There’s nothing better than animal art projects for preschoolers. If you want to help your children grow their drawing and crafting skills, these delightful animal art activities for preschoolers are perfect for kids of all ages.
Below you’ll find a curated collection of simple, engaging creature crafts featuring favorite animals to delight any little animal lover. Try a few and see which ones become your go-to activities!
1. Ladybug Craft
Use toilet paper rolls, red construction paper, a black marker, scissors, glue, and googly eyes. Cut wings from the red paper using a compass or large glass for a circle shape. Cover the tube with socks or paper, have children color polka dots, then attach the wings and eyes. This is easy and enjoyable for older preschoolers too.
2. Paper Plate Piggie
Paper plate crafts are quick and satisfying. For a pig, gather pink tissue paper, black construction paper, glue, and scissors. Have children cut small tissue squares to practice fine motor skills while an adult assembles the facial features, then glue everything together.
3. Fish Craft
This simple felt-and-popsicle stick fish uses felt squares, popsicle sticks, and googly eyes. It’s an excellent hands-on way to discuss the life cycle of a fish and follow step-by-step directions.
4. Paper Plate Lion Craft
Paint the rim of a paper plate light brown and the center bright yellow. When dry, add googly eyes and draw a nose and mouth to create a friendly lion. Watercolors work especially well for this project.
5. Fingerprint Glass Magnets
Create little characters from children’s fingerprints, use a fine pen for details, and seal images beneath flat glass gems with a clear coat of glue. Once dry, attach magnet backing for keepsake refrigerator art.
6. Patriotic Eagle Craft
This easy foam-sheet eagle uses simple shapes: body parts cut from orange, brown, and yellow foam, plus small pom-poms for feet. Glue the parts together and add googly eyes for an adorable patriotic craft that builds fine motor skills.
7. Fish Printable Bookmarks
Print fish-shaped bookmark templates and let kids color and cut them out. For longer life, laminate the bookmarks and add a tassel through a punched hole.
8. Handprint Chicken Art
Paint a child’s hand and press it onto paper to form a chicken silhouette. When dry, add eyes, beak, and other details with markers to make memorable, tactile artwork.
9. Painted Bumble Bee
Paint bumblebees on rocks using acrylic paints and seal with a weatherproof spray if placing outdoors. This project pairs a simple craft with a short lesson about pollinators.
10. Owl Paper Bag Puppet
Use a paper bag as the base and glue on circles, triangles, and ovals for eyes, beak, belly, and wings. Decorating a puppet is a great way to practice shapes and assembly.
11. Paper Mache Dino Bank
Create a dinosaur bank over a balloon base using paper mache (flour and water mix) and newspaper strips. After drying and painting, cut a slot for coins to make a fun, functional craft.
12. Natural Art Animal Pictures
Collect leaves, twigs, and seasonal natural items on a walk, then arrange and glue them to form animal shapes. Mount on sturdy paper for display.
13. Seashell Craft Dog Magnet
Use clam shells for faces and smaller shells for ears, paint them to match the dog breed, glue pieces together, and attach a magnet to the back for a seaside-themed magnet.
14. Paper Bag Cat Puppet
Cut circles for eyes, triangles for ears, and a heart for a nose. Glue to the bottom flap of a paper bag, add whiskers, and decorate for a sweet cat puppet.
15. Cardboard Dinosaur Feet
Trace oversized dino feet onto cardboard, cut out two layers for each foot, paint, and glue together to create wearable dinosaur feet for imaginative play.
16. Paper Plate Polar Bear
Use white plates and black and pink paper to make eyes, cheeks, nose, and inner ears. Assemble pieces for a cozy winter-themed polar bear craft.
17. Ladybug Templates
Print or draw ladybug templates for coloring and cutting. These templates make it easy to talk about life cycles and nature while crafting.
18. Toilet Paper Roll Cat Craft
Wrap a TP roll with colored paper, add an oval head and triangle ears, glue on googly eyes, and decorate the face. Add a pipe cleaner tail for extra fun.
19. Winnie the Pooh Craft
Color or paint a paper plate yellow, attach two yellow ears to the back, and draw or cut out facial features to make a simple Pooh bear plate.
20. Paper Plate Fish
Turn a paper plate into a fish by painting it, adding a googly eye, cutting a small triangle for the mouth, and attaching fins and a tail made from colored paper.
21. Snake Craft
Draw two mirrored squiggly lines, cut them out to form a snake, add eyes and a tongue, and decorate scales with shiny stickers or sequins for a customizable project.
22. Handprint Bunny Easter Craft
Paint a child’s hand and stamp it onto a board or paper to form a bunny silhouette. Add facial details and ears for a charming Easter keepsake.
23. Safari Animal Coloring Pages
Use printable safari animal pages to explore different biomes. Kids can color lions, elephants, and other safari creatures while learning about habitats.
