How to Make an Emperor Penguin Craft

The emperor penguin is the largest species of penguin in existence. It's also one of the most beautiful, with orange and yellow patches adorning its throat and head. In this project, you will make an emperor penguin from construction and printer paper. This is a wonderful project to do year round. Use the project to get your kids interested in learning about the Earth's penguin species.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Printer
• Printer paper
• Black construction paper
• Glue stick
• Graphite pencil
• Crayons
• Colored pencils

1. 
   Emperor penguin template

   Print out the emperor penguin craft template included with this step. You must click on the template image to see its full-size version and print it out properly.

2. 

   Cut out the very outer edge of the penguin template and place it over a piece of black construction paper. Trace around the cut-out on the construction paper with a graphite pencil. Cut out the tracing on the construction paper. You will now have a black construction paper penguin shape.

3. 

   Begin to cut along the black lines of the emperor penguin template. Cut out all the enclosed segments on the template except the eye and the shape on the beak. Cut upward on the emperor penguin's wing, but don't cut it off completely.

4. 

   Trace the piece which represents the penguin's stomach and ear over a piece of scrap paper from the craft template. Cut out this piece and apply glue to the back with a glue stick. Place it on the front of the black construction paper penguin. Make sure that it's aligned properly with the black penguin before pressing down.

5. 

   Place the back segment of the emperor penguin template over the back of the craft. Align it with the white paper over the penguin's stomach. Lift the wing upward and trace along its left edge.

6. 

   Use crayons or colored pencils to delineate the wing and to draw a white shine on the penguin's feathers on the black construction paper. Use orange and yellow crayon or pencils to embellish the emperor penguin's throat and head. Draw very lightly on the stomach, using grey and black to indicate shading. Draw a bit of orange on the beak, and color in white for the eye.

Tips & Warnings

• Use only high-quality crayons and colored pencils for this project, as cheap ones don't cover evenly.
• Use cross hatching to keep the shading on the stomach smooth and even.
• For better results, use drawing paper with a high rag content for the emperor penguin's stomach and ear area.
• Don't use liquid glue to adhere the printer paper to the craft. It will warp the paper and make it difficult to color the craft.