T is for Tiger Handprint Craft
Many moons ago, the kids and I embarked on a complete Animal Handprint A-Z! It resulted in lost of fun animal pictures as well as some “messy painting” at the end of each session. At the time we did a T is for Turtle.. but I have often been asked for a T is for Tiger Handprint Craft! So here we go!
This Tiger Handprint activity would also make a great Year of the Tiger activity 2022. Find out more about this zodia animal here.
For those of you that have been reading Red Ted Art for a while, you will guess that my kids are bit older now. So though this is a tiger activity for preschoolers, I still roped my two in. What was surprising – they thoroughly enjoyed it! The process is just a TINY bit different to how you would run the session with preschoolers, however, this site is all about inspiration… right?
Preschool Tiger Activity – Materials:
- Orange paint
- Hands (ha!)
- Paint brushes
- Pens for decorating
- Any extras for decorating – e.g. recycled green tissue paper
T is for Tiger Handprints – the process
As mentioned my kids are older… and they humoured me! I actually made, ahem, MY handprints in orange.. and then when they got home from school got the kids to decorate them.
There are two versions of this Tiger Handprint you can make:
- The flat handprint tiger
- The flat handprint + fist tiger
You choose which you would like to make – depends on how much your child enjoys print making and exploration.
For some reason the side of my fist makes this sideways looking tiger face – I didn’t expect that ear to pop up. If your first makes a slightly different print… just go with the flow! Afterall, each handprint and each tiger is unique!
Once you have made your orange handprints let dry fully.
Once dry, take a black pen and add your tiger features:
1. Flat handprint tiger:
The tip of the thumb is the tiger’s face. Although you can also make it this way round:
2. Flat handprint tiger:
The fist is the tiger’s head. And the thumb is turned into a tiger’s tail.
The four fingers are the four legs for both versions!
You can add as many or as few stripes as you like. As I learnt from my handprint alphabet, younger children have interesting interpretations of what an animal should look like! But they are all adorable and you should just let them get on with it!
E.g. you can see Pip Squeak’s ladybug handprints here – she was about 2.5yrs when we did these. I am not sure why the ladybug has “circles” for feet.. but so be it! She enjoyed the process!
Once your basic tiger is finished, you can then either leave them as they are (and a “T is for Tiger” maybe) OR you can turn it into a tiger collage or painting – by adding more details with pens, pencils, paints or collage materials such as green tissue paper!
Enjoy!
Do check out the rest of our animal handprint alphabet here:
You may also enjoy our growing collection of Tiger Crafts here!