Egyptian Wall Painting

Research ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and tell a wall story with an interesting crayon resist technique.

• 1.

  Wall paintings are an important aspect of ancient Egyptian art. They feature 2-dimensional drawings of gods and spirits that frequently decorated the walls of tombs. The simple shapes and lines were engraved in the stone walls and then painted with brilliant colors!

• 2.

  Through smaller symbols and images called hieroglyphics, ancient Egyptians told stories on these wall paintings. Research hieroglyphics with your classmates. Find commonly used symbols and their meanings.

• 3.

  Use the symbols you find to illustrate a story of your own in a crayon resist drawing. Create your own symbols as needed to represent characters and events in your story. Start by drawing the hieroglyphics with Crayola® Classic Crayons on a sheet of heavy paper. Press firmly as you draw to create thick, solid lines.

• 4.

  Cover your work area with recycled newspaper and have a bowl with water handy to rinse paintbrushes. Younger students may wish to wear a Crayola Art Smock. Fill the drawing with bright colors, by painting over the crayon with Crayola Washable Watercolors. The waxy crayon will “pop” through the painted surface! Experiment with different amounts of water and paint for interesting effects.

Benefits

• Students research hieroglyphic symbols to determine their meanings.
• Students develop a story and visually tell the story using hieroglyphic symbols.
• Students experiment with a crayon resist painting technique.

Adaptations

• Write a story using hieroglyphic symbols together as a class and create a large wall painting! Cover an area of a classroom or hallway wall with large sheets of paper. Everyone joins in to paint the ancient Egyptian symbols and characters illustrating the story.
• Students, especially younger students and those with special needs, may benefit from writing their story out on paper before designing their paintings. This will help them to visualize the order in which the hieroglyphics should appear in the painting.
• Share your wall paintings. Display your artwork for the class to view as you tell the story it illustrates. Do your classmates recognize the symbols you chose? Did you create any new symbols as you wrote your story?