MODERN ART LESSONS · STUDENT WORKSHEET
Backpack Penguin: Keep Your Character the Same
Make a character consistency sheet 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. A front view, side view, and small action pose share the same head-to-body proportion and prop shape; not every line needs to be identical.
What to do
- Your finished project is a character consistency sheet 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.
- Choose three features that must stay recognizable, such as ear shape, body proportion, and the prop.
- Draw the character from the front and side using a shared height guide. Add a small action pose.
- Compare feature sizes across views. Adjust differences that were accidental while keeping useful pose changes.
- Ask a partner to identify the same three features across the drawings. Correct a disappearing or changing feature. Use large, clear shapes and show one understandable change.
My project: a character consistency sheet featuring a penguin with an oversized backpack. My chosen ending is…
My three keep-the-same features…
Front view… Side view… Action pose…
One accidental difference… My correction…
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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