MODERN ART LESSONS · STUDENT WORKSHEET
Compass Bear: Poses That Talk
Make a three-pose drawing featuring a bear with a broken compass. The character wants to reach a campsite, but the needle keeps spinning. One possible ending: it looks for a familiar trail sign 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 reach a campsite, but the needle keeps spinning. One possible ending: it looks for a familiar trail sign 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 bear with a broken compass. Read the story seed: The character wants to reach a campsite, but the needle keeps spinning. One possible ending: it looks for a familiar trail sign instead. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.
- Start with broad shoulders, round ears, and a small compass. 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. Plan for an unfamiliar reader; compare alternatives and revise pacing, emphasis, or consistency using feedback.
My project: a three-pose drawing featuring a bear with a broken compass. 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 needle keeps spinning?
Before feedback, I wanted the reader to notice… The reader actually noticed…
Revision: I changed… because…
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