School Aged kids enjoy this project of giving animals human characteristics. This mess free project is easy for the home or classroom!
What is Personification?
Personification is a type of figurative language that gives human traits to animals, plants, objects, and other non-human things.
Kids see this personification art technique in many of the shows, movies, and books they most enjoy. This activity gives them a chance to explore their own creativity and art skills.
Related: Kids personify objects in this Cartoon Fight Scene project.
Supplies Needed to Make Animal Personification Art Project
- Paper
- Pencil
- Permanent Marker
- Coloring Medium – crayons, colored pencils, markers, etc.
Directions to Make Animal Personification Art
Before sharing about the project, I like to ask kids to name a random activity, and then an animal. This helps lessen the artists block they may feel once the project is revealed.
Step 1
Using a pencil, kids lightly draw their choice of animal and activity. Their animal must include human characteristics. There are no limitations to the child’s imagination when it comes to this project!
I assign a number of required human characteristics (generally 3-5) based on the age and skill of the artist.
Step 2 (optional)
Depending on the age and desired style, kids may wish to outline their drawings with a fine tipped permanent marker. This will give their lines a more defined shape and add a cartoon feel to the drawing.
Erase any unwanted pencil marks.
Step 3
Color and complete the picture.
Finished ANIMAL PERSONIFICATION Art Project
I love the way our artwork turned out! It is always a joy to see kids expressing their imaginations through their drawings. Since these animal personification projects are made on paper, they are easily framed, clipped, or displayed in your preferred style.
Our Experience Making this Animal Personification Art Project
I’ve used this lesson multiple times with elementary through high school classes. This project is lots of fun and challenges my students’ creativity. Kids are generally laughing over their ideas, making story lines, and assigning character names along the way.
Prep Time
5 minutes
Active Time
20 minutes
Total Time
25 minutes
Difficulty
Medium
Estimated Cost
$1
Tools
- Pencil
- Permanent Marker
- Coloring Medium – crayons, colored pencils, markers, etc.
Instructions
Before sharing about the project, ask kids to name a random activity, and an animal. This helps lessen the artists block they may feel once the project is revealed.
- Lightly draw choice of animal and activity. Animals must have human characteristics. I assign a number of required human characteristics (generally 3-5) based on the age and skill of the artist.
- Outline drawings with a fine tipped permanent marker. Erase any unwanted pencil marks.
- Color and complete the picture.
Notes
Animal Personification Art Variations
- Have kids write a storybook page telling more about their artwork.
- Make this a group activity by having kids write a list of animals and action on slips of paper. Cut and redistribute the ideas. Each kid combines the random animal and action prompts they receive into one picture.
- Use a heavier paper, watercolor paints, or other art mediums.
Instead of animals, alter project so kids are adding human characteristics to everyday objects. - Add this art project to a science lesson when focusing on a particular type of animal: underwater, flying, reptile, etc.
- Encourage kids to add a background scene to their drawings.
Animal Personification Art Variations
- Have kids write a storybook page telling more about their artwork.
- Make this a group activity by having kids write a list of animals and actions on slips of paper. Cut and redistribute the ideas. Each kid combines the random animal and action prompts they receive into one picture.
- Use a heavier paper, watercolor paints, or other art mediums.
- Instead of animals, alter project so kids are adding human characteristics to everyday objects.
- Add this art project to a science lesson when focusing on a particular type of animal: underwater, flying, reptile, etc.
- Encourage kids to add a background scene to their drawings.
Other Fun Animal Art Projects from Kids Activities Blog
What animals and activities did your kids create? What personification characteristics did their drawings include?
