Elementary Art Lesson: How to Create an Ice Cream Painting for Kids
Welcome to this fun art project for kids! In this elementary art lesson, you will learn step-by-step how to create an ice cream painting using crayons and tempera cakes. This is a great activity for children of all ages and the finished product is sure to bring a smile to your face. Plus, it's a great way to encourage creativity and promote fine motor skills in young learners. So, let's get started and learn how to make an ice cream painting!
Materials Needed
To get started, you'll need:
Looking at Artwork
Before you dive into creating our ice cream painting, it's important to take a look at some examples of artworks featuring desserts. Jori Hoffer is a contemporary artist who creates beautifully unique dessert paintings. From ice cream sundaes to cupcakes and donuts, Hoffer's works are the perfect inspiration for students' artworks.
I recommend using the Inside Out Strategy for this lesson (read about it here).
Drawing the Ice Cream
For this step, students can start by drawing the ice cream with a pencil if you (the teacher) think they may need to erase any lines. This is especially beneficial for younger kids. Students of all ages should be able to draw the ice cream with a crayon, though, so this step can be skipped if desired.
Drawing the ice cream with a crayon allows students to think about the shape and size of their ice cream before making any marks on the paper. They have to be mindful of what they are doing upfront rather than just reacting to mistakes with the eraser. This helps build problem-solving skills in case of a mistake, too. If they do mess up with the crayon, they just have to figure out how to work with the mistake!
Encourage students to use a picture of the ice cream as a reference for drawing their own. You can also model some of the steps. In particular, I talk to the students about different shapes they can use for the bowl and how they can build scoops of ice cream into the bowl. They can pile that ice cream as high as they want! They can also play around with the shapes they use for the scooped ice cream.
Don't forget toppings! They can add a cherry on top or sprinkles all over. Let them be creative with the toppings! Kiddos always love dreaming up what kinds of toppings they can add to their ice cream scoops.
If they draw with a pencil first, have them use different colors of construction paper crayons to trace over those lines. We use black permanent markers to do this a lot in the art classroom. So, students are usually familiar with tracing their pencil lines. This time, they will use crayons instead of a marker. Just make sure they are only drawing on this step. They should not color in any shapes with the crayons.
Background
Adding a horizon line can help to create the illusion that your ice cream painting is sitting on a surface and has a background. Have your kids use different colors, textures, and patterns to make their backgrounds more interesting.
For example, if they think their ice cream is sitting on a table, maybe there is a tablecloth with a fun pattern. Alternatively, if they envision their ice cream sitting on the grass, there could be trees in the background. If they are feeling adventurous, have them put their ice cream on the surface of the moon and add some stars in the background. The possibilities are endless!
Painting
Now that you have drawn your ice cream, it's time to paint! Since you have already drawn your lines with the crayons, you can now paint loosely to create a wash. It is important to use multiple colors of tempera cakes so that the painting doesn't end up being just one color. Encourage your child to explore different colors and shades for different parts of the painting. For example, they can use different colors in the background as well as on the different scoops of ice cream and the bowl. They can also play around with different colors to represent different flavors of ice cream. Have fun and let their imagination run wild!
Student work in progress: Notice how the student is creating a wash but also using the paint to fill in certain spaces as well.
Finishing Touches
Once the painting is dry, you can add some extra texture and details to really make it pop! Glitter, sequins, and other craft materials can be used to create fun textures for the ice cream toppings. If desired, use smaller pieces of scrap paper or stickers to create patterns in the background.
To avoid overloading the piece, stick with adding these materials to either the background or to the toppings on the ice cream scoops. Allow the kids to get creative with this step and be sure to encourage them to express their individuality in their artwork.
Extensions
Once your students have completed their ice cream painting, there are a variety of ways to extend their learning and creative experience.
Have them create an ice cream in a Ziploc bag! (There are recipes for this all over the internet. It is easy to do with a class of students!) They can measure, combine and mix different ingredients to create their own personalized ice cream, and then document the steps in the process. This is an excellent opportunity for procedural writing.
Have them compare and contrast the real ice cream they created with the one they painted. What similarities and differences do they notice? How did they make it look more realistic?
For an extra challenge, have your students collaborate on a larger piece of paper or even on a piece of wood! Invite your students to get creative and explore new materials as they create a beautiful art piece.
Once they’ve completed the project, ask them: What other ideas do you have? Encourage them to come up with their own ideas and express their creativity.
What Other Ideas Do You Have?
What other desserts could you have students create with this process? Are there other artists they could use for inspiration? What other extensions can you think of?
Be sure to share with us over in the Art is Elementary and Middle Too! Facebook Group.
I’m Amanda, and I align standards and integrate content to help teachers meet the needs of the Whole Child in art class! I have yet to find a standard that I couldn’t teach through art, and I want to share it all with you.
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