Crayon Etching

Welcome to Ms. Nancy's Art Class!

Crayon Etching is an easy and fun art project for kids of all ages and requires few materials: only crayons, paper, and something to "etch" the design! It's almost "magical" when the design appears! This is a great "Rainy Day" activity!




Materials:
Crayons
Sturdy paper (We used water color paper.)
Paper clips, etc., to "etch" your design


Procedure:
Layer 1:
Use crayons to color the whole front side of the paper with different colors of crayons.  Bright colors work well; do not use black! Press very hard with the crayons as you make the colors vivid.

Bright colors work well.

Press very hard with the crayons.

Designs may be 

blocks of colors or 

free-form design.

Here's an example of a Layer 1 finished design.

Layer 2:
Next, color the whole paper with a black crayon, making the colored design "disappear".

Some of the colored background may show through, but make sure most of it is covered with the black crayon.

Finally, you may "etch" your design with a paperclip.

Nancy's Notes:

• It is better to plan for at least two sessions to complete this activity, due to the pressure involved in coloring the design.
• Kids may etch a picture, or simply etch to uncover the vibrant colors.
• Other "tools" for etching include the head of a nail or screw, a coin, or even a fingernail!
• Teacher Tip:  This activity can be integrated into your curriculum by having students "etch" items related to a current unit of study.   Example: Etch trees and animals in a Rain-forest.