As the weather turns colder, we love to embrace the season and everything that goes with it – including Halloween! Making Halloween art projects can be a lot of fun and help kids in the mood for our favourite time of year.
There are so many creative activities that they can try, from painting pumpkins to making own spooky decor for your home.
It's a great season for budding artists and we've found lots of creepy Halloween art ideas to inspire you, including how to paint pumpkins and fabulously sinister Halloween rock painting ideas. Learn how to decorate autumn leaves, build your own spooky town cemetery scene and much more!
In this guide, we've included lots of Halloween art projects for kids, but there are plenty of ideas that adults will want to try too. These projects vary in difficulty, so there's something for everyone to make.
Read on to explore our Halloween art projects for all ages…
17 best Halloween art projects for kids and adults
1. Pumpkin painting
Pumpkin painting is a popular Halloween trend at the moment and it's a fun alternative to carving the pumpkin. You can create stunning results with simple painting techniques. Learn how to paint pumpkins for Halloween with Becki Clark's step-by-step guide.
2. DIY skull string art
Create some fabulous artwork for your home with this brilliant string art technique from abeautifulmess.com. Simply place nails on a board to make the outline of the skull, then wrap the string around your design to make your own striking design. This one definitely isn't for kids!
3. Halloween rock painting
Rock painting is lots of fun for kids and adults alike! You can paint a simple design such as a pumpkin or a spider's web, or be more ambitious and cover your rock with a sinister Halloween scene. We love these cute little ghosts by @littleretromarket on Instagram.
4. Pumpkin painting
Create your own pumpkin scene using watercolour paints like this one by Elena Mozhvilo. Pumpkins come in different shades and varieties and some are even a beautiful blue-grey colour, so mix and match the colours and shapes to produce your own unique painting.
5. Paper mache treat bowl
It's not Halloween without a few tasty treats and this bowl is the perfect place to keep them. You make the bowl using a balloon, paper and glue, then decorate it by painting on a spider's web. Find this Halloween art project in our paper mache ideas article.
6. Paper mache pumpkins
Combine painting and crafting to make this homemade paper mache pumpkin. This is a brilliant Halloween art project for kids! Learn how to make a paper mache pumpkin with Katie Dolan's tutorial.
7. Halloween face painting
Show off your artistic skills with face painting! Once you get the hang of the basics, you can create a whole host of stunning effects – and your child will love it too. We particularly like this spooky spider face painting look from familiesonline.co.uk. Explore our easy Halloween face paint ideas for more inspiration.
8. Painted leaves
Gather up some fallen leaves on your next walk so that you can make painted leaves for Halloween! This is a really stunning Halloween art project that's ideal for artists of all ages and abilities. We love this web design by @chanderskan on Instagram, but there are lots of brilliant ideas to discover if you search under #paintedleaves.
Easy Halloween crafts for toddlers
Why should older kids have all the fun? Get little children into crafting with Gathered's Halloween crafts for toddlers.
9. How to draw an owl
Bring Hogwarts into your home this Halloween by drawing your own faithful owl companion. Take a look at this brilliant owl drawing tutorial from thevirtualinstructor.com which explains how to draw an owl using pen and ink techniques.
This is definitely one for older kids and teens to try!
10. Make a popsicle stick cemetery
Get painting and sticking to create your own haunting Halloween cemetery scene. This Halloween art project has some tricky elements, so children will need adult help to make it. Find out how to make a popsicle stick cemetery on lilblueboo.com.
11. Skeleton hand
Paint a skeletal hand in shades of blue, purple and green using watercolour paints for spooky results! We love this Halloween painting by @evierisebro on Instagram – have a go at painting your own version.
Again, this one is best for older kids. You can help younger children by drawing an outline for them to fill in with paint.
12. Wax resist spider's web
Wax resist drawing is a clever painting technique to try – and one that you can use for other art projects too. To get this stunning effect, simply draw onto watercolour paper with a white crayon and then paint over the top using watercolours.
Find out how to make a wax resist spider's web painting with Zina Harrington of letslassothemoon.com.
13. Halloween cat collage
Brighten up your home with this fun black cat collage! For this project, you just need some coloured paper, scissors, glue and a white pencil. Cut the cat heads using straight lines for a cute angular look. Find out how to make your own Halloween cat collage on artprojectsforkids.org.
14. Spooky Halloween mansion
Use paints and cardboard tubes to build your own spooky Halloween mansion complete with glowing windows. You can even add some Fimo pumpkins at the front of your castle to complete the look. Find the tutorial and make your own Halloween mansion on www.tts-group.co.uk.
15. How to draw a cat
A little black cat is the perfect addition to any Halloween drawing. Don't worry if you've never drawn a cat before – it's a lot easier than it looks. Follow Matt Breen's how to draw a cat tutorial, which will show you how to sketch your own feline friend.
16. Salt painting
Add some texture to your paintings with this unusual Halloween art project for kids! You draw onto watercolour paper using glue, then cover it with salt. Once the glue has dried, dab the salt with watercolour paint or food colouring and watch the colours spread.
Find out how to try this technique on onelittleproject.com.
17. Spooky tree painting
Create your own creepy artwork with this spooky tree painting tutorial by craftsbyamanda.com. The great thing about this is that you can reuse the painting year after year.
Halloween art projects to keep the everyone entertained this autumn
Halloween is a brilliant time of year to enjoy creative crafting, especially on rainy days. Help your kids to develop their creative skills with these eerie Halloween art projects, or enjoy an art session alone.
There are plenty of ideas to suit kids of all ages, although younger children may need a little adult support. It's a great way to spend some quality time with your kids and embrace the changing seasons.
Get messy with Halloween crafts for kids
Looking for even more spooky activities to keep your kids out of mischief this Halloween? Explore Gathered's Halloween crafts for kids for lots of creepy projects to make.
