Make music, mime and draw — inspired by the animal kingdom.
Animals have inspired artists, musicians and performers for thousands of years. Let's make some art of our own.
Music and animals have always gone together — birds sing, whales call across hundreds of miles, and even insects make patterns of sound.
A French composer called Camille Saint-Saëns (born 1835) wrote The Carnival of the Animals — 14 short pieces, each one representing a different animal! (Ask a grown-up to play it on YouTube or Spotify and guess which animal is which.)
Mime means acting without words — just your body and face.
Real artists draw what they see, not what they think something looks like — that's called observational drawing. Look at the real thing (a pet, a garden bird, a soft toy), start with simple shapes (circles, ovals, triangles), and add details last. Don't worry if it isn't "right" — it's about looking carefully.
Every animal is covered in incredible patterns — spots, stripes, swirls, dots. Egg patterns (speckles & wavy lines help camouflage), feather patterns (peacock eyes, soft owl feathers), fur patterns (tiger stripes, leopard spots — each like a fingerprint). Try designing a speckled egg, a peacock feather, and a brand-new big cat with your own pattern!
Every animal can be broken into simple shapes: Rabbit = round body + small head + long ears + 4 short legs · Giraffe = oval body + long neck + small head + 4 long legs · Snake = long curvy line + tiny head · Turtle = dome + 4 legs + small head. Draw your animal three times: shapes → outline → details.
Capturing a moving animal is one of the hardest things in art — so don't draw every detail, just capture the shape of the movement. Do quick 30-second sketches of an animal running, jumping, eating and sleeping. Use loose lines, and try squinting to see the shapes more clearly.