Shaun TAN<br/> <em>They made their own houses</em> 1997 <!-- () --><br /> illustration for <i>The Rabbits</i> by John Marsden, published by Thomas C. Lothian, Melbourne, 1998, pp. [9-10]<br /> synthetic polymer paint, gouache and coloured pencil<br /> 34.8 x 52.3 cm (image) 39.7 x 56.2 cm (sheet)<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Gift of Albert Ullin OAM, 2014<br /> 2014.637<br /> © Shaun Tan <!--105981-->
Shaun TAN
They made their own houses 1997
illustration for The Rabbits by John Marsden, published by Thomas C. Lothian, Melbourne, 1998, pp. [9-10]
synthetic polymer paint, gouache and coloured pencil
34.8 x 52.3 cm (image) 39.7 x 56.2 cm (sheet)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Albert Ullin OAM, 2014
2014.637
© Shaun Tan
Your NGV Hub

Your NGV | Character Drawing with Shaun Tan

Past program

Levels P-6

Join Academy award winning artist, writer and filmmaker Shaun Tan in this exclusive virtual workshop for Your NGV schools and be inspired by the ideas and techniques in his work. Learn how authors and illustrators combine words with pictures to develop a storyline and convey character and setting. Then with Tan’s expert guidance, invent and draw a unique character to feature in a story of your own.

Learning Objectives

  • Utilise the ideas, materials, techniques and processes in artworks as inspiration to create artworks.
  • Use techniques to extend and generate imaginative ideas.
  • Analyse how authors and illustrators develop the elements of story writing, including characters, narrative and setting.
  • Create a character as part of a setting and storyline.

Duration: 90 minutes
Cost: Free

About the Artist: Shaun Tan
Shaun Tan has been delighting audiences with his thought provoking stories and beautiful illustrations over many years in books such as The Lost Thing, The Arrival, Rules of Summer and Eric. Taking inspiration from a wide variety of sources, his work considers topics such as belonging, our relationship to nature and the magical power of imagination.
Shaun is the recipient of an Academy Award for the short animated film The Lost Thing, the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in Sweden and the Kate Greenaway Medal in the UK.

For this workshop you will need:

  • Grey lead pencil
  • Paper
  • Eraser
  • Charcoal (optional)

Workshop resource

A resource full of creative drawing prompts has been especially developed by Shaun Tan for the workshop. We recommend you download, print and distribute it to your students before the event. Download here