If you're looking for a simple and unique art activity, try your hand at blind contour drawing. A contour drawing is a way of drawing that focuses only on the outline of an object—and when you can't see what you're doing, it makes the activity even more exciting! Not only do kids create interesting artwork, they also challenge their brains to think in completely different ways!
What You Need:
- Brown paper bag
- Sheet of drawing paper
- Black marker
What You Do:
- To start off, give your child a piece of white drawing paper and a black marker. Encourage her to slowly draw her hand, concentrating on its outline, while looking at her hand—not at her paper! If she needs to stop to check her work, she has to stop drawing.
- Now it’s time to challenge her skills! Place a piece of paper in an open brown paper bag that's lying on its side. Have her put her hand in the bag so she can't see what she's doing and do another contour drawing. No checking her work this time! Tell her not to worry about what the blind contour drawing will look like, but to work slowly and concentrate on connecting her eye movements with her drawing hand.
- Now she can take a look at her blind contour drawing. Does it look like her hand?
Encourage her to keep practicing! The more practice she gets, the better her focus and concentration will be, and the more accurate her drawings will become!
By Sarah Lipoff
Sarah Lipoff has a K-12 Art Education degree and enjoys working with kids of all ages.
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