Are you looking for a fun collaborative art project for kids? I’m big on collaborations, like this one Less is More: A Child-Adult Art Collaboration.
Today’s project is a winner that’s fun for any age, preschool and up.
Not too long ago, I found myself sitting outside the community center on one of those benches that’s either too hot or too cold, waiting for my eldest to wrap up their theater class.
Beside me, my preschooler was doing the all-too-familiar wiggle dance of boredom leading me to scramble for entertainment solutions.
I usually carried a sketchbook and markers in my bag for these moments.
Pulling them out, I handed my 4-year old a marker, and suggested a “back-and-forth drawing game.”
I started with a simple squiggle; they transformed it into something unexpectedly meaningful.
Back and forth we went, each adding to the other’s doodles, no rules, just fun.
Then the magic hit.
Those squiggles and doodles started to look like something out of a storybook.
A spiral became a snail on a journey.
A long line became a balloon flying off towards the sun.
There, on that uncomfortably cold bench, we stumbled upon our own secret world.
That preschooler, now older, conjured up a new game, Collaborative Drawing Storytelling, to pull me into their creative world.
Here’s the gist:
You need two artists, one sheet of paper, and two pencils to play.
Player #1 draws the first frame of the story > player #2 interprets what’s happening in that frame then draws the next frame > this continues back and forth until the story is done > then, both players share their interpretations of the whole story.
The drawing, thinking, and sharing makes this so much fun!
This next part is thrilling because you get to learn about each other and witness how you interpret ideas differently.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes.
If you’d like to experience the project with a video lesson and downloadable PDF, this creativity-boosting project and hundreds more are included in the TinkerLab Schoolhouse Art Studio.
Great idea