Scratchboard painting

Creativity & Life Skills

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This classic craft lets kids scratch the surface to reveal their own colorful creations.

You'll Need

Large box of crayons
Poster board or thick paper
Toothpick or paper clip

Time

30 minutes

Learning Stages

Introduce your child to the technique of scratchboard painting. The technique involves etching images on a black surface to reveal the colors beneath. Guide your child in following the instructions below to create his own scratchboard art:

Using crayons, apply a thick layer of an assortment colors to different areas of a sheet of poster board or paper.
Apply a thick layer of black crayon over the entire surface of the paper.
Using a toothpick or paperclip, scratch the picture into the layer of black. A rainbow of colors will come through, forming the lines of the illustration.

For further exploration of scratchboard painting, check out the works of Brian Pinkney, an award-winning children’s book illustrator who uses scratchboard painting in his artwork.