INTRODUCTION

Oh, to be able to view the world through a child’s eyes! Creativity seems to come so naturally and unselfconsciously to children. With a little encouragement, they are happy to draw and paint almost anything—they allow their imaginations to run wild and come up with all kinds of subjects and stories. But what happens when the children in your life ask you to draw or paint with them? Are you able to accurately render their requested subjects?

If the answer is “no,” but you’ve always wanted to learn to draw and make art projects with and for kids, this book is especially for you! Although my simple tutorials won’t teach you how to work realistically, you will learn to draw and paint in a way that is fun and appealing to children. You’ll also learn how to draw and paint with confidence. Included are practice spaces where you can make notes or sketches for future reference as well.

Once you have mastered a few basic drawing techniques, you will be able to tackle those requests with more than a stick figure or a cat that looks like a dog and a dog that looks like a horse. My hope is that this knowledge will also inspire kids to create art of their own.

And what should you do with these drawing and painting skills? I’ve covered that too! In this book, you will find easy craft projects for you and your kids to do together. (These have all been tested by my own children, who enjoyed them immensely.)

Now grab your art supplies, and let’s dive in and have some fun!