Koi Fish Scratch Art

Day 1: We learned about Japan and practiced drawing koi fish on half sheets of white drawing paper that we then colored. 

Day 2: Talked about organic vs. geomagnetic and warm vs. cool colors. Students folded the koi practice drawing in half and on the back side drew a line down the middle. One side was drawn on with organic lines and shapes, while the other was drawn on with geometric lines and shapes. Once the drawing was done, we used crayons to color one side in with warm colors and the other with cool. 

 Day 3: We reviewed warm vs. cool colors and organic vs. geometric shapes. Students drew a large final koi fish on stiff paper. The koi's body was drawn in with organic or geometric shapes. Students could then choose warm or cool colored crayons to fill in the drawn shapes. Crayons must be drawn with very hard to get a good coat of wax.

Day 4: We finished coloring fish and then used a flat foam brush to paint a light coat of black tempera over the entire koi drawing.

Day 5: FINALLY we got to scratch! Using overlapping half circles (or "Smiley's") students created scales and added fish details. If students finished early I had them work on a mural pond painting for our fish to be displayed on! yippie, a fun project!