10 Handprint Animal Crafts That Kids Will Love!

Handprint animals are such a fun and easy craft to do with kids. A simple painted handprint can turn into a farm animal or a zoo animal in seconds with a little bit of extra paint or markers. And kids love that their handprint makes it unique to them as well.

Handprint crafts are great in that you can use paint to make a solid handprint or trace it onto paper and cut out to practice scissor skills. You can even trace with a crayon or marker and color in the handprint from there.

They also make great cards like this strawberry handprint card (perfect for Mother’s Day)!

Looking for More Handprint Crafts?

• Leprechaun Handprint Craft
• Snow Globe Craft with Handprints
• Witch Handprint Craft
• Make a Paper Bag Owl Puppet
• Handprint Butterfly

Why Kids Love Handprint Animals:

• A lot of kids love to get a little messy at art time (and painting their hands tickles a little!), so this gives them an opportunity to have some “hands on” painting time.
• Since you are using their handprint, every animal is unique to that child!
• Kids can do as little as they want to complete the look of the animal, or they can also color/paint in a whole scene or environment for the animal to live in.

What You’ll Need to Make it:

1. paper
2. acrylic paint or washable paint (the acrylic washes off pretty easily if you do it before the paint fully dries)
3. small paintbrushes
4. markers
5. google eyes and school glue (optional)

Tips for Making Handprint Animals:

• If you want a more sparse handprint where you see more fingerprints, use a small paintbrush to coat a dry hand with paint and stamp right onto paper.
• If you want a more solid looking print, coat the hand and stamp a scrap piece (or just make two of the same handprints to make more than one animal). Then, immediately add another coat of paint and stamp another piece and the second stamp will look more filled in.
• For easier paint removal, don’t let the paint fully dry before washing it off. Make as many handprints in that color as you want and then wash before it fully dries.
• If you are worried about paint on clothes or tables, try a smock or coated tablecloth for easy clean up!

How to Make a Handprint Monkey:

• Start out with a brown paint handprint.
• Where the thumb is, paint a circle for the head and two smaller circles on the sides for the ears. Let the paint dry a little and paint in the lighter brown circle for the mouth area and inside the ears.
• When the paint is dry, use a marker to draw the face, add a tail, and a vine for the monkey to hang from!

How to Make a Handprint Alligator:

• Start out with a green paint handprint.
• Under the thumb, paint two little circles for the eye sockets and let paint dry.
• When the paint is dry, use a marker to draw the eyes, spiky tail, and teeth. Add in some water for the alligator to swim in!

How to Make a Handprint Pig:

• Start out with a pink paint handprint.
• Where the thumb is, paint a circle for the head.
• When the paint is dry, use a marker to draw the face and ears, curly tail, and toes (have them make a “W” with a line above it for the hooves). Add some mud for the pig or some food for them to eat!

How to Make a Handprint Bird:

• Start out with a paint handprint (you can do red for a cardinal, blue for a bluejay, etc.).
• When the paint is dry, use a marker to draw the eyes and beak, feet, and any other feather details you want! You can also add a branch for the bird to sit on, a nest, or put a worm in its mouth!

How to Make a Handprint Mouse:

• Start out with a brown (or grey) paint handprint.
• Paint two ear circles, let them dry, and add some pink paint circles to be the inside of the ears and a pink triangle nose.
• When the paint is dry, use a marker to draw the eyes, mouth, and whiskers. Draw a mouse hole or some cheese for the mouse to eat!

How to Make a Handprint Chicken:

• Start out with a yellow paint handprint.
• When the paint is dry, use a marker to draw the eyes, beak, feet, and comb (the red bumps on the top of their head). Draw a barn or some seeds for the chicken to eat!

How to Make a Handprint Elephant:

• Start out with a grey paint handprint.
• When the paint is dry, use a marker to draw the eyes, ear, tail, swirls for the knees, and toes (have them make little “m”s for the toes). Add in some grass or trees for the elephant!

How to Make a Handprint Flamingo:

• Start out with a pink paint handprint.
• Use a brush to extend the thumb into a long curved neck with a head at the end.
• When the paint is dry, use a marker to draw the eyes, beak, swirls for the knees, and legs. Add in some water for the flamingo to splash in!

How to Make a Handprint Jellyfish:

• Start out with a blue paint handprint (or whatever color you want).
• When the paint is dry, use a marker to outline the body and legs, and draw the eyes and mouth. Add in some water lines, other fish, or bubbles for an under the sea look!

How to Make a Handprint Cow:

• Start out with a white paint handprint on colored paper (or do a brown handprint on white paper).
• Use a brush to paint an oval of pink at the end of the thumb for the face and some udders, and some black spots for the cow (you can also use fingerprints to make spots on the cow!).
• When the paint is dry, use a marker to draw the eyes, nose, ears, tail, and hooves (make a “W” with a line over the top for the hooves). Add in some grass for your cow to eat or a barn for them to sleep in!

More Animal Crafts and Activities:

• Animal Memory Game
• Paper Plate Lion Craft
• Owl Template
• Origami Crane
• Dinosaur Memory Game