AccessArt Olympics: Mascot Design
Explore the project below to help pupils consider how they might design an Olympic and Paralympic Mascot based on either Olympic Ceremony or Olympic Values.
Mascot Design
Aim: To introduce children to mascot design and explore how they can make characters that represent either an Olympic Value or your local area through drawing, animation and the use of sketchbooks.
Step 1: Introduce Mascots in Sketchbooks
Begin the session by asking pupils to make an Olympic project sketchbook using one of the “Making Sketchbooks” resources.
Next, explore “Talking Points: Olympic and Paralympic Mascots”. As pupils watch the videos encourage them to create some “Visual Notes” in their sketchbooks, considering the different values of the Olympics and the country designing them, and how this might reflect in the mascots.
Step 2: Character Design
Begin by exploring “Talking Points: Animation Character Design“. Watch the videos and discuss with pupils what they’ve seen.
In sketchbooks, either follow on by adapting the resource “A School Full of Characters“. Invite children to choose one of the Olympic Values and think about how they might incorporate the value into their character.
Or you may like to adapt the “Modelling Monsters” resource as inspiration for creating characters inspired by animals.
Step 3: Animating
If you have time, consider introducing pupils to some animation with the resource “Animating a walk cycle” and make their characters come to life.
Step 4: Reflect
Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit” to finish the project.
Invite children to display the work in a clear space on tables or on the wall. Recap with them about the exploration – where they started, what they discovered and what they enjoyed.
If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams.
Materials:
Sketchbooks
Drawing materials
Scissors
Cards
Wooden Skewer
Plasticine (Optional)
Tablet (Optional)
Adaptations:
This pathway supports both the ‘Values‘ and ‘Ceremony‘ topics. Ensure you change the focus of Mascot Design according to the topic you choose.
Think about resources within the local area that you could visit, you may find inspiring artefacts at local museums or galleries nearby.
If you would like to give pupils the opportunity to try animating on Tablets, you might like to see the resource “Explore Digital Animation“.
Instead of animating your mascot, take it into stitch and adapt “Make a Stitched Drawing” to create colourful textiles.
Explore Other Resources in Ceremony:
Explore other olympic themes
history
athletics
ceremony
