Earth Day Watercolor Art

For a simple Earth Day art activity, give thisEarth Day Watercolor Art!a try. These lovely watercolor Earth paintings offer children a creative way to mark Earth Day. Find the complimentary printable template at the end of the post!

RELATED: Earth Day Coloring Pages

Watercolor Earth Day Artwork

This creative activity is a favorite because it requires only watercolors and a black crayon!

For additional Earth Day art ideas, explore our Earth Day Coloring Pages and Earth Day Color by Number pages.

You can expand this project by including an Earth Day writing prompt alongside the artwork. Another option is having children write what they like most about our planet on the page.

Thefree printable templateis available at the end of the post.

We selected various blue and green tones to make our Earth Day painting resemble the planet, though children are welcome to pick whichever colors they prefer!

Children might also sketch people around the Earth shape or include words explaining what they appreciate about our planet.

View the Video Tutorial!

Materials Required for Earth Day Watercolor Art

Which Works Best – Crayon or Oil Pastel?

For this activity, I personally prefer a black crayon for younger children. It is simpler to handle, somewhat thinner and not as bulky, and you are more likely to already have one available!

If you want a bolder outline, an oil pastel will make the finished artwork look more vibrant.

With younger children, I suggest leaving out the crayon step and allowing them to color or paint the geometric shapes instead.

Steps for Creating the Earth Day Watercolor Art

1. Begin by printing the Earth Day art template.

Thefree templatecan be found at the end of the post.

Alternatively, sketch your own Earth and add shapes inside it.

2. Trace the template lines with a black crayon or black oil pastel.

Make the crayon or oil pastel marks thick enough to form a clear border between the watercolors. This keeps the colors from running together.

Although optional, this step helps prevent color bleeding and causes the design to stand out a bit more.

For smaller children, I would leave out this step and simply let them paint the printable pattern.

Keep tracing until the entire template has an outline.

3. After outlining your Earth with black crayon, paint the shapes inside!

We used standard watercolors, but liquid watercolors work too, or children can fill the shapes with a marker or crayon.

We chose several blue and green shades, but you can apply multiple paint coats to deepen the same color. Add more water to create a lighter shade.

Note: The portions intended for green paint may be difficult to spot after the entire template is outlined in crayon. Children can place a small green paint dot in those sections before adding the black crayon to distinguish the two areas.

Children enjoy this art project because each painting ends up looking different!

For an added extension, combine it with an Earth Day writing prompt.