DIY Folk Art Animals

Folk art is a traditional form of craft, and has been created by people all over the world for hundreds of years, both by trained artists and interested novices alike. The works may be decorative or utilitarian, are accessible by all in terms of class, ethnicity, gender and religion. All cultures historically have a tradition of folk art such as the Warli paintings of Japan and India, Alebrijes from Mexico, Nakshi kantha from Bangladesh and Americana art.

Creating folk art frees the craftsman from photorealism and can connect the viewer to the subject in a more lighthearted manner. It’s also just plain fun to create nature-inspired patterns with vibrant colors! Folk art is an especially great activity for children as imperfection is encouraged in this art form.

This activity is intended for 1st - 5th grade but could be adapted for a variety of ages. Coloring and pattern making are the only required skills.

Materials can be extremely flexible. Any type of paper can be used, and you can get some great effects by using colored paper. Any type of coloring utensils should work just fine so use whatever you have laying around, or a combination works great too! Some ideas are: markers, crayons, colored pencils or even watercolors, but you could also go wild and add some glitter or even pipe cleaners!

To get started just grab some paper and coloring supplies, check out the images shown here or do a quick google image search for some inspiration. There are no rules, but it helps to limit your color palette to just three to five colors, and to pick a few shapes to repeat throughout the drawing. I’ve given some color palette examples below. Subject matter could be whatever you like really, but for this project we’re going to be focusing on animals. You could pick just one animal to be the highlight of the drawing, or you could repeat it two or three times in different poses, or even have several different animals throughout the drawing.

Now for the fun part! Fill the animals with as many different colors and patterns as you please. Play around with different shapes and mark making techniques. It can be helpful to have another piece of paper handy to practice some shapes first before you fully commit. Make sure to leave some good negative space whatever you decide. This negative space can be filled with flowers, leaves and patterns. Leaves can connect throughout the drawing or you can have little bits here and there.

I hope you’ll try out this super simple folk art activity with your kiddos, niece or nephew or on your own!