Comb Painting with Kids

Comb painting is one of those cool kid activities that has been around for a while and yet it is still classically loved by many. In our house we discovered it several years ago, although I had seen preschool teachers and art teachers use the technique before trying it ourselves.

One of the best parts about comb painting is the materials are likely ones you already have on hand, and if not they are pretty cheap to buy.


Materials:
Paper
Combs (it works great if there are different sized combs to try. We bought our pack at a local discount store)
Washable paint

Comb painting creates paintings with texture and a variety of colors. We like to use either just two colors, or a few colors in the complimentary shades. so that we get a pretty mix. If we use just two primary colors (red, blue, or yellow) it can also give a great chance to talk about color mixing.

We start by putting a few drops of the paint near the bottom edge of a piece of paper. If using just a few colors, we like to make a pattern of the colored drops.

Kiddos then take the tooth edge of a comb and drag it through the paint. We usually work our comb towards the opposite edge. 

If the paint is not fully spread out, you can lift up and drag the comb through again or even drag it backwards.  Sometimes kids like to turn the comb sideways too. 

One of the engaging elements is that every image can look different, and even using the same color patterns can create different shades and hues. 

We like to turn our comb paintings into greeting cards, especially thank you cards. 

To do this we use half sheets of white card stock paper (4 inches by 11 inches.) After they dry we fold the cards in half. 

Looking for some other ideas of how to turn kid art into cards? 

Check out some of our other ideas:

Monster Truck Painting & Note Cards

Magic Words Thank You Cards

Fingerprint Thank You Cards

Firefighter Thank You Cards (Posted at b-inspired Mama) 

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