How to Make a 3D Leopard With Foam Board

Leopards are the smallest of the four "great cats" in the scientific genus Panthera, which also includes the tiger, lion and jaguar. Known for their spotted coats, leopards can be an attractive subject for a craft project. One approach is to use colored foam to make a three dimensional leopard.

Draw on a piece of yellow foam the shape of the rear haunches of a seated leopard as seen from the front. The basic shape should look like a horizontal oval, then draw the rear legs sticking out from the bottom sides. Make the legs skinny near the oval, flat on the bottom, then round and slightly club like where the paws are.

Draw the front legs and chest as seen from the front on the yellow foam. Make the chest and shoulders round, then make the front legs straight and sticking straight down. Make the paws wider than the legs and rounded on the sides.

Draw the neck on the yellow foam. Make it trapezoidal, with a wider base than top.

Draw the leopard's head shape. Make it round with two semicircular ears on either side of the top of the head.

Draw the leopard's muzzle and nose. It should look like an elongated, upside down club symbol like you would find on playing cards. Make the center "leaf" flat across the bottom to make the leopard's chin. The other two "leaves" are the leopard's upper lips.

Draw the leopard's tail. Make it curve like a letter "C."

Draw two "bib" shapes on a piece of white foam sheet. These will be for the leopard's underbelly.

Cut out all the shapes you've drawn in the foam sheets. Also cut out about a half dozen square "spacers" that can be glued behind the leopard parts to help support your three dimensional image.

Glue the rear haunches of the leopard to a foam board that will serve as the background of your picture. Make the background any size you like. Glue one white bib to the rear quarters.

Glue the front chest and legs on top of the rear quarters and white bib. The chest should stick above the rear quarters, so stack two spacers behind the chest for support and glue them in place. Glue the other white bib on the chest of the leopard.

Glue the neck on top of the bib and glue several spacers behind for support. Glue the head on the neck, and the nose and muzzle on the head to form the face. Last, glue one end of the tail onto the background next to the rear haunches and wrap the other end in front of the chest, gluing the tip to the front legs. Allow to dry.

Use colored felt pens to draw eyes, whiskers, a mouth and spots. For the spots, use a dark brown to color the outside of a spot, and a golden or dark yellow color to make the center. The spots will look like two tone rosettes.