Birch Birds

Advanced Birch Bird by Tabitha Morgan

Mrs. Blankenship's 2nd grade

Mrs. Polichnai's 3rd grade

Daniela & Alexis

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Mrs. Burke's class

Jake & joel

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Mrs. Jamison's Emme

Mrs. McMillian's 2nd grade

Landon, Victoria, 

Jaylynn & Caleb. 

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Mrs. Blankenship's 2nd grade

Alivia, Joseph, 

John & Maddison 

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Mrs. Craig's 2nd grade

Andrew, nevaeh, 

Taylor, Ashton, 

April & Peyton

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Step by step

Make o diagonal or horizontal branch for bird to sit on. 

Use contour lines to create birch lines on branches. Some extend all the way around the branch and some partly. Use curved lines to make the branches appear 3D. 

Add trees behind going vertically. 

Use the negative spaces inbetween branches to create color designs. 

Fall Cardinal

Mrs. May's 3rd grade

Isabel, Valery, 

Anna, Ria &

Kacie

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Mrs. Celestine's 3rd grade

Melanie & JoJo

Angel, Chrissy, 

Myles, Caleb

& Addison

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Mrs. Zarella's kinder

Chloe, Giovanni, 

No Name & Leighton 

Mrs. Baylor's kinder

Abbey, Angelina, 

Logan, Aidan & Kathryn.

Julia

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Mrs. Bluhm's 1st grade

Aiden & Alyssa

Mrs. McGinley's 1st grade

Maci & Madelyn 

Mrs. Oliver's 1st grade

Max, Trinity, 

Tobias & Annie

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Mrs. Hudeck's 1st grade class

Zach

LaDarius

LaDarius, D.J, No Name,
Zach, Lilyana,
Kylie,Carter, Daniel

Mrs. Warren's 1st grade

Emma, Melik, Skylar & Joel

Mrs. Do's class

ArtSmart words; distance, perspective, warm colors, 

Use markers to fill up paper with fall leaf colors. Any warm colors (red, orange, yellow, gold, pink...)

And also yellow-green. 

Fill in paper with marker scribble patches until full.

This looks finished. 

Water the paper with a brush...

Let dry.

Embellish with crayons. 

Cut out leaves. 

Draw Cardinal on red construction paper. 

Use crayon or marker to add finishing touches. Cut out Cardinal. 

Draw a limb on paper when dry using black crayon or marker. 

Glue down leaves and Cardinal.

Trees and their Roots

I have been hit over the head with this repeated design lately. 

The image of a leafy tree with the repeated image of the root system below. 

Every time I see it I am fascinated by how the top of the tree's branches is basically a symmetrical image of the roots. 

So, this gave me an idea... 

Teach kids to draw trees and roots by focusing on the "branching off" of the limbs. 

I would begin teaching the branching of technique with this lesson below...

http://tabithaannthelostsock.blogspot.com/2014/05/tree-silhouette-with-concentric-sky.html

Then roll into the pictures beneath...

1. Fold a large paper into quarters with the center point of the paper being in the bottom right corner...

Draw the trunk thick at the bottom and as you go up the center begin branching off into finer limbs.

 

2. Outline this with a Sharpie...

 

3. Open up the paper and fold just in half (instead of quarters) and trace the Shapied lines onto other 3 spots with a pencil on a tracing table or a window.

 

You should end up having an image like this...

 

4. The tree at the top of the paper can be the bush. I try to explain first to the students that we look UP to trees. So, we see the inside and underside... kindof like an open umbrella. 

So... I have them draw a "cloud"like line that cuts off some of the tips of the limbs (see in the photo below the pencil tipped limbs that got cut off?). 

Then draw an oval guideline around that keeping the the center bottom line of the tree. 

5. Around this oval guideline, make a larger "cloud" around it. I emphasize that it does not have to be perfect or else it looks too fake. 

6. Draw in lines that go up the trunk and bend with limbs to act as texture for the bark. 

7. Use stippling for the bush, making the inside of the "Umbrella" the place that has more condensed stipples to show the shadow of the bush. SPread the stippples out further on the top of tree.

 

Final after the bush is added...

 

8. Go back to the roots and add more branching off...

 

Optional color-

Horizontal lighter/warmer lines for the root side

and 

Concentric Circles with darker/cooler lines for the sky.

* I was coloring the sky randomly, but when I was done, I wished I would have only used cool colors for the sky. This would POP out the white bush and POP out the roots giving the lesson an entire new dimension.... live and learn :)