How To Make A Watercolor Resist Fall Leaf Painting For Kids

Kids will have fun making this watercolor resist fall leaf painting. Use oil pastels as a resist technique to make it look like the leaf is creating ripples in the water and as a barrier to help paint in the leaf. This is also a great opportunity to talk to kids about warm and cool colors.

There are so many fun watercolor techniques for kids to try! Take a look at my collection of watercolor painting for kids for more fun and creative ideas.

For this project, I created a free printable template to make this art project even easier for you. This template is available to my email subscribers. Fill out the form below to get the free template.

After signing up you will receive a welcome email with your download link.

If you are looking for more fall art projects take a look at my collection of creative fall painting ideas for kids! There are ideas for kids of all ages that use different types of art materials and techniques.

Create your own watercolor resist fall leaf painting

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Supplies

• Watercolor paper
• Watercolor paint (you can use a watercolor set or liquid watercolors)
• Paintbrushes
• Oil pastels in black and white
• Paint palette and water dish
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Painter’s tape and wooden board (optional)

Instructions for your fall leaf art

1. First, print and cut out a leaf template. There are three different templates to choose from. Kids can also choose to draw their own leaf if they like.

2. Prepare your watercolor paper by taping it down to a wooden board with painter’s tape. This is an optional step but helps with keeping the paper nice and flat as kids are painting and while it’s drying.

If you don’t have a wooden board, you can try taping your paper down to the table or just skip this step altogether.

3. Trace the leaf template onto your watercolor paper with a pencil. Draw in the details on the leaf.

4. Trace the leaf drawing with black oil pastel. Press hard and use thicker lines to get the best results.

Use a white oil pastel to make wavy lines around the leaf to create ripples in the water. This will be a bit more of a challenge for kids, as it can be hard to see as you are drawing with white pastel. Remind kids to press hard and use thick lines.

5. Get your leaf paint colors ready. Two to three colors work well. Mix up your colors in a paint palette, making sure to test them out on scrap paper first.

Watercolors will always dry lighter so if you want really vibrant colors it’s best to test them out first.

Start by painting the leaf with clean water, being careful not to paint the water outside of the black pastel lines. Paint the leaf with one color at a time, letting the wet paper and paint help to mix the colors together to create new shades and interesting patterns.

Let this dry completely before moving on.

6. Choose one or two blue colors for the water. I used one shade of blue for the example and just layered on more paint around the edges to make it darker.

Paint the paper around the leaf with clean water to start. Paint the water blue being careful not to paint inside the leaf. Once you have the water painted, go over the edges with more paint to make those areas darker.

Let your paper dry completely on a flat surface. Once it’s dry, carefully remove the tape around the edges.

This watercolor resist fall leaf painting is the perfect fall art project idea for kids! Using oil pastels as a resist technique and a leaf template makes it easier for kids of all ages to make.

Fill in the form below to get your free printable template!

After signing up you will receive a welcome email with your download link.

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Prep Time 5 minutes Active Time 40 minutes Total Time 45 minutes Difficulty Medium

Materials

• Watercolor paper
• Watercolor paint (you can use a watercolor set or liquid watercolors)
• Oil pastels in black and white
• Paint palette and water dish
• Pencil

Tools

• Paintbrushes
• Scissors
• Painter’s tape and wooden board (optional)

Instructions

1. Print and cut out one of the 3 available leaf templates.
2. Prepare your watercolor paper. Tape it down to a wooden board with painter's tape or you can try taping it down to a table. This helps keep the paper from moving around as kids paint and helps to keep the paper nice and flat as it dries.
3. Trace the leaf template onto your paper with a pencil. Draw in the details on the leaf.
4. Use a black oil pastel to trace over your pencil lines. Press hard and use thicker lines to get the best results with the resist technique.
5. Using white oil pastel, draw in the wavy lines around your leaf to make it look like water ripples. Again, press hard and use thicker lines. Drawing with white oil pastel on white paper can be a bit tricky for kids. I find that having really good lighting helps with being able to see what they are drawing.
6. Mix 2-3 colors in your paint palette for the leaf. Make sure to test your colors first, watercolors will always dry lighter. Using liquid watercolors mixed with a small amount of water in a paint palette will generally give you brighter colors than using a watercolor set.Paint the leaf with plain clean water first, being careful not to paint outside the lines of the black pastel.Start to paint your leaf, one color at a time. Let the wet paper and paint mix together to create different shades and patterns.Let your leaf dry completely before moving on.
7. Mix 1-2 colors of blue for the water, making sure to test the colors first on scrap paper. Paint around the leaf with clean water first, being careful not to paint inside the leaf. Start to paint carefully around the leaf with your lightest blue color revealing the white pastel wavy lines. Paint your entire background with the same blue and then while the paint is still wet paint over the edges again with either your darker color or the same color to make the edges darker. Once you are happy with how your water looks, let your paper dry completely on a flat surface.
8. Carefully remove the tape around the edges of your paper.