--- title: "Scratch art for kids: make your own without a kit" description: "DIY scratch art for kids: bright crayon, black paint on top, let it dry, then scratch with a toothpick. No kit needed. See it on screen first." source_name: "Game Tailors" source_url: "https://extreemtekenen.nl/en/techniques/scratch-art/" site_home: "https://extreemtekenen.nl/" source_description: "The drawing app where the paper is real. No ads, no accounts, no data collected." locale: "en" legal: - "Game Tailors · Schieweg 15Y-40, 2627 AN Delft (NL)" - "KvK 92437702 · VAT NL866044474B01" - "info@gametailors.com · +31 6 4227 5919" copyright: "© 2026 Game Tailors" published_at: "2026-10-24T05:05:52.447Z" modified_at: "2026-10-24T05:05:52.447Z" --- # Scratch art for kids: make your own without a kit ## Scratch the black away and a rainbow appears Colour a card with bright crayon, paint black over it and let it dry. Scratch with a toothpick and the black breaks off in a thin line, showing the crayon colours. The wax stops the paint soaking in, so it comes away cleanly. [Play in your browser]()[Do it for real](<#for-real>) - Ages 5\+ - An afternoon, with drying - No kit needed ![Painted illustration of the painter scratching through black paint with a wooden stick to reveal a rainbow rocket, planets and stars.]() ## Quick facts Age 5\+ \(younger children with a blunt stick\) Time 20 minutes colouring, 1 hour or more drying, 15 minutes scratching Mess Low to medium: paint, then black crumbs Adult needed For the paint and for handing out skewers You need \(cost\) Crayons, card, black paint, dish soap, a toothpick: no kit On screen / for real Both ## What you'll make Your own scratchboard: a black card that turns into starbursts, a night city or a rocket full of rainbow lines wherever you scratch. Shop-bought scratch paper works the same way; this one costs only crayons and paint. ## In Extreme Drawing 1. **Crayon** \(drawing bar\): colour a patch in bright stripes. The crayon only catches the raised fibres of the paper, so go over it a few times. 2. **Paint** \(drawing bar\): paint black all over the crayon. 3. **Time → Wait 1 hour.** Brush paint sets hard in about an hour. \(Black poster paint from the **Paint bucket**, Toolbox, sets in a few minutes.\) 4. **Craft tab → Poke → Toothpick or Skewer** \(in the full toolbox\): drag it across the dry black. The point breaks the paint along a fine line, about half a millimetre wide, down to the crayon, and the crumbs land just beside the line. **Also try:** dragging the toothpick through the paint while it is still wet. It ploughs a soft furrow instead of a clean line. Compare a scratch over crayon with one over bare paper: without the wax underneath, the black has soaked into the paper. [Play in your browser]() ![Painted illustration of the painter sprinkling glitter on a glue star, beside salt on a glue line soaking up blue paint, stickers, ink droppers, a stencil and tape.]() ## Do it for real **You need** - Thick white card \(thin paper tears\) - Wax crayons in bright colours \(leave out the black\) - Black poster paint or acrylic paint - A few drops of dish soap \(washing-up liquid\) - A wide brush - Something to scratch with: a wooden toothpick, a bamboo skewer, an opened paper clip or an empty ballpoint pen - Newspaper under your work ### Step by step 1. Colour every bitFill the whole card with crayon, pressing hard. Stripes or patches of bright colour work best. Any gap will scratch out white. 2. Mix the blackStir a few drops of dish soap into about two tablespoons of black paint. Without it, the paint beads up on the wax. 3. Paint it blackBrush on an even coat. If colour shows through once it is dry, add a second coat. 4. Let it dry completelyAt least an hour, overnight is better. Paint that is still soft smears instead of scratching. 5. Scratch your pictureDraw with the point. Press lightly for thin lines; use the side of a skewer for wide patches. 