Lunar New Year Art Lesson Ideas

Lunar New Year art lessons are a great way to celebrate the excitement of Chinese New Year. This year’s Lunar New Year falls on February 10, 2024, however, the celebrations last up to 16 days. With this year being the Year of the Dragon, I have planned many dragon inspired art lessons for my students. Here are some of my favorites.

Oil Pastel Dragon Eye

This oil pastel art lesson has been a hit with my middle school art students every time I teach the lesson, this is definitely a student favorite! Students use oil pastels to draw a realistic eye with implied textures and value changes while using tints and shades of a color to create shadows and highlights.

dragon eye art lesson student examples — Student examples of my oil pastel dragon eye art lesson

My students use actual animal eye references and a step-by-step drawing handout to create a unique and one of a kind dragon eye. In addition, I show my students a YouTube video to demonstrate how to blend oil pastels together to create a 3D appearance. The results are creative and my students really enjoy using the oil pastels. Check out my Dragon Eye Art Lesson: A Student Favorite Blog for a more detailed description of this lesson.

Complete Oil Pastel Dragon Eye lesson plan available here.

Clay Dragon Eye

This lesson is a perfect actual or tactile texture lesson for your elementary and middle school students. In this relief sculpture clay art lesson, my students create a dragon eye following clay procedures and applying clay techniques to create texture. Students mix clay, create a clay base and add a glass eye cabochon and cover it with polymer clay. My students use creative problem solving while applying craftsmanship to finish their sculpture. Check out my How to Make Polymer Clay Dragon Eyes blog for a more information on how to teach this.

Complete Clay Dragon Eye lesson plan available here.

Digital Dragon Eye

My students begged me for a digital art lesson and I know they enjoyed the subject matter of dragons. The end result is another of my students’ favorite art lessons! It is a perfect beginner digital art lesson to use without buying any computer software. My students create a unique computer generated dragon eye using Google Drawings (free with gmail account). Students begin creating the iris with a gradient tool and understand how to use layers while adding the pupil and highlight. Next, students use the polyline tool and shape tool to create the texture and pattern of the scales around the eye. Students learn how to work smarter and not harder using copy and paste. Students use pattern, repetition, gradients and highlights to create the illusion of a 3D dragon eye.

Complete Digital Dragon Eye lesson plan available here.

Dragon Mask

This is a great lesson to teach symmetry. Students use an oil pastel or crayon transfer method to draw half a dragon face and transfer it to the other side of the paper. Students use a variety of shapes to create eyes, mouth, nose, scales and hair. After adding bold black lines, my students fill in the spaces with bright tempera cakes and create a symmetrical dragon mask. The fold down the center of the mask allow the mask to have a 3D appearance. The results are bold and beautiful.

Chinese Calligraphy – Fu

fu calligraphy art lesson example — Click to enlarge.

My students use black watercolors or watery black acrylic paint and a watercolor brush to practice the art of calligraphy, paying attention to brushstrokes and direction. We watch the masters of Chinese calligraphy and we attempt to create the Chinese character Fu. Students use a step by step handout and watch a video demonstration to learn the technique. The final calligraphy is done on a red square piece of paper. The Chinese character Fu (福) means happiness, blessing, and good fortune. People across China believe doing this will bring good fortune.

Both the Dragon Mask and the Chinese Calligraphy lessons are included in my Lunar New Year Art Lesson bundle featuring five art lessons and activities. They make a beautiful display for the Lunar New Year or any time of the year.

Click here for more information about my Lunar New Year Art Lesson Bundle.

Thanks for Reading, Trista

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I’ve been teaching art for over 20 years and I love it!

I have taught every grade from kindergarten to high school. This site features art education articles with art resources and ideas as well as art lesson ideas for all ages. My goal is to allow students to explore a variety of art materials, discover different genres and styles, and most importantly, have FUN!