Central Primary School Arts Day Second Grade: Rob Scotton- Splat the Cat

Rob Scotton Rob Scotton is the author and illustrator of the bestselling Russell the Sheep and Splat the Cat series. His work can also be found on greeting cards, ceramics, textiles, prints, stationery, and glassware.

Rob Scotton Born in England in 1960 Currently lives in Rutland, England with is wife, Liz, who is also an artist

Showering is No Laughing Matter Examples of Scotton’s illustrations How is this illustration realistic? How is it not? Showering is No Laughing Matter

Wash and Moo

Russell The Sheep

Splat the Cat

Inspiration For Splat the Cat Rob was running his lawnmower in his backyard one summer day when his eyes spotted this ugly beast on top of his fence Kept his eye on the cat as he went back and forth with the lawnmower.  Suddenly, a gust of wind came and the cat teetered precariously. 

Inspiration For Splat the Cat It then hung in the air briefly before falling from the fence.  Rob thought to himself, “Surely this agile creature will land safely on his feet, as all cats do.”  But when the cat landed not so gracefully on its bum, he heard the word “SPLAT” in his head. 

Inspiration For Splat the Cat He immediately ran inside, lawn duties forgotten for the moment, and played with the idea of a character, Splat the Cat.

Splat the Cat Wanted to find the “right” look for Splat Wanted to keep Splat simple Designed Splat’s body as rectangle

Splat the Cat What could be funnier on a chunky body than long skinny arms and legs?

Splat the Cat Played with various ideas for the eyes Settled on the “wide-eyed” look with the circles close together

Splat the Cat Also had fun with Splat’s tail, which expresses the character’s mood

Time To Read Point out Splat- focusing on his body shape, his expressive tail, his eyes, his emotion

Art Project: Tempera and Oil Pastel with Collage

Part One: Painting Splat Start by having students write their name on back of paper Using black tempera paint, paint a rectangle (lengthwise) in the middle of the paper slightly rounding the corners (this is Splat’s head and body) Add two triangles at the top for ears

Add a shapely tail, two arms and two legs…but keep them stick-like Add three small balls to Splat’s feet so they look pad-like

Part Two: Creating the Collage Using the template (if you wish), trace and cut small books from colored pieces of paper Cut out pencils, school bags or anything else you want. You might want to add a hat or glasses to Splat. This is the fun part!

Part Three: Creating Splat Starting with the white pastel, smudge a circle near the top of the rectangle for the face.

Using the black pastel, add a curved letter “W” for the mouth. With the red, add a small triangle for the nose. Children can opt for white, peach or even a light pink for the belly. Add a half-circle at the bottom of the rectangle and blend.

Part Three: Creating Splat Next, add pink pads to Splat’s paws. Set two drops of glue above the nose and apply two wiggly eyes. Push them together so they look just like Splat.

Part Three: Creating Splat Using the black pastel, trace a thin line around the edges of Splat. Using your finger, smudge and sweep the chalk outside the body to create fine wisps for fur.

Last Steps Finish the masterpiece by adding the “cutout” pieces to the picture