Paint and draw

Draw a Fairy Tale

Let's do some finger printing and create your favourite fairy tale characters

Photograph of frog and prince fairy tale drawing

Who's your favourite fairy tale character? The Wicked Fairy Godmother or the Big Bad Wolf? How about a wizard, unicorn or dragon? The artist Edward Burne-Jones liked painting fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty. He was part of a group of artists called the Pre-Raphaelites. Their style of paintings made these stories look very real. Can you spot Sleeping Beauty in Burne-Jones's painting called The Rose Bower?

We're going to show you how to create your own fairy tale characters! When you're done you could put on a play or write a new story to go with your characters.

Painting by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones titled The Rose Bower

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones The Rose Bower 1896-1890 The Faringdon Collection Trust

Painting by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones titled The Briar Wood

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones The Briar Wood 1874-1884 The Faringdon Collection Trust

Painting by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones titled The Garden Court

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones The Garden Court 1885-1890 The Faringdon Collection Trust

Painting by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones titled The Council Chamber

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones The Council Chamber 1885-1890 The Faringdon Collection Trust

READY TO DRAW A FAIRY TALE?

You will need:

  • Some ink pads or coloured paints
  • An apron or old clothes – this is to protect your clothes from getting stained
  • Plain paper
  • Colouring pencils (dark blue works well for the characters)
  • Scissors

Let's start with the frog pRINCE ...

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1. Get your materials ready

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2. Make two thumbprints

2. Make two thumbprints

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3. Next, draw two eyes and a smile

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4. Add curvy lines for the legs and dots for the toes

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5. Next add the crown

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6. Good work! You've drawn a frog prince

To create the prince

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1. Make three thumbprints for the body

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2. Add lines for arms and legs

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3. Draw a head and face however you like!

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4. Add three fingerprints for the shield and two lines to make a sword

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5. Draw three rectangles to create a belt

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6. All done and ready to slay a dragon!

To create a unicorn

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1. Make two thumbprints for the head and neck

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2. ADd an eye, nose, ear and big smile!

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3. For the horn, Draw a straight line with a curly line on top. Then add some hair!

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4. Ta-dah! You've drawn a magical unicorn

Why not try other characters ...

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A sparkly fairy ...

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Or a fiery dragon!

Or design a background?

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Choose a scene from your favourite fairy tale or design your own!

Illustration by Lucy Noakes

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