Calling all Kindergartners! Wanna make a monster?!

Weeks without art class?!! Why would you want that?! I'll be posting optional assignments for you look at while you're at home. Because who doesn't want to make something? Check out this awesome project and let's get started!

Scary, cute, or silly, I'm loving these alphabet monsters and want to make some of my own! Want to join me? Check out the lesson below and follow along as I create my own!

Monster Alphabet

Let's read the book that inspired this lesson! Just to warn you, it's really really long!

Click the image of the book cover to view the video and read the book.

This book introduces each letter of the alphabet and tells you a few facts about that monster. Don't feel like you have to read the whole thing before we get started! You can always come back later and learn more about a certain letter.

While you read the book, try to notice what was added to each letter in order to turn it into a monster. They all have eyes and mouths but what else do you see? Gather ideas for when we are working on our alphabet monsters!

Getting Started

The first thing we need to do is pick a letter. I think I'm going to do the first letter of my name but you can do whatever you want! When we write it on our paper we need to try and do things. WRITE BIG! Let's use the whole page when we make our monsters. Also, in order to be able to add to these letters they need to be bubble letters.

Take the time to practice first! Everyone feels more comfortable if after a little bit of practice. Grab some scratch paper and lets make some bubble letters!

Not sure how to make a bubble letter? Watch the video below as I get started and I'll show you a trick I know. To help you out the whole alphabet in bubble letters is here too!

Making them Monsters

Now comes the really fun part, turning theses letters into monsters. Remember to work in pencil and draw lightly as we start this so that you can always change something you're not happy with. Let's think back to our book. What things did you notice were added to the letters to make them monsters?

Definitely add eyes and mouth to your letter! Do you want a nose? Horns? Ears? Can your monster walk? If so, it is going to need some feet, maybe with toenails! Arms? Wings? SO many possibilities! BE CREATIVE and have fun!

Is your mouth going to be open or closed? Can we see teeth or a tongue? If I could touch your monster what would it feel like? Slimy? Hairy? Have fun with making your letters come to life! Need a little extra help? Check out the inspiration pages below to get you started.

When you finish adding everything you want to your monster you can always do an extra step and trace it if you want it be bolder and have a little more of a cartoon style.

Adding a Background

Right now our monsters are kind of floating around on the page. Let's fix that by adding a landscape, which is just our fancy art word for drawing the outdoors. To start a landscape all you need to do is put a horizontal, laying down, line across your paper. Everything above that line is going to be your sky and everything below it is ground!

What kind of place does your monster live in? Is it on Earth? the moon? Are there trees or water? Does it live in a jungle or on a mountain? Be creative!

Once you have your horizon line drawn you can start to add different things into your landscape. Always start in pencil and when you're done and love how it looks you can always trace over it if you want. Need help getting started check out my video below!

Give it some color!

Our last step to really make our monsters come alive is to give them some color. In my example below I used markers but you can use whatever you want! Get crazy!!

K is for Kindhearted Monster

Nickname: Katchabrache

Likes: Kiwi and Kool-aid

Dislikes: KFC and Kebobs

Hobbies: Making mini kazoos into keychains for kids keen on knick knacks

Talent: Training koalas to knit caps for kittens who live in Kensington, Kansas

Trait: Kicking back and relaxing

Tell me about your monster! Everything should start with the same letter as your monster! What adjective best describes your monster? Give it a nickname! What food does it like and dislike? What does it like to do? What is it good at? Describe what kind of personality it has!

I can't wait to see your finished pieces and hear all about your letter monsters! If you enjoyed this project you can always do more letters! Try to create your whole name!!