Aso (in her Anansi hair style)
with their son Intikuma
|
Print this and...
DRAW ANANSI'S PORTRAIT IN 9 EASY STEPS
(For all ages)
[Materials: Paper, #2 pencil, black (fine or medium) marker, color markers (or crayons, or color
pencils), and a mirror.]
However, before drawing Anansi you may first need a WARM-UP EXERCISE.
|
Copyright 2007 by Michael Auld
For centuries artists have drawn images of Anansi
the Spider. There are as many versions of the
spider-man as there are books about him.
There is even a traditional Anansi Ghanaian hair
style that his wife Aso wears.
|
I created my first drawing of Anansi for an illustration
class at Howard University in school year 1965-1966.
My Anansi came from two sources. First, I was born
in Jamaica where my childhood was steeped in
Anansi stories. Second, my introduction to African art
at Howard's College of Fine Arts by Prof. James A.
Porter allowed me to create a character that was
based on traditional aesthetics.
was by Pamela
Colman Smith.
She was born in
England of
American
parents. When
she was 10 years
old, her father
took the family to
Kingston,
Jamaica in 1889
where he had
been employed
by the Colonial
Government to
help to build the
island's railroad.
While living in
Jamaica, Pamela
was introduced to the strong tradition of Anansi
storytelling. Pamela heard Anansi stories from her
Jamaican nurse. She attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn,
New York from 1893 to 1897 where she honed her skills
as an illustrator. Her book on Anansi stories was
published in 1899.
In the early 1920's American folklorists collected similar
Anansi stories told to them in all parts of the island.
1971: The First Anansi Comic Strip
1899: The First Anansi Illustration
The earliest Anansi illustration for a children's book
Hint:
(a) [1- 8] Use a pencil to draw Anansi. [9] Trace over the lines with a medium or fine black
marker. After the black marker lines dry, carefully erase the pencil lines. You may color Anansi
with color markers, crayon or color pencils. Markers are vivid and fresh. Crayons are as old as
cave paintings. Color pencils allow subtle shading techniques.
(b) Artists must learn to be observant! Look in a mirror to see what happens to your face when
you make different facial expressions.
(c) Practice drawing different Anansi faces with a pencil. Combine a variety of eyes and mouth
shapes and try to identify the expression. For example, instead of arcs for eyebrows, draw a
wide capital “W” between the eyes. Then, draw the line for the mouth arced down at the
corners. This expresses “sadness” or “anger”. (If, instead, you draw the line for the mouth
arced up at the corners, this shape of the mouth expresses “determination”, “malice” or
“sneakiness”.)
