Artist Trading Card Tutorial Featuring a Cat

I was trying to come up with a really easy artist trading card tutorial for the next swap and I know I wanted the theme to feature a cat.  There is no shortage of artist trading card ideas and even through, sometimes I find myself asking if it’s a theme that everyone will enjoy and participate in.  

Anytime I mention the idea of cat art, students immediately think “I can’t draw a cat” or “I can’t paint a cat”.  

And this is where my latest artist trading card tutorial comes in, featuring a cat that is so super easy to do, regardless of your skill level or the supplies you have.

Let’s pretend for a bit… you love cats and would love to create an artist trading card featuring a cat.  

In your mind, you can’t draw or paint a cat and you have very limited supplies.  I’m willing to bet you can do the following and create this artist trading card along with me.

Do You Have

cardboard packaging, such as cereal or oatmeal boxes, cosmetic or tissue boxes

Do This

cut out a piece that is 2.5 x 3.5″

a printer attached to a computer, tablet or phone

Go to pixabay.com, do a search for cats and print the picture.  Click here for a really cute picture of a cat with stunning green eyes.

Depending on your printer and computing device, you may need to play with the settings and print as wallet size

string, tissue, dried flowers, pot-pourri

cut or break into small pieces that are about the size of half a pea

glue stick or white glue

if you only have white glue, pour a little bit into a container and thin down with a tiny bit of water if it’s really thick

any type of acrylic paint, watercolours, watercolour crayon, stick or pencil

if you are reading this artist trading card tutorial, I’m pretty sure you have some type of paint in your paint box, pull out some yellows and greens

a small paint brush

again, if you are reading this, you likely have some type of paint brush, but if you don’t, use a q-tip or your fingers

If you have these supplies, then you can create this project and if you don’t have these supplies, watch the video and I can pretty well guarantee you’ll have “oh I can use this instead” moments.  If not, type in what you don’t have in the comments below and I’ll be able to come up with an alternative.

Now, the video below, I’m using my usual art supplies so you just need to substitute the above where applicable.