24. Potato Stamp Butterfly Art
Cut small potatoes into halves to stamp symmetrical butterfly wings. Dip in washable paint and press onto paper for vibrant, unique prints.
25. Frog Toilet Paper Roll Craft
Make a frog from a TP roll by cutting and attaching eyes, limbs, and a belly from construction paper. Draw facial details and assemble for a hopping good time.
26. Pig Paper Bag Puppet
Create a pig face from pink paper, add eyes and ears to a paper bag, and glue a curled tail to the back for a cute puppet to play with.
27. Old Macdonald Farm Animal Crafts
Decorate wooden eggs or paper shapes to represent farm animals. Paint, add paper ears or felt details, and seal with a protective coat for lasting keepsakes.
28. Paper Plate Caterpillars
Cut and reassemble paper plates to form colorful caterpillars. Decorate with markers, googly eyes, and pipe cleaner antennae.
29. Finger Puppet Origami Bird
Fold a square of paper into a simple origami finger puppet and decorate to make a tiny bird. This activity teaches basic folds and hand-eye coordination.
30. Bee Printable
Print bee templates for coloring or pair them with rock painting for a mixed-media activity that’s especially good for little hands.
31. Tape Resist Clown Fish
Cut a fish outline, add strips of tape across the body, let kids paint, and peel the tape away when dry to reveal bold stripes. Finish with a googly eye.
32. Dinosaur Coloring Pages
Printable dinosaur coloring pages are a favorite for anyone fascinated by prehistoric creatures. Print a variety and let imagination run wild.
33. Watercolour Butterfly Craft
Color coffee filters with washable markers, spritz with water for a watercolor effect, let dry, then attach to clothespins and clip to create fluttering butterflies.
34. Paper Plate Baby Farm Animals
Turn paper plates into baby versions of farm animals—pigs, cows, sheep, and chicks—by cutting smaller circles for faces and adding simple features and googly eyes.
35. Funny Bunny Craft
Use foam bunny shapes or cut your own, add googly eyes and popsicle-stick handles, and decorate with silly faces and accessories for puppet play.
36. Aquarium Craft
Turn a tissue box into a diorama fish tank by adding a colored background, cut-out fish, and covering the top with clear plastic to mimic glass.
37. Walrus Arctic Animal Craft
Cut walrus shapes from brown paper and blue paper for water, then add snowflake stickers for an arctic scene perfect for winter learning.
38. Farm Animal Sticks
Paint jumbo popsicle sticks to resemble farm animals and add details with paint markers, buttons, and googly eyes for simple puppets.
39. Handprint Cow
Trace a child’s hand on white paper for the cow’s body, add black spots, a rounded triangle head, and colored paper details for nose and horns to assemble a friendly cow.
40. Paper Plate Whale
Paint a plate blue, add a smile and eye, trim the bottom for a tail, and glue on a paper spout to create a cheerful whale.
41. Foam Cup Farm Animals
Paint foam cups and add pipe cleaners, felt, and googly eyes to turn them into farm animals. These are quick to make and fun to play with afterward.
42. Beluga Whale Toilet Paper Roll Craft
Paint a tube white, cut fins and a tail, add a blue water spout, and draw a friendly face to make a beluga whale.
43. Shark Headband
Create a shark from an almond-shaped piece of paper, attach it to a paper band sized to your child’s head, and let them decorate their own fin-tastic headgear.
44. Recycled Plastic Egg Whale Craft
Use leftover plastic eggs as whale bodies, adding a tail, eye, and painted smile to repurpose materials into playful sea creatures.
45. Seashell Fish Craft
Paint larger shells as fish bodies and glue smaller shells for fins. Add a googly eye for a pretty, textured fish decoration.
46. Coffee Filter Watercolour Fish
Color coffee filters with markers, spritz with water to blend colors, dry, scrunch for a tail, secure with a pipe cleaner, and attach a googly eye for a delicate fish.
47. Slinky Dog Craft
Make a slinky-style dog by accordion-folding paper strips to connect head and tail pieces, creating a playful movable toy.
48. Monkey Cardboard Tube Craft
Attach paper ears and a nose to a cardboard tube, glue on googly eyes, and draw a grin to form a cheeky monkey puppet.
49. Toilet Roll Farm Animal Crafts
Transform empty rolls into farm animals with construction paper, yarn, and googly eyes. Pre-cut pieces if needed and let kids assemble and decorate.
50. Paper Plate Puffin
Paint the outer ring of a plate black, add an orange triangle beak and colorful strips for the bill, then draw an eye for a cheerful puffin.
51. Paper Plate Submarine Craft
Create a submarine “window” by cutting the center from one plate and attaching it to a painted plate showing an underwater scene. Staple the plates together to frame your child’s ocean drawing.
These easy, age-appropriate animal crafts support creativity, fine motor development, and imaginative play. Pick a few favorites, gather supplies, and enjoy crafting with your preschooler!