19 Animal Art Projects for Kids (and Adults) With Steps

Animal art projects are a great way to get kids looking closely at what makes each animal special, from a shark’s fins to a lion’s mane. Here are 19 animal art ideas for kids (and a few that adults will enjoy too), each with the materials you need, a rough age range and a few steps to get started.

Quick picks: which animal art idea should you try first?

Idea	Best for	Time	Materials
Tissue paper pop-out fish	Ages 5+, preschoolers with help	1 hour plus overnight drying	Tissue paper, white paper, glue, foil
Oil pastel lion mane	Ages 6+	30-45 min	Black paper, oil pastels
Woven paper crocodile	Ages 6+	30-45 min	Colored paper, scissors, glue
Toilet roll animals	Ages 4+	30 min	Cardboard tubes, paint, scrap cardboard
Salt dough animal ornaments	Ages 5+ with an adult	20 min plus 2-3 hours baking	Flour, salt, water, cookie cutters, crayons
Glow-in-the-dark fireflies	Ages 8+	1 hour	Watercolor paper, watercolors, glow paint
Animal silhouette with pattern	Ages 6+	45 min	Black and white paper, colored pencils or oil pastels
Drawn-and-sewn stuffed animal pillow	Ages 8+ with an adult	1-2 hours	Fabric, fabric markers, thread, stuffing
Lois Ehlert-style bird collage	Ages 7+	1 hour	Patterned paper, glue, chalk pastels
Animal artist trading cards	Ages 6+	20 min	Cardstock, black marker

Times and ages are estimates. Younger children will need help with scissors, glue and anything that gets hot.

Animal art projects for kids: 19 ideas with steps

1. Paper shark

Adorable shark paper project: A teacher in Spain shared this easy shark craft, and her second graders each ended up with a different shark face. The source says it was found on Pinterest, and the original pin could not be traced, though many shark crafts exist. Ages 5+. Materials: gray or blue paper, white paper for teeth, scissors, glue, marker.

1. Cut a shark body and fin shape from paper.
2. Cut a jagged row of white teeth and glue it inside the mouth.
3. Add an eye and gills with a marker.

2. Book page collage dog

Artwork by Denise Fiedler. This San Francisco artist builds animal portraits from vintage book pages and hand-painted papers, and the style is easy to borrow for kids’ art. Ages 7+. Materials: old book pages or flashcards you can cut up, paint, scissors, glue, cardstock.

1. Sketch a simple dog or cat head on cardstock.
2. Tear or cut book pages into shapes for the head, ears and nose.
3. Glue the pieces down, then paint eyes and details on top.

3. Animal head artist trading cards

Simple animal drawings on artist trading cards, as made by Kathy Barbro’s students, and inspired by serie-golo artist. Ages 6+. Materials: small cards (kraft paper or cardstock, about 2.5 x 3.5 inches), black marker, white crayon or paint pen.

1. Draw an animal head in black marker, using simple shapes.
2. Add eyes and a few lines for fur or feathers.
3. Highlight the eyes or background with white.

4. Collage pop-out fish

This is a collagey, 3D wonder of a project, and it makes a great hanging display of fish. Ages 5+; preschoolers can do the collage part, but an adult should do the cutting and folding. Materials: tissue paper, white paper, white glue, aluminum foil, flat paintbrush.

1. Rip tissue paper into strips and glue them over the white paper with watered-down glue. Overlap colors to make new ones.
2. Glue on strips of foil with full-strength glue, because watered-down glue won’t hold foil. Let dry overnight, then flatten under heavy books if the edges curl.
3. Fold the dry paper in half, draw half of a fish body and tail, and cut it out.
4. Follow the source for the folding that makes the fish pop out.

5. Origami giraffe

Here is a little origami giraffe project from the site’s archives. It is easy origami, and may or may not look more like a llama. Ages 7+. Materials: one square of yellow or orange origami paper, a black marker.

1. Follow the folding guide at the link.
2. Draw spots and an eye with the marker.

6. Draw a horse head

Try this horse head drawing lesson. Ages 8+. Materials: pencil, eraser, paper, colored pencils.

1. Sketch the long oval of the head and a smaller oval for the muzzle.
2. Add the ear, eye and nostril, then connect the neck.
3. Draw a flowing mane, erase the guide lines and color.

7. Glow-in-the-dark fireflies

Fireflies in a jar are a good way to explore watercolor and glow-in-the-dark paint. Ages 8+ (simple enough for any age if you skip the wet-into-wet blending). Materials: watercolor paper, watercolor paint pencils or paints, black and silver Sharpies, bamboo skewers, white acrylic paint, glow-in-the-dark paint.

1. Draw a jar with fireflies inside it.
2. Circle each firefly with clean water, paint the jar blue around them, then add yellow while the blue is still damp so the colors bleed.
3. Outline the wings with a silver marker and add dots with a skewer dipped in paint. The source paints white first because glow paint is transparent.
4. Paint over the white dots and firefly bodies with glow paint, at least two coats, then charge it under a light.

8. Weaving crocodiles

Weaving crocodiles, or as one stepson used to say, croc-o-idles. Mix up the greens and blues, or go for neon. Ages 6+. Materials: a crocodile outline on paper, colored or patterned paper strips, scissors, glue, marker.

1. Cut slits across the crocodile’s body, leaving the edges attached.
2. Weave paper strips over and under through the slits.
3. Glue the strip ends down and add an eye and teeth with a marker.

9. Tangled and painted owl

This mashup of tangling and painting turns a simple animal outline into decorative pattern art. Ages 8+. Materials: watercolor paper, pencil, black fine-tip marker, watercolor or acrylic paint.

