Create jungle art from the perspective of one of the creatures living there. After studying the artwork of Rousseau or Hicks, imagine how the jungle looks from one of the creatures that live there. The jungle looks very different from the elephant's point of view than it does from a jungle insect's point of view. Draw a 1- to 2-inch border around the perimeter of a large piece of paper. This will create a patterned frame, once designed and colored.
Sketch a part of your creature, the back of the tiger's head for example, creeping into the corner of your picture, then sketch the jungle as the tiger sees it. Draw the vegetation and the creatures, along with any background such as sky or rocks. Go over the pencil sketch with black permanent ink or crayon, then color in the drawing with pastels, crayon or colored pencils. In the border area, create a pattern design of complementary colors to complete the picture.
Many jungle animals camouflage themselves into the environment for protection. Use different papers and techniques to create your jungle picture components, then cut them out and reassemble into a multimedia jungle project. Study the paintings by Rousseau and Hicks for subject matter ideas.
Use white paper, crayons and texture rubbing plates or other rough-textured materials to make patterned paper from which to create your animals. Place textured plates or materials under the white paper and rub with the side of a crayon to make different colors and textures. Cut animal shapes from this paper and add marker details, such as faces. Choose a solid color background paper, such as green or light blue, and sketch a few jungle background plants and trees in colored pencil or crayon. Glue the textured animals onto the background. Camouflage the creatures by cutting more vegetation from solid color paper and gluing it around and partially covering the jungle animals to complete the picture.
Create jungle trioramas and animal masks as 3D art projects. Many websites offer free jungle animal printouts for use in projects (see Resources). Print and color these or create your own animals then create a triorama form (see Resources). Inside the triorama, make jungle background with crayons, markers or colored pencils. Glue the jungle animals to the bottom of the triorama to appear as if they are standing in the jungle.
Jungle creature masks make interesting and fun jungle projects. Make them as simply as using paper plates or as sophisticated as paper mache or clay models. Depending on the type of mask, they can be worn or mounted on sturdy cardboard for a decorative item. Masks might also be realistic jungle creatures or abstract, fantasy creations that lead to further art investigations into abstract art forms. One easy project involves using a gallon milk or water jug, cut in half and covered with paper mache. This mask creates an interesting that you can either wear or put on display.