Paper animal crafts for kids put them up to a challenge and may inspire them to tap into their creative side. Paper is versatile: we use it to write, paint, draw, print, make books, and even create beautiful shapes. On a rainy day when you don’t know how to keep your children engaged, get them involved in a craft session with paper. Since you can find most of these materials around the house, you won’t have a hard time organizing the activities either. Further, encouraging children to take up creative activities such as paper crafts can help them develop their imagination. Thus, we have put together a tutorial to help your child make paper animal crafts without hassle.
Paper Plate Animals
Let us begin with simple crafts. For these, we will use a standard item we see in bakeries, parties, and picnics – paper plates!
1. Duck
The duck says quack-quack. Well, not this one. The paper plate duck is cute and smiles, but is quiet. This one isn’t Daffy. You will need:
White paper plate Color paper– orange, yellow, white and black Glue Scissors Pencil Sketch pens
How to: Your cute, smiling duck is ready.
2. Echidna
Did you know that the echidna is one of the only mammals in the world to lay eggs? The small, spiny animal is native to Australia and New Guinea. You will need:
Paper plate Glue Brown paint and paintbrush Scissors Printer and paper Brown paper
How to:
3. Elephant
How can you make an elephant using a paper plate? Well, keep reading to know. You will need:
A paper plate Two sheets of white paper Paintbrushes Oil paints Scissors
How to: Tip: You can create googly eyes stickers or print them out in different sizes for all the paper animal crafts.
4. Turkey
The paper plate turkey is a cute bird with a yellow nose and colorful plumes. You can make it easily, in just a few steps. But please don’t eat it! You will need:
One sheet each of red, pink, yellow, brown, orange, green, black and white colored paper Paints and paintbrush Scissors Glue Paper plates – one large plate and a smaller one
How to: The paper plate turkey is ready for display.
5. Fish
The last on our list of paper plate animals is the fish – one that does not swim. And no, you can’t eat this either. You will need:
Two paper plates Sketch pens Black paint and paintbrushes Glue Scissors Color paper
How to:
Origami – Paper Folding Animal Art
Origami is the art of folding paper to create something. In these tutorials, we will tell you how to fold paper to create paper animals. Origami paper animals are ideal for older kids, aged at least seven. To make it simple for children, we have picked three easy-to-do origami paper animals.
6. Cat
The cat is one of the simplest origami animals that your kid can make. You will need:
One origami paper – gray or black color
How to: You have a kitten.
7. Jumping Frog
A frog that jumps need not be live. Find out how to make a paper frog that jumps right here! You will need:
Green origami paper – A4 size Color pen
How to:
8. Fox
An origami fox may not look exactly like one, but it is close. And making it is fun, anyway. So, here are the instructions. You will need:
One square-shaped origami paper Color pen
How to:
Paper Animal Masks
What fun are paper animals if you cannot play with them? So we have decided to make paper animal masks that you can use for birthdays or other parties. The good news is that these masks are made using templates.
9. Owl
The owl mask is slightly complicated, compared to the ones we do next. For this, you can get the template online. We used the templates from Martha Stewart’s paper animal masks page. You will need:
Owl mask template Scissors Craft knife Glue Color papers with different patterns, textures – you can use wrapping paper as well Elastic string
How to:
10. Bunny
Making paper masks is easier than you think it is. All you need is find a bunny mask template. You will need:
Bunny mask template A sheet of white paper Sketch pens Craft knife String
How to:
11. Panda
This is perhaps the simplest paper mask you can try. This idea is especially useful when you want to make paper masks in bulk, for a party or an event. You will need:
Panda face mask template (you can get it online) Craft knife String Black sketch
How to:
Paper Animal Using Templates
Using templates is an easy way to make paper animal crafts. But it is not all that easy either, which is why we recommend you try this with kids aged seven or more. Note: We used the Meyamo DIY Fold-up animals template for the masks.
12. Monkey
A dangling monkey on the desk can be a great idea, as long as it is made of paper. Here is how to do it in just four steps. You will need:
One folding animal-monkey template A sheet of white paper Scissors Color pencils or crayons
How to:
13. Crocodile
You can now make a paper crocodile in just four steps. Here is how. You will need:
A folding animal-crocodile template Scissors Glue White paper
How to:
14. Lion
You need more than just a folding animal template to make the king of the jungle come alive on paper. You will need:
A sheet of white paper (A4 size) Color pencils or crayons Glue Scissors
How to:
15. Tiger
Tiger, tiger, burning bright… The majestic tiger, which is sadly endangered, is one of the best paper animals you can teach your teen to make, perhaps for creating awareness about the dwindling numbers of the animal? We have used the Folding Zoo Animal template for this project. You will need:
One tiger template A sheet of paper Color pencils or crayons Scissors
How to:
