an oversized backpack. The character wants to carry one library book, but packs so much that the bag tips backward. One possible ending: it uses the empty bag as a book sled. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.
Character reference shared across ten skill lessons—not a picture of the completed assignment. Study the example for possibilities, then close or cover it. Your work should make different choices.
Story starter and example
The character wants to carry one library book, but packs so much that the bag tips backward. One possible ending: it uses the empty bag as a book sled. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer. An upright reaching pose becomes a slumped or puzzled pose, then an open, confident pose. The body carries the feeling.
What to do
- Your finished project is a three-pose drawing featuring a penguin with an oversized backpack. Read the story seed: The character wants to carry one library book, but packs so much that the bag tips backward. One possible ending: it uses the empty bag as a book sled. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.
- Start with oval body, short flippers, and a large rectangular bag. These are helpful shapes, not a tracing template.
- Draw a simple curved action line for wanting, struggling, and solving.
- Build large body shapes around each line. Tilt the head and shoulders to support the feeling.
- Keep faces simple so the pose does the storytelling. Separate arms and props from the body outline.
- Cover the faces. Ask a partner which pose looks most determined and why. Redraw a stiff or unclear pose. Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change.
My project: a three-pose drawing featuring a penguin with an oversized backpack. My chosen ending is…
Draw three action lines.
Build one pose around each line.
When I cover the faces, I can still tell…
Story clue: How will I show that the character packs so much that the bag tips backward?
Before feedback, I wanted the reader to notice… The reader actually noticed…
Revision: I changed… because…
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