Art Projects for Kids

I am an art teacher, working with kids 4-12. I have been painting for half of my life and have a degree in painting, as well as pending degrees in art history and art education. Art is something that I take seriously. I do not believe that dumbing it down is the only way to teach art to children. I can agree with the author in that it is important to make children excited about art, but I think the real value is in making them excited about the masters and technique itself.

For example, student artists need a strong foundation before attempting something from the "character design" chapter, which I had the most issue with. It is very easy to spot a cartoon artist who has no foundation in fine art. It is like learning now to run before you can crawl. Once you have a deep understanding of anatomy, you can modify it to suit your needs-- this can be anywhere from the comical mannerism of John Currin, to straight caricature. I think that Bryan Konietzko has no business being uttered in the same breath as the word "artist". He is the creator of a cheap simulacrum of anime (which itself is far from fine art, except in the cases of geniuses like Hayao Miyazaki and Satoshi Kon). Even the mention of Shigeru Miyamoto is questionable. Yes, he is a genius in his field, but his work will do little to instill a strong foundation in art in a child who has never studied art before.

I am not saying that there is nothing of value in this book. But I do not think that this would be good as a main curriculum for kids who are serious about art. These projects would need to be supplemented with tried and true methods for learning art-- figure drawing, master copies, value exercises, etc. I do think these projects would be a fun break, maybe as arts and crafts.

personally i feel the author does not know art and most of these so called “prodjects are way to messy for kids