Bird Silhouette Art Project: Sunsets display a wonder of color and are a great opportunity for Arty Crafty Kids to be inspired by nature.
And our easy bird silhouette art project is a great place to start. Children are encouraged to pay attention to how the sunset’s colors change, and to play with the paint as they blend the colors together and create depth and pattern in the sky.
Pairing the bright sky with the black silhouette not only creates a striking piece of art, but also encourages children to think about the concept of foreground/background and light/shadow – can children explain why the birds are black?
Our bird silhouette art project is a lovely piece for kids of all ages to explore their creativity and expand their knowledge.
How to: Bird Silhouette Art Project
Materials:
White Card Stock
Paint
Sponge
Paintbrush
Download the Bird Silhouettes and Stencils:
The templates are available to members of the Arty Crafty Kids club. Members will need to log in to access the templates: https://www.artycraftykids.com/product/silhouette-bird-art-project/
Not A Member?
Let’s Make Bird Silhouette Art:
Create a Sun Set/Rise Background
Let’s start with the background: you can use our pre-drawn branch template, or draw your own.
First, paint a large yellow circle, which will be our setting sun, roughly in the middle of the scene. Remember not to paint over the branches: the sun needs to stay behind them, in the background.
Once you have your core sun shape in place, we’re going to start building the color outwards from the sun like warm, radiating rays.
Starting with orange, take a dry flat paintbrush and boldly dab on the paint, all around the sun’s edges.
Explore Warm and Cool Colors
Now, choose another warm color, like red or pink, and add another layer of paint, starting to blend with the orange you’ve already applied.
Keep adding layers of color, blending, dabbing and playing with the paint, until you’ve filled your background with the warm colors of an autumnal sunset.
When the background is dry, fill in your branch with shades of brown.
Choose a Template
Meanwhile, carefully cut out the bird shapes from the template to create a stencil. Make sure your picture is completely dry, then lay the bird stencil onto the picture, positioned on the branch.
Fill the Stencil
Using a sponge, carefully dab black paint inside the stencil. When the shape is filled, pull off the stencil and you’ll have a perfect bird silhouette.
If you’d like your bird to have a friend, lay the stencil a little further down the branch and once again fill it carefully with black paint using a sponge.
The Bird Silhouette Art Project is Complete
Now your beautiful bird silhouette art project is complete. If you’ve enjoyed creating your masterpiece, don’t forget to share and tag us on social media – we love to see them!
More Art Projects for Kids:
To further explore color, shape, expression and perspective in art, take a look at this popular art ideas for kids!
Picasso Faces:
This art project has been designed to make drawing cubist Picasso faces easy for kids, with printable drawing guides and templates to encourage all children of any age or ability to have a go at creating their own Picasso styled portrait.
https://www.artycraftykids.com/art/picasso-faces-easy-art-for-kids/
Mondrian Hearts:
This Mondrian Heart Art Project for kids has been designed to suit children of all ages; from a simple colour and stick project for preschoolers, to designing Mondrian inspired art; along with hints and tips for taking the project a step further with geometric and colour play.
https://www.artycraftykids.com/art/mondrian-heart-art-for-kids/
Sun and Moon Art for Kids:
Children are encouraged to notice the difference between warm and cool colors, shades and tones, as well as play with texture and shape. And this creates a great opportunity to discuss with children how art makes them feel – do they think certain patterns match certain colors, and how do those colors or patterns make them feel, ie. do the purple swirls make them feel sleepy, do the red zigzags make them feel excited? These kinds of chats can really help to open up children’s self-expression and emotional awareness.
https://www.artycraftykids.com/art/flow-drawing-for-kids-sun-and-moon-art/
Happy Crafting!
