Thursday, 31 July 2014

Goliath (life size!)

Last week my church did a Holiday Club about the life of David, and they wanted a life-size Goliath for the children to see - and get their pictures taken with.

Here's how we did it (sorry the pictures are a bit pale):



Plan First I drew Goliath on A4 paper and added a grid of squares on the computer - each square to be 6 inches when scaled up. I also added some faint lines half-way across the squares to help when copying.

(You can get the template free if you buy the David & Goliath PowerPoint from Lamp Bible Pictures - www.lampbiblepictures.co.uk/product/david-goliath/ OR buy just the template here - http://www.lampbiblepictures.co.uk/product/goliath-template/)



Grid I drew a grid of 6-inch squares on the wall in pink chalk. 

I needed a tall step-ladder and even then I was worried I'd not be able to reach - 10 1/2 foot (top of spear) is higher than you think! And I'm not tall. But I managed to reach - just.

We situated him at the bottom of the stairs as it's the only suitable place with a high enough ceiling.


Pencil I copied each square from the paper to the wall. This picture was as high as I could reach without the ladder.



The pencils finished. It was hard to get the lines smooth when drawing this big.


Inking I used black acrylic paint and a flat brush about 8mm wide. I think I used another pointy brush for the finer lines (details on armour etc). Interestingly, it was easier to get smooth lines with the paint than the pencil - for which I was glad. 

And then I had to wash the chalk off the wall - I used a furry dusting thing with a long handle I found in the cleaning cupboard.

From chalk lines to this point took 2 hours, and my work was done.




Colour Finally, the talented Jenny Hamill did the colours (acrylic also) - and here's the finished result.

2 comments:

SusanL said...

So, is he 9 1/2 feet if he took off his helmet? In his stocking soles?

Kirsty said...

More or less - I was uncertain whether it should be 9'6" or 9'9" (I've heard both) but the big tall helmet helpfully hides where exactly the top of his head actually is!