Art for Beginners: Mixed-Media Drawing & Painting Projects

Learn how to start a mixed-media lizard drawing by gathering supplies such as watercolor paper, paints, brushes, pencils, oil pastels or crayons, a water cup, paper towel, and a mat.

Learn step-by-step pencil drawing to shape a lizard using light lines, a diamond-based torso, curved tummy, tail, and simple arms and toes, with encouragement to practice and adjust.

Outline the lizard with oil pastels or crayons, cover the pencil lines in green, add interior designs, and prepare for watercolor painting in the next step.

Learn to paint a lizard with watercolor by waking up each pan with a drop of water, choosing greens, yellows, blues, and oranges, rinsing between colors as they blend.

Gather thick paper, watercolor paints, a brush and water, plus oil pastels or crayons to create a cute pig on a farm with mud, and keep a tidy workspace.

Learn to draw a pig on a farm with oil pastels, starting with a large head circle and triangle ears, then shape the body and add a simple farm background.

Learn to paint a cute farm pig with watercolor, plan colors like pink, brown, green, blue, and white, and test mixes on scrap paper, and handle oil pastels after drying.

Design your robot with mixed-media drawing and painting. Gather watercolor paper, a mat, watercolors prepped with water, brushes, pencils with eraser, a permanent marker, and scratch paper for practicing shapes.

Practice drawing lines and shapes to design your robot, exploring circles, squares, triangles, hearts, dials, and different line types to generate creative ideas.

Learn to draw a robot from simple shapes—soft square, circles, and rectangles— with adjustable legs, arms, and features, plus optional background ideas for a space effect.

Decide colors before painting: use warm colors for the robot and cool colors for the background, then watch watercolor bleed and let colors run for spontaneous design.

Identify essential supplies for this mixed-media project: thick paper, a mat, two brushes, water, a pencil, acrylic or tempera paints (white, black, and a color), a palette, towels.

Apply white acrylic paint over the paper with a flat brush, then lightly frame the edges in brown and let it dry for five to ten minutes.

Draw two black silhouette birds on a branch using light pencil guides, then fill with black acrylic using a fine brush to create slim branch lines and fluffy tails.

Identify essential supplies for this acrylic painting project, including thick paper, a mat, brushes, water, a pencil, and a palette, with black as a must and several colors.

Sketch the composition first with pencil, placing a small sheep in the front, a larger sheep in the middle, and a baby behind, then add hills to map color placement.

Apply bright colors to the sketch, mix colors with white to create lighter hues, paint the shapes, hills, and sky, then once the piece dries, outline everything with black.

Add detail and outline the painting by adding sky stripes, hill polka dots, and grass detail, then outline in black with a small brush and the brush tip.

Discover the essential supplies for this oil pastel pear project: brown paper bag, protective mat, oil pastels in your chosen colors, and a paper towel for cleanup.

Outline a pear with white oil pastel, then layer greens and yellows, blending for shading. Add a brown background and side lighting to enhance highlights.

Apply color to the background with oil pastels, blending pinks and purples with a touch of red for shadows. Layer, break pastels to use the side, and smear with fingers.

Learn to draw a dragon using mixed-media techniques, from outlining the head and eyes to adding a beard, curly mustache, and neck details, using markers or watercolors.

Add detail to the dragon drawing with scales, lines, and dots to create texture and shadow. Practice detailing before painting, using markers, crayons, or colored pencils for depth.

Prepare thick watercolor paper, brown paints, a cup of water, a large brush, a marker or alternative, plus a paper towel and a mat; paint first, then marker.

Paint a light brown watercolor background on paper to prep for the old mansion, using water for a wash, then let it dry before drawing with a marker.

Learn to draw an old mansion using curved and straight lines, stairs, and connected building sections, while adding a bird and other details, even if parts go off the paper.

Add intricate details to the old mansion using curved lines, arches, windows, and doors, then personalize three towers, a fountain, and cobblestones to complete your artwork.

Draw and paint a little mouse on a macaroon cookie, using watercolor paper, a permanent marker, watercolor paints, brushes, and clean water.

Draw a cute mouse on a macaroon by building head, body, ears, eyes, whiskers, and tail, then add tiny hands and decorate a table and background.

In step 2, learn to prepare and soften watercolor paints, choose colors for the mouse, ears, macaroon, and background, and paint with a moving brush to avoid paper damage.