1. Draw an owl or other animal outline in pencil.
2. Fill sections with repeating line patterns using the marker.
3. Paint behind or between the patterns.

10. Lion with a furry mane

It’s always fun to draw giant, furry manes, and this looks especially dramatic with oil pastel on black paper. The first graders in the source drew the face step by step from simple shapes, then added lots of soft, furry texture. Ages 6+. Materials: black paper, oil pastels.

1. Draw the lion’s face from simple shapes: a circle, nose triangle and two eyes.
2. Add the mane with short, soft strokes in many colors.
3. Press harder with a light color to make highlights.

11. Carved animal clay tile

It’s an animal clay tile project where you build up and carve out areas of the clay to make animals, then paint them. Ages 8+. Materials: air-dry or kiln clay, a rolling pin, a pencil or clay tool, paint.

1. Roll a slab and cut it into a tile.
2. Press or carve an animal shape into the surface and add raised details.
3. Let dry (or fire clay, if you are using it), then paint.

12. Salt dough animal ornaments

Cute salt dough animal ornaments with a melted-crayon finish. Ages 5+ with an adult for the oven. Materials: 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 cup cold water, rolling pin, cookie cutters, straw for the hanging hole, crayons.

1. Mix the dough, roll it 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick and cut out animal shapes. Poke a hole at the top.
2. Bake at 250 degrees F for 2-3 hours, until hard but not browned.
3. Draw on the ornaments with crayons while they are still warm; the wax melts into the color.

Safety note: salt dough is very salty. Keep ornaments away from dogs, cats and any child who puts things in their mouth. Veterinary sources list salt dough as toxic to pets.

13. Yarn-wrapped snakes

This one is more craft than art project, but it’s a good way to play with color and texture, like these wrapped snakes. Ages 5+. Materials: scraps of yarn in different colors and textures, a cardboard strip or stick, glue, googly eyes. Small eyes are a choking hazard for under 3s.

1. Cut a long, wiggly snake from cardboard.
2. Tape or glue a yarn end on, then wrap the yarn around the shape, changing colors as you go.
3. Tuck and glue the end, then add eyes.

14. Toilet roll animals

Simple toilet roll animals using a little paint and extra cardboard for the features. You can make a whole zoo. Ages 4+. Materials: cardboard tubes, paint, scrap cardboard, marker, glue.

1. Paint the tube in an animal color and let dry.
2. Cut ears, beaks, trunks or tails from scrap cardboard and glue them on.
3. Draw the face with a marker.

15. Abstract oil pastel cat

This is a super-cute graphic, colorful kitty cat drawing project. Ages 6+. Materials: paper, black marker or crayon, oil pastels.

1. Draw a simple cat face with a marker.
2. Divide the background and the face into shapes with lines.
3. Color each shape with a different oil pastel.

The picture above shows these four projects, clockwise.

16. Animal silhouettes with patterns

Kids work with silhouettes and explore animal patterns as backgrounds. Ages 6+. Materials: black paper, white paper, pencil, scissors, glue stick, colored pencils or oil pastels.

1. Pick an animal and think about its skin or fur pattern and texture.
2. Trace and cut out the animal outline from black paper.
3. Draw that animal’s pattern across the white paper and color it in. Use short soft strokes for fuzzy and long sharp strokes for spiky.
4. Glue the black silhouette on top.

17. “Hooray for Fish!” clay fish

This fish project is inspired by a Lucy Cousins book and mixes clay, sequins and play. Ages 5+. Materials: modeling or air-dry clay, fish-shaped cookie cutter, sequins, googly eyes, pencil. Sequins and eyes are small, so skip them for under 3s.

1. Roll out the clay and press out a fish shape.
2. Press sequins in as scales and use a pencil or blunt knife for the face and fins.
3. Add eyes and let the fish dry overnight.

18. Lois Ehlert-inspired bird collage

Birds! Mixed media! Inspired by Lois Ehlert books! All the makings for a perfect art project. The source used 2nd to 4th graders. Materials: leftover patterned paper (paint your own with watercolors), chalk pastels, cardboard and black paint for tree trunks, bird templates, glue.

1. Paint plain paper in patterns and let it dry.
2. Make a chalk pastel background and glue on tree trunks.
3. Cut birds from the patterned paper and glue them in.

19. Sew your own drawing

This is a way to get kids excited about sewing, because they’re sewing up their own drawings. Ages 8+ with an adult, because of needles. Materials: white fabric, carbon paper, fabric markers, iron, thread, stuffing.

1. Sketch a favorite stuffed animal on paper and trace it onto fabric with carbon paper.
2. Outline and color it with fabric markers, then iron to set the color (adult job).
3. Sew the front to a back piece and stuff it, following the source’s sewing directions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some creative art ideas for animals?

Try tissue paper collage fish, woven paper crocodiles, oil pastel lions on black paper and animal silhouettes with patterned backgrounds. Each one is built from simple shapes and common supplies.

What are some creative animal craft ideas for adults?

Adults can try the book page collage animals, the tangled-and-painted owl or the carved clay tile. These focus on pattern, layering and texture rather than cute shortcuts.

What is the easiest animal to draw?

Fish, owls and cats are good starters because you can build them from circles, ovals and triangles. Start with a simple front-facing cat face or a fish profile.

What is the most popular animal to draw?

There is no reliable ranking, and it varies by age. Fish appear most often in this roundup, with cats, dogs, horses and birds also making the list.

What should an 11 year old be able to draw?

Every child develops differently, so there is no fixed standard. Many 11-year-olds enjoy adding texture, pattern and shading, so the lion mane, silhouette and horse head projects here are a good fit.

Pick one that strikes your fancy and tell us in the comments which animal you made.

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