MODERN ART LESSONS · STUDENT WORKSHEET
Umbrella Squirrel: Poses That Talk
Make a three-pose drawing featuring a squirrel with an acorn umbrella. The character wants to keep an acorn dry, but the umbrella is smaller than the acorn. One possible ending: it shelters under the acorn instead. 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 keep an acorn dry, but the umbrella is smaller than the acorn. One possible ending: it shelters under the acorn instead. 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 squirrel with an acorn umbrella. Read the story seed: The character wants to keep an acorn dry, but the umbrella is smaller than the acorn. One possible ending: it shelters under the acorn instead. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.
- Start with curled tail, small paws, and a cap-shaped umbrella. 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 squirrel with an acorn umbrella. 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 the umbrella is smaller than the acorn?
Before feedback, I wanted the reader to notice… The reader actually noticed…
Revision: I changed… because…
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