When you think of African wildlife, chances are you will conjure up imagines of the majestic savannas of Kenya and Tanzania where lions, rhinos, elephants and giraffes roam. In this project we will silhouette African animals against a water colored background. We used deep yellows, oranges, and reds that give a sense the setting sun to the landscape. Children can draw their own animals or use one of the rhino or lion patterns we have shared. (An elephant and giraffe are available in our Cultural Connections Unit 1.) This style of a simplistic single animal on an abstract background is very similar to the art style known as Tingatinga painting credited to the Tanzanian artist Edward Said Tingatinga. This project can take a couple of days to complete since the paint will need to dry between steps.

NOTE: Patterns are included for a lion and rhino . We also have patterns for an elephant and giraffe in our the Cultural Connections Unit 1.

Materials and Supplies Need for the Tingatinga Painting

animal patterns (optional) – Lion and Rhino
water color paper 9″ x 12″
card stock
scrap booking paper, or brown paper – optional variation
clear contact paper – optional variation
water color paints
acrylic paints
paint brushes
q-tips
scissors
scotch (transparent – cellophane) tape
craft glue or rubber cement
painter’s tape 3/4” – 1″
waterproof table protector

Directions:

Day 1:

Cover your work surface with a water proof cover.

Using painter’s tape (similar to masking tape only it isn’t as sticky and it comes off the paper easier), tape the water color paper to the covered work surface. This will reduce the amount of paper curling and create a lovely white border around your painting when the tape is later removed. Try to tape evenly so you border is nice and even. If you are using 3/4″ tape, cover 1/2″ of the paper edge with tape, leaving 1/4″ to hold it to the table. (3/4″ and 1/4″ if using 1″ tape.) Tape all 4 edges.

Using a wide paint brush, cover the entire page with water. You can tint the water slightly with a bit of yellow paint so you can make sure you have covered the entire page with water.

Starting at the top of the paper add stripes of color as follows: yellow, orange, red, rust, with a final thin line of black. The colors can overlap slightly and bleed into one another. Allow the paper to dry completely. When it is dry, SLOWLY remove the painter’s tape. If you go too fast you run the risk of tearing the paper.

Next, you will want to paint a piece of card stock paper using acrylic paints. We like to use the acrylics because the colors are solid and provide a nice contrast to the sheer water color paints. If you prefer to use water colors, choose a nice deep color that will stand out on your background and use water color paper. You will want to paint a piece of paper at least 2″ bigger than the animal that you will be adding to the picture. Again, tape the paper to your surface to prevent curling. You only need a couple of pieces of tape to do this. Paint the page a nice, deep color. You might even want to paint it black, like a traditional silhouette. Allow the page to dry completely. Once it is dry, using a q-tip and a single contrasting color, make dots on the page. Allow to dry completely. If you would rather leave your animal a solid color, simply skip this step. Let dry completely.

Day 2:

Decide whether you wish to use one of the silhouettes of the animals provided or draw your own. If you want to pick one of the animals provided, make a copy of it. Otherwise, draw the silhouette yourself. Just make sure the size will fit nicely on the background you painted.

Begin by roughly cutting out your animal silhouette to get rid of much of the access paper. It is not necessary to cut it out exactly.

Tape your animal to your acrylic painted paper. If you like the way the animal is facing, tape it to the painted side of the paper. If you would like the animal to face the other direction, simply tape it to the back of the page. When you cut it out and turn it over it will be facing the opposite direction.

Cut out the animals. You may have to help younger children with this step.

Decide where you want to position your animal on the background. Add craft glue or rubber cement to the back of the animal and glue to your landscape.

Variations:

If you prefer, you can also cut the animals out of scrape book paper, brown paper bags, newspapers, etc.

For a very different look, cut your animal out of contact paper. (We used clear contact paper.) Tape the animal to your water color paper before you begin to paint. Paint as describe above, simply painting over the contact paper. Blot off the paint sitting on the contact paper. After the paint dries completely, remove the contact paper, and a white silhouette will remain on the paper.