Learn how to draw a windmill … on a paper plate. It’s in the style of Danish art, costs pennies, and makes for a great display. This clever idea to paint a windmill on a paper plate comes from Dream, Draw, Create. It’s another great alternative when you don’t have good watercolor paper to work with. I found these uncoated … Read More
This elephant drawing for kids tutorial helps students fill their paper, and just focus drawing the front part of an elephant. This is probably one of my all time most popular projects I have ever shared. I think it’s because drawing half the body is so much more manageable for most students. It’s also a natural for crayon resist work … Read More
Drawing Big Ben gets easier when you have some grid paper and a tutorial to follow. It’s all about simplifying all those many little shapes that are found all over this historic landmark. For more landmark tutorials like this one, please see “Draw World Landmarks” in my PDF Shop. MATERIALS View and download Big Ben Tutorial Grid paper, 1/4″ lines … Read More
To learn how to draw a kimono that has lots of room for pretty patterns, just start with a large T shape. Add the sides and bands for color and you’re done. I’ve used this approach for both large oil pastel drawings and tempera paintings, even watercolor on transparent paper. It’s a good lesson in symmetry, and a great way … Read More
In addition to drawing Egyptian art projects for kids, try an easy craft that shows first hand the bling that many of the more affluent Egyptians enjoyed. These two products make the shiniest, blingiest collars that I know of. The jewels are the most expensive part, but with a little rationing and couponing, will be worth the student’s excitement over … Read More
To learn how to draw Egyptian eyes, you need to keep in mind how bold the shapes should be. Yes, you could just draw them with lines, but the eye-popping (sorry!) results will come if you make them thick and fill them in. Wikipedia states that The Eye of Horus, also known as wadjet, wedjat or udjat, is an ancient … Read More
Learn how to draw King Tut, and then paint him with the blue and gold and sparkle that he once had, thanks to a little metallic tempera paint. This tutorial is great for a history lesson, but King Tut is also just plain fun image to paint. The gold tempera is pretty inexpensive and adds a little bling that students … Read More
Black history art projects are a great way to learn about some amazing people who had to forge their own way in the world. Lois Mailou Jones (1905 – 1998) had an impressive career, but do you know how she got started? She had been working as a textile designer and often sold her bold fabric creations to department stores. … Read More
Faith Ringgold, an African-American artist, is best known for her large story quilts. In 1985 she made a piece titled “Flag Story Quilt”. For a great follow up project, see my Faith Ringgold Mural template in my PDF Shop. MATERIALS • Download PDF Flag template • Card stock paper • Old magazines • Scissors • Glue sticks • Hole punch … Read More
Here’s how to draw and paint Chinese lanterns, with a perspective lesson as well. The Chinese New Year starts on Feb. 5th. MATERIALS Download Chinese Lantern PDF Tutorial Watercolor paper (I like Pacon Art 1st) Black Permanent marker (This Ticonderoga brand doesn’t bleed) Prang Gallery Watercolor Pencils (more colorful than other brands) DIRECTIONS Follow the tutorial to draw the lanterns … Read More
I created a series of easy people to draw, all which feature oversized heads. It makes it easy for young artists to fill in the features. This Japanese girl in a kimono would be great when students are learning about different cultures. MATERIALS Download Kimono Girl Tutorial Drawing paper Old CD for tracing Black marker Crayons DIRECTIONS Prep: Print tutorial … Read More
You can make any drawing look extra fancy when you add a banner at the bottom. It also creates the perfect place for a title. See my video below to learn how to draw one. MATERIALS Drawing paper Cardboard templates made from poster board: 1″ x 4″ for the banner, and 3″ x 5″ for the center castle Black marker … Read More
Cinco de Mayo, celebrated on May 5th, is widely accepted as a day to celebrate Mexican culture and heritage. Decorating food containers to look like sugar skulls is a fun and easy Cinco de Mayo craft for students of all ages. This is just one of the featured projects in my “Sharpie Art Workshop for Kids” book, now available at Amazon … Read More
Did you know Chinese New Year crafts can come from office supplies? They helped me make this project with about 400 first through fourth graders for about $45. For the advanced origami lover, my sample snake above was made with two long strips that had nine 11″ lengths glued together as shown in the photo. If you like the gradated … Read More
Try using colorful Post-its for this papel picado project. The squares come in very festive colors and can be found at your local office supply store. Papel picado is a Mexican folk art craft. It is the art of cutting paper into beautiful and elaborate designs for holidays and celebrations. What I liked about making this picado card with Post-its … Read More
If you need a Japanese-themed art project, this works well even for kinders. In fact, I love the “wobbly” lines of the young ones – it’s what make their art so charming. MATERIALS • Watercolor paper • Circle template • Crayons • Liquid Watercolor paint DIRECTIONS PREP: These fans are all based on quarter circles, so you need to start with circle … Read More
This fun collage for kids project teaches them about La Boca, a neighborhood, or barrio of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. It’s also a good lesson about Texture, one of the seven Elements of Art. La Boca is a popular tourist destination because of its very colorful homes. Turn out that years ago, shipyard workers used left over metal and … Read More
Architecture for kids can include drawing buildings from different countires. Those is Russia are fun and colorful and have “ice cream” topped towers. MATERIALS • Russian Buildings PDF Tutorial • Drawing paper • Sharpie marker • Crayola crayons DIRECTIONS 1. Students follow tutorial to draw the buildings in pencil. 2. The art is traced with a marker. 3. The buildings … Read More
Students used sandwich wrap paper to draw symmetrical kimono shapes, and then finished with liquid watercolor paint. The transparent tissue allowed for drawing one side and then tracing the other so they matched. The paper was also strong enough to handle the liquid watercolor paint, and looked a bit like rice paper when dry. A bonus? The sandwich paper is … Read More
Looking for air dry clay projects for kids? I found this fun and educational one recently over at dickblick.com. I like how it is based on American Indian animal symbols, and requires a bit of attention to physical balance too. MATERIALS • Air Dry Clay • Wooden Dowels • Acrylic paint DIRECTIONS 1. Students make a stand by placing the dowel in … Read More