Who's your favourite fairy tale character? The Wicked Fairy Godmother or the Big Bad Wolf? How about a wizard, unicorn or dragon? The artist Edward Burne-Jones liked painting fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty. He was part of a group of artists called the Pre-Raphaelites. Their style of paintings made these stories look very real. Can you spot Sleeping Beauty in Burne-Jones's painting called The Rose Bower?
We're going to show you how to create your own fairy tale characters! When you're done you could put on a play or write a new story to go with your characters.
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones The Rose Bower 1896-1890 The Faringdon Collection Trust
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones The Briar Wood 1874-1884 The Faringdon Collection Trust
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones The Garden Court 1885-1890 The Faringdon Collection Trust
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones The Council Chamber 1885-1890 The Faringdon Collection Trust
READY TO DRAW A FAIRY TALE?
You will need:
- Some ink pads or coloured paints
- An apron or old clothes – this is to protect your clothes from getting stained
- Plain paper
- Colouring pencils (dark blue works well for the characters)
- Scissors
Let's start with the frog pRINCE ...
1. Get your materials ready
2. Make two thumbprints
2. Make two thumbprints
3. Next, draw two eyes and a smile
4. Add curvy lines for the legs and dots for the toes
5. Next add the crown
6. Good work! You've drawn a frog prince
To create the prince
1. Make three thumbprints for the body
2. Add lines for arms and legs
3. Draw a head and face however you like!
4. Add three fingerprints for the shield and two lines to make a sword
5. Draw three rectangles to create a belt
6. All done and ready to slay a dragon!
To create a unicorn
1. Make two thumbprints for the head and neck
2. ADd an eye, nose, ear and big smile!
3. For the horn, Draw a straight line with a curly line on top. Then add some hair!
4. Ta-dah! You've drawn a magical unicorn
Why not try other characters ...
A sparkly fairy ...
Or a fiery dragon!
Or design a background?
Choose a scene from your favourite fairy tale or design your own!
Illustration by Lucy Noakes
