Watercolor resist art with crayons or oil pastels and liquid watercolors is a simple and beautiful art technique for kids of all ages.
Updated December 2024
Have you tried watercolor resist art with crayons or oil pastels? It’s a simple and lovely art technique for any age and one that we revisit over and over.
We’ve done this art activity with our kids and toddler art classes over the years and it’s always a hit.
You start out by drawing with crayons or oil pastels on watercolor paper. Then paint over your drawings.
The wax resist the watercolor paint so while the paint soaks into the paper, it just beads off the lines, swirls, and scribbles.
It’s beautiful! We never get tired of seeing this kind of watercolor resist!
Watercolor Resist Crayon Art for Kids
MATERIALS
- Crayons or oil pastels
- Watercolor paper or any sturdy paper
- Liquid watercolors or a watercolor paint palette
INSTRUCTIONS
- Draw
Draw with the oil pastels or crayons on the watercolor paper.
- Paint
Paint over the drawings with watercolor paint.
When doing this with a toddler art group, we typically give the toddlers each a paintbrush and an individual cup of watered-down liquid watercolor paint to start with. And then invite them to swap or share colors after they explore the first color.
- Dry
Finally, let your artwork dry and display it.
We often tape sheets of watercolor paper to pieces of cardboard or trays for our toddler art classes. We like to do this (when we have the extra time) for a few reasons:
- The tape creates a nice, white border around the artwork (you remove it after letting the watercolor paint dry). You can use masking tape, washi tape, or blue painter’s tape.
- The sturdy backing keeps the paper flat until the wet watercolor paint dries.
- It holds the paper in place while the kids work.
We also love that this process art activity can be used for any holiday, season or theme! In October, you can draw pumpkins and ghosts, in December, you can draw wintry night skies and Christmas trees, and in February, you can draw hearts. They all look beautiful when painted over with watercolors!
Have you tried watercolor resist art with your kids? If not, we highly recommend it!
More Easy Watercolor Ideas for Kids
- 5 Watercolor Resist Techniques to Try
- How to Do Watercolor Painting with Salt
- How to Paint a Watercolor Geode
- 11 Fun Watercolor Ideas for Kids
- 7 Fun Painting Ideas for Kids to Try
- How to Do Watercolor Crayon Resist on Canvas
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