6. Brush off the crumbsTip the black flakes onto the newspaper and fold it up, so they don’t get trodden into the carpet. Safety and clean-up Skewers have a sharp point: an adult hands them out, and younger children use a toothpick or a blunt stick. Sit at a table and scratch away from your body. Black paint and crayon crumbs stain carpets and clothes, so cover the table and wear old clothes. Wash brushes straight after painting. ## Variations to try ### Shooting stars Scratch bursts of lines out from a point. Rainbow crayon under black looks just like a night sky full of shooting stars. ### Halloween Orange, purple and green crayon under black: scratch bats, a moon and spider webs. ### Space A rocket, planets and stars. Scratch dots for far-away stars and the side of the skewer for comet tails. ### No-paint version Colour bright, then cover it with a thick layer of black crayon or oil pastel and scratch through that. Less mess, but it takes strong arms. ## In the app vs on paper ### On screen Drying is one tap \(Wait 1 hour\), and Undo takes back a slip. The scratch is a crisp line, with the crumbs falling beside it. The crayon, the paint and the wait are free; the toothpick and skewer are in the full toolbox. ### On real paper Real drying takes an hour or a night, and the paint needs a little soap to stick to the wax. But the real card has the scrape you can hear, the shiny wax under the black, and a picture you can hang on the fridge. ![Painted illustration of the painter scratching through black paint with a wooden stick to reveal a rainbow rocket, planets and stars.]() ## Why the paint comes off in clean lines Crayon is wax, and wax doesn’t let paint soak in. So the black paint dries as a thin skin lying on top of the wax, and a sharp point can lift it off. **For grown-ups.** Wax is **hydrophobic**: water-based paint can’t wet or soak into a waxed surface, so it dries as a separate film with little grip on the layer below. The dish soap is a **surfactant** that lowers the paint’s surface tension so it spreads over the wax instead of beading up. Once dry the film is brittle, and a hard point concentrates force on a tiny area, cracking it along the line and exposing the wax. Artists call scratching through one layer to another **sgraffito** \(Italian for “scratched”\). ## Try next: what do you predict? ### One coat or two? Which scratches more cleanly: one thin coat of black or two? ### Wet or dry? What happens if you scratch before the paint has dried? ### White crayon underneath? Will it look like plain paper, or shinier? ### Oil pastel instead of crayon? Oil pastels are waxy and oily. Do they work the same? ## In the classroom Scratch art fits art lessons on line and contrast, and the science behind it \(wax keeps water out\) fits KS1 everyday materials and NGSS 2-PS1-1 \(describing materials by their properties, such as waterproof\). Scratch a few lines on the whiteboard to show the idea, then let the class predict what dish soap changes. [Ideas for teachers]()[Using it on the whiteboard]() ## Questions parents ask How do you make scratch art paper at home? Cover thick card with bright crayon, paint it with black poster paint mixed with a few drops of dish soap, and let it dry completely. Then scratch with a toothpick. Why does my paint bead up on the crayon? Wax pushes water away. Stir a few drops of dish soap into the paint so it spreads, and add a second coat once the first is dry. What can kids scratch with? A wooden toothpick, a bamboo skewer, an opened paper clip, a used-up ballpoint pen or the end of a paintbrush. Younger children do best with the blunter tools. Can I make scratch art without paint? Yes: colour with bright crayons, cover them with a heavy layer of black crayon or oil pastel, and scratch through that. What else is scratch art called? Scratchboard, scraperboard \(in the UK\) or sgraffito, the artists’ name for scratching through one layer to show another. ## Try these next ![Painted illustration of the painter brushing blue watercolour over paper, revealing a white crayon fish and bubbles.]() ### [Crayon resist]() The same wax trick the other way round: paint slides off a crayon drawing. ![Painted illustration of a pumpkin with star-shaped holes and mould spots, a bottle foaming over in orange and purple and a pipe-cleaner spider, the painter holding a witch's hat.]() ### [Halloween science]() Spooky but real ideas for October, from mould to foam. ![Painted illustration of the painter brushing a rainbow watercolour that bleeds into wet paper, with crayons, markers, a paint box and a child's rainbow drawing.]() ### [Watercolour for kids]() Wet-on-wet, blooms and salt: what watercolour does on paper. ## Scratch a rocket on screen Colour, paint it black, wait an hour in one tap and scratch. Then make the real card at the kitchen table. [Play in your browser]()[All art techniques]()