CHAPTER 2 | EXPRESSIONS WITH ANIMALS

Exercise 1: in a square or circular frame, draw a picture about one of the following expressions involving an animal. If drawing an animal is too difficult  you can trace a photo / cut-out image (see Handy Drawing Tips lesson  Chapter 5). Write the expression in clear letters below, above or around your drawing, in a bar or frame.

Proud as a peacock / Faithful as a dog / Strong as a bear / Cunning as a fox / Lazy as a pig / Stubborn as a donkey /  Singing out of tune as a crow / So slow as a snail / Don’t be so catty (bossy)! / Hold your horses! (stop, no rush!) / Holy cow! (I can’t believe what I see/hear/what’s happened here!) / Diligent as an ant.

If drawing the animal you have chosen is still too difficult, you can also trace a photo/existing image (for tracing, see Useful drawing tips part 1, chapter 5, level 1).In the following chapters you will receive tips that you can apply when drawing animals.

EMBLEMATA WITH ANIMALS

Emblemata are small moralistic drawings or engravings, usually in a square or circular frame (moralistic: intended as a life lesson). They were extremely popular in the 17th century. A striking example is the engraving by Adriaen van der Venne from a book by Jacob Cats. This emblem is about the Latin saying Rex immoderata cupido est: about people who want more and more and more, while they actually already have more than enough (money or power). In this performance, greed is depicted by a dog that has enough food in its mouth but is still craving a new piece of meat that is seductively held out to it by a hand from a cloud.

Exercise 2: in a square, oval or circular frame, draw a picture about one of the following proverbs involving an animal. If drawing an animal is too difficult  you can also trace a photo / existing image using a window or a light box. Write the proverb in clear letters below, above or around your drawing, in a bar or frame.

Proverbs with animals:

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks
Meaning: you can’t force an old person to change
One swallow does not make a summer
Meaning: don’t think too quickly that everything will go exactly the way you want
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
Meaning: sometimes it’s better to have trust in something that feels close
Let sleeping dogs lie
Meaning: don’t talk about a problem or danger that you can easily avoid by being silent about it.
When the cat’s away the mice will play
Meaning: When the parents (or teachers) aren’t there, the kids can go their own way
Putting the cart before the horse
Meaning: to tackle something in such a way that it is useless and cannot work at all
When there’s one sheep over the dam, more will follow
Meaning: if one person tries something new, the others dare too
You never know how a cow catches a hare
Meaning: Something can always work out unexpectedly, if you just try

If drawing the animal you have chosen is still too difficult, you can also trace a photo/existing image (for tracing, see Useful drawing tips part 1, chapter 5, level 1). In the following chapters you will receive tips that you can apply when drawing animals.