How to Make Thumbprint Drawings

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By Gail Martin
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Thumbprint art

My daughter gave me these thumbprint sketches one Easter. It's a fun art project for children (and adults). Only a few supplies are needed but with imagination, you can create endless variations. You don't even have to be a great artist. Here's how to get started.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

paper
inkpad
ink pen
colored pencils or markers
handywipes

Step 1

Get out the supplies (an ink pad, plain paper, ink pens, colored pencils). For the paper, you can even use the plain backs of junk mail, so you are recycling.
Step 2

Supervise the use of the ink pad so that the children don't get inky fingerprints all over the house. Use a damp rag or a handywipe to clean the ink off their fingers.
Show the children how to press a finger onto the ink pad, then place it on the paper. Have them lift their finger straight up from the paper so the fingerprint doesn't get blurred.
Shannon used different colored ink pads for her thumbprints but black was her favorite.
Step 3

Next come up with some ideas of what to turn the fingerprint into. Add feet, a tail, pointed ears and whiskers to turn it into a cat. All it takes is a few lines added to the oval fingerprint.
Step 4

She would use a pen and colored inks for the sketching and filled in with magic markers or sometimes colored pencils. Get creative with these.
Step 5

You can use plain cards or paper for the thumbprint art, then use these for stationery. Another use for the thumbprint designs is to frame them and hang them on the wall.