Creating skin tones with regular colours can be a fun and creative activity for kids. With this simple guide, kids can enjoy the process of mixing colours to create their own unique skin tones. This activity fosters children’s creativity and appreciation for diversity along the way.
Collect basic art supplies such as coloured pencils, crayons or paint like our Topcolour products.
You will need colours like red, yellow, blue, white and brown. And plenty of paper to experiment on.
Begin by discussing the concept of primary colours: red, blue and yellow. Explain that these colours can be mixed to create other colours.
To make a base skin tone, mix red and yellow together. The children can experiment with different amounts until they find a shade they like.
By adding white or a touch of brown, children can adjust the lightness or darkness of their base colour. White will make the colour lighter, while brown will make it darker. It is better to start with small amounts at a time and see how the colour changes.
Older children can be introduced to the principle of undertones and that skin is not just one flat colour. It has subtle hints of other colours. Undertones can be created by adding tiny amounts of yellow/orange for warm undertones or blue/purple for cool undertones in their skin tone.
Have kids test their mixed colours on a separate sheet of paper. This way, they can see how the colour looks on paper and it is easier to make adjustments.
Discuss with the kids that people come in all sorts of beautiful shades. Encourage them to experiment with different combinations of colours to create a diverse range of skin tones. This is a great opportunity to talk about and celebrate the beauty of diversity.
Above all, art is about having fun and expressing oneself. There is no right or wrong way to create skin tones. Each person’s skin is unique and that is what makes it so exciting!
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