Watercolor Leaf Art

Kim Posted: 09/02/21 Updated: 08/02/23 Share a comment

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Kids will love to create their very own unique watercolor leaf art! We love this fall art project because every leaf is unique! Grab the free printable templates today to make them yourself!

Watercolor Leaf Art Project for Kids

We love how easy this activity is to set up! You only need a few supplies to make this art, and you probably already have the supplies on hand!

There are 3 different leaf designs to choose from:

A Geometric Oak Leaf:

A Geometric Maple Leaf:

And finally a geometric sweet chestnut leaf:

Supplies Needed to Make This Watercolor Leaf Art

– Watercolors – we used this set

– White Cardstock

– Black crayon or Black oil pastel

– Paintbrush

– Leaf templates – you can get the templates on the bottom of the post on the form with the preview of the template

We also have free printable leaf templates that you can use to make your own geometric shapes inside

What is Better – Crayon or Oil pastel?

Personally I like using the black crayon for this project for younger kids. The black crayon is easier to use (a little thinner and less thick) and you’re more likely to have it on hand!

For a more thicker outline, an oil pastel will give your final art a more rich appearance.

For younger kids, I would recommend skipping the crayon step and just letting them color or paint the geometric shapes.

Watch the Video Tutorial Here!

How to Make a Watercolor Leaf Project

1. Start by printing off the leaf templates. You can get the free templates at the bottom of the post on the form with the preview of the template.

You can also draw your own leaves and draw the shape lines inside.

2. Using a black crayon or a black oil pastel, trace the lines on the template.

You want the crayon or oil pastel lines to be thick so that it creates a nice outline between the watercolors. This will prevent the watercolors from bleeding into each other.

This step is optional but it helps to keep the colors from bleeding and also makes the design pop a little more.

For younger kids I would skip this step and just let them paint the printable design.

Continue tracing until the full template is outlined.

3. Once your leaf is outlined with black crayon, you can paint the inside shapes!

We used regular watercolors but you can also use liquid watercolors or kids can simply color the inside of the leaf with a marker or crayon.

Alternate what colors you use to give the leaf a multi-color final appearance!

We used 3 colors per leaf but you can use as many colors as you’d like!

Depending on the color you choose it may not paint as dark as you’d like. If this happens, just paint another layer on top.

We love how each leaf will turn out unique once painted!

To add an even more artistic touch, use a black pen to draw doodles inside the geometric shapes once your watercolor has dried.

Printing Tips:

Make sure you review the Print Preview before printing. Every printer is different so make sure you select “Print to Fit to Size” or look at the printer Scale Features (you can print at 90% scale) in your printer settings so that it does not print cut off if you are having issues.