Art and artists
Line Safari
Go hunting for eight kinds of lines and draw one of each: zigzag, wavy, dotted, spiral and more.
Thinking sheet · Art and artists
Only Three Colors
Pick just three colors and make a whole picture. Limits make you creative!
- Grades
- 1–5
- Time
- about 25 minutes
- Topic
- Art and artists
- Kids practice
- color choices, creative limits, problem solving
What kids do
“Choose three colors. That’s all you get! Make your best picture with them.”
- Color 1 (swatch)
- Color 2 (swatch)
- Color 3 (swatch)
- My three-color picture
- A clever trick I used to make three colors go further:
How to run it
- Let kids pick their three colors before they know what they’ll draw.
- Show how pressing lightly makes a paler shade.
- Layering two colors counts as a trick, not a fourth color!
Talk about it
- Was it harder or easier than you thought?
- Which color did you use the most?
- Why do artists sometimes limit their colors?
Take it further
Try a one-color picture using light and dark only.
Pairs well with
Free for home and classroom use. Print as many copies as you need.
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Mix a Color Wheel
Color the wheel with three primary colors, mix the three in-between colors and record the recipes.
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Warm and Cool Twins
Draw the same picture twice: once in warm colors and once in cool colors. How does each one feel?
Free for teachers
Get the free Classroom Drawing Kit
12 printable pages: six step-by-step lessons, a grid activity, draw-and-write sheets and teacher notes, sent with your welcome email. After that, new classroom printables by email.