Crayon drawing: 15 ideas and techniques

Crayon drawing works best when you use what wax does well: it layers, it resists water, and it picks up the texture of whatever is under the paper. Here are five techniques and 15 ideas to try, including easy ones for kids.

Five crayon techniques

• Layering: start with light pressure, add a second color over the first, and press hard only on the last layer.
• Blending: lay two colors side by side and rub where they meet with a white crayon or a tissue.
• Wax resist: draw in crayon, then paint watercolor over it. The wax repels the paint, so the lines stay bright.
• Rubbing: put thin paper over something textured, like a leaf, a coin or wood grain, and rub the side of a peeled crayon across it.
• Scratch art: cover the paper in bright colors, cover that in black, then scratch a drawing through with a toothpick.

Ideas that use the techniques

1. Leaf-rubbing tree Rub five or six leaves in different colors, cut them out and arrange them on a drawn trunk.
2. Scratch-art fireworks Rainbow stripes under a layer of black, then scratch bursts of lines out from a few center points.
3. Layered sunset Bands of yellow, orange, pink and purple that overlap where they meet, with a black silhouette along the bottom.
4. Stained-glass window Divide the page with thick black lines, then fill each piece with one hard-pressed color.
5. Texture zoo Rub tree bark for an elephant, a mesh bag for fish scales and a basket for a turtle shell, then draw the outlines on top.

Crayon drawings for kids

1. Secret white drawing Draw with a white crayon on white paper, then paint over it with watercolor and watch the drawing appear.
2. Me with a crown A self-portrait with a big crown and a cape, with the family pet standing next to you.
3. Rainbow with cloud ends Seven arcs, pressing hard, with a fluffy cloud at each end to hide where they stop.
4. Pet portrait A big round head, each whisker in one quick stroke, and the pet’s real colors.
5. My street Your house, the sun in the top corner, and every neighbor’s car in a different color.

Doodles that look best in crayon

1. Puffy hearts Outline a heart, fill it with light pressure, and leave a small blank patch near the top as the shine.
2. Costume on a printed photo Draw a crown, a witch hat or animal ears on the person in a printed photo, in waxy pastels.
3. Bows and stars Small bows, stars and hearts scattered around a figure, in only pink, black and white.
4. Love letters A tiny envelope with a heart seal and a heartbeat squiggle trailing from it.
5. Soft clouds Draw a cloud outline, then smudge the edge outward with your finger so it looks fluffy.

For pen and marker styles, see doodle art.

The crayon look on your photos

Looking for a crayon filter for a photo? Tada, an iPhone app, has two AI looks drawn in pastel crayon. Both keep your photo exactly as it is and add a hand-drawn layer that moves:

• Crayon Cosplay: a drawn costume on the main subject (a crown, witch hat, cape or animal ears) and a dozen crayon doodles like bows, stars and hearts around them, in pink, black and white.
• Crayon Hearts: puffy pastel-crayon hearts, two tiny love letters and heartbeat squiggles around the subject.

1. Open Tada, tap Add effects and pick a photo.
2. Choose Crayon Cosplay or Crayon Hearts and tap Make it.
3. In about a minute your tada is ready. Tap Save and it goes to Photos as a Live Photo.

Each AI look uses 1 AI tada (you get 3 free). To make it, your photo is sent to Tada’s AI partners; Tada asks before your first one. See privacy. For more costume ideas, see Halloween photo ideas.

Questions

More you can do

• Sun and moon drawing
• Sketchbook drawing ideas
• Doodle art
• Halloween photo ideas
• All guides