Kids can go beyond crayons and coloring books by creating a wild pattern with a stencil or a squiggle. Use crayons, colored pencils or markers – the way the picture is colored produces a vivid design. Try this project on a rainy day or while traveling.
Don’t discount doodling as an aimless activity. The repetitive quality of doodling is relaxing while at the same time allowing children to focus. Even children who are self-conscious about their drawing skills can succeed at these colorful pictures.
Creating a Pattern With a Stencil
Look for a simple stencil that is one shape. Avoid stencils that break the image into numerous small pieces. If a stencil isn’t available, children can trace the bottom of a mug, a ruler, a pair of scissors, or any uncomplicated shape. Older kids can trace smaller objects, such as keys.
Trace the stencil or shape in the center of a piece of white paper. Next, draw the shape a second time, overlapping a small part of the first outline. Continue drawing the shape, each time overlapping previously drawn outlines. Depending on the size of the stencil, trace the image eight-to-twelve times.
Creating a Pattern With a Free-form Squiggle
Without anything to trace, children can start in the center of a sheet of paper with a pen or pencil and draw a free-form squiggle making certain that in some areas the lines overlap. Avoid lifting the pen or pencil while drawing the squiggle. The more frequently the line overlaps, the more difficult the shape will be to color.
Making a Colorful Doodle
Turn the line drawings into colorful designs. Color each section a separate color. Each time a line is crossed, change the color, no matter how large or small the area. Avoid placing the same color next to itself.
Create coloring challenges, making it more difficult to keep similar colors from sitting next to one another.
- Use the primary colors – red, blue, and yellow – along with black and white.
- Use the secondary colors – orange, green, and purple – along with black and white.
- Use analogous color combinations, along with black and white. The combinations include – red, orange, and yellow; orange, yellow, and green; yellow, green, and blue; green, blue, and violet; blue, violet, and red; and violet, red, and orange.
- Color the picture with paint. Take one color and in mix different amounts of white or black creating a series of paints in different tints and shades of the base color. When the children paint the picture, they’ll create a monochromatic design.
Children can create colorful doodles, turning random designs made from stencils or squiggles into abstract pictures.
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