Shaded Hearts - Teaching Kids Shading Techniques

We used watercolor paint to shade hearts.

Shading makes artwork more interesting and is a fun technique to experiment with. Valentine's Day and the Heart Balloons on Art Projects for Kids inspired this heart painting activity.

Beginning with a sheet of watercolor paper, the kids were asked to paint hearts with light shades of warm colors.

Next darker tones were added to one side of the heart.

Then using water or only a small amount of paint the colors were blended together.
 
After the papers were filled with hearts, a cool color was chosen for the backgrounds. I was astounded at the results of this project. It was the first time any of us has tried to shade artwork and the light effects could be seen right away.

10 year old son

My Hearts

I love they way may 7 year old daughter painted two upside down hearts.

12 year old daughter

This project was perfect for experimenting with shading because the kids could choose their own colors to work to blend together. It gave them the opportunity to see how colors mix. Plus the numerous number of hearts gave the kids lots of chances to practice.