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.
Ready to Make This?
What did you think?
How many pieces of art have you created featuring an animal? if it’s never, what’s holding you back? please share in the comments below.
I had a blast making this card and I hope you like it!
She/he is absolutely adorable. I love everything about it. Enchanting 🙂
Glad you like it Liz!!! it was a lot of fun 🙂
Wow, I just ran across a pic of my kitty cat Elaine who is in kitty cat heaven now. Love this video. The only art I’ve ever done with an animal in it is a very small mixed media piece of a fox.
Thank you for sharing Dawn… do you think you could make some art featuring Elaine?
I love this one! Using the tissue paper and transparent paint makes it…ethereal.
And off-topic–you look especially good in this one.
Thank you Gail for the lovely comment!!!