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How to Create WOW Pictures
Hints for creating pictures that will WOW the judges!
1. Fill up the space!
All entries must be on 18 X 24 paper, so kids have a lot of room to work with. Encourage them to create one scene that fills the page, or create multiple scenes.
2. Color gets noticed!
Pencil and charcoal drawings are often well-rendered, but unless they are of exceptional quality or have a well-wrought message, they may not stand out enough. Heavy charcoal is preferable to light pencil because it shows up better.
Charcoal and chalk entries should be sprayed with a clear-coat before submitting to prevent smudging.
3. Theme is important, and a caption can help.
Be Kind to Animals means different things to different children. We encourage a variety of depictions, from pets in shelters to ocean creatures to preserving animal habitats to animals in circuses or research facilities (to name a few). Some children may not consider all the possibilities that being kind means. Parents and teachers can help them brainstorm a topic if need be (but the picture must be drawn, colored, or painted solely by the student--and we expect less precision from the younger children).
Also, if a picture depicts an act of kindness that is self-explanatory, no caption is necessary. However, artistic ability is not the only aspect that the judges see; it is sometimes helpful to include an explanatory caption if the picture does not actually depict kindness to animals.
We often keep some of the donated drawings for use in our Shelter, and we like for those to have educational value as well as artistic merit.
4. Pay attention to detail
Kindness to companion animals includes:
- spaying and neutering for health and reducing unwanted litters
- collars with I.D. tags, and leashes where appropriate
- regular veterinary visits
- proper food and water
- proper handling
- regular grooming
- LOVE
Please call the AHS Education Department with any questions you may have.
404.974.2899.