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How to Create an Aluminum Fish Relief

Creating a relief in aluminum is a way to teach students about this art technique without spending large amounts of money. In an art sense, a relief is when a design, image or decoration is carved into a surface, such as rock, so that the image is projected out. Reliefs have been used for artistic expression since ancient times. Creating an aluminum fish relief is relatively easy to do and will teach your students about this artistic technique.

Things You'll Need

  • Reference photos of fish
  • Sheets of embossing foil
  • Tape
  • Popsicle stick, cut at an angle
  • Acrylic paints, optional
  • Cup of water, optional
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Instructions

    • 1

      Find reference photos of fish to use for this project. Look online or in books for photos of fish to use. Having reference photos will help ensure that each person creates a unique fish relief and will prevent all of the projects from looking the same.

    • 2

      Draw a fish on paper. Use the reference photograph to accurately portray gills, fins and scales. Attach the drawing to embossing foil with a piece of tape. Using a pen, draw over the lines to transfer the drawing to the foil. Carefully remove the paper from the piece of foil.

    • 3

      Create the relief by using a popsicle stick to trace along the lines in the foil. Try alternating between tracing on the front and back of the foil; each side will give the relief a different look.

    • 4

      Paint the aluminum foil with acrylic paints, if desired. Use blue, green, teal and brown paint to add color to the entire scene. Clean your brushes in water between using different colors.

Sculpture

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