Watercolor whale craft, with FREE printable!

Whale craft + free printable

It’s November, the start of the Humpback whale season in Hawaii. The Hawaiian Islands are a national marine sanctuary for humpback whales, a protected environment for these amazing creatures to breed and give birth. To celebrate the start of a new season, we created this watercolor whale craft together with Hawaiian Childrens Books. This whale craft is inspired by the book “The Whale Who Wanted to be small” written and illustrated by Gill McBarnet. Check out their website with a great collection of Hawaii-inspired children’s books and adorable ocean-inspired gifts for little ones perfect for the festive season. As you might know, I’m a vast ocean, animal, and nature lover, so their book themes are right up my alley.

This craft comes with a free printable; you can use the printable as a color page or a craft template for your art. If you want to create this craft, gather the following craft supplies.

By using this site, you agree to our terms of use. This article contains affiliate links; read our full discloser here.

Watercolor whale craft, with free printable!

Whale craft activity for kids

Craft Supplies

• Cardboard
• White and blue paper
• Watercolors (you can use liquid watercolors, tubes, or a pallet, we prefer watercolor pallets)
• Watercolor paper (recommended but optional)
• Paintbrush
• Glass of water 
• Pencil 
• Glue
• Scissor 
• Googly eye (optional)
• Piece twine (optional)
• Printable Whale who wanted to be small

Step-by-step craft instructions for ocean  

Step 1: Cut out a cardboard circle; this will be the surface that will hold your craft together (see picture step 1). For the circle, you can do any size you like. We traced a big round footplate on a cardboard box, but you can also print the printable and use it as a template.

Step 2: Take a big sheet of watercolor paper. A thick white paper will do if you don’t have watercolor paper. Color the whole sheet with blue watercolor shades. If you add more water to the paint, your colors will turn out lighter; with less water, your colors will be darker. You can also mix blue with green or purple shades to make it look more attractive. Let your child explore and experiment with watercolors; it doesn’t have to be pretty (see picture step 2). You can use any kind of watercolor, but we prefer watercolor pallets, especially when you work with kids. 

Step 3:  When the watercolors are dry, you will rip your paper into long strips (see picture step 3).

Step 4: Now layer your blue paper strips on your cardboard circle (see picture step 4). Most likely, each strip has a white border from ripping the paper. Layer your strips this way so that the white border is upwards. The layering effect and shades of blue and white will make it look like an ocean. 

Step-by-step craft instructions for ocean

Step-by-step craft instructions for whale 

Step 5: Cover your entire cardboard circle with paper strips so the process is not visible anymore (see picture step 5).

Step 6: Turn your cardboard over and cut around the circle (see picture step 6).

Step 7: Place a blue paper (or any color you like your whale to be) underneath your cardboard circle (see picture step 7). Trace the bottom half of your circle on the blue paper; this will be the size of your whale.  

Step 8: Now, you have half a circle on your blue page; this will be your whale’s outline. Create a whale (see picture step 8) and ensure the outline is the same size as the cardboard circle. You can print the printable  and trace it when drawing your whale. 

Step-by-step whale craft

Step 9: Create a belly and fin for your whale (see picture step 9)

Step 10: Cut off a little piece of rope and unravel the top part. Then take your watercolors and color the rope blue (see picture step 10). 

Step 11: Glue your whale together (see picture step 11).

Step 12: Glue your whale on top of your ocean background. We glued a lid between the cardboard and the whale, so the whale popped out slightly. Instead of a lid, layer cardboard or use foam (see picture step 12).

Great job on this watercolor whale craft activity. If you’re looking for another whale craft activity, try out these incredible paper roll whales, you can craft a whale with just one paper roll. Or you can give these easy origami paper fish a try!

For more information about our favorites craft supplies and/or stores, check out the blog post favorites.  And don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for step-by-step craft instructions! 

Watercolor whale craft activity for kids

Watercolor whale craft, with free printable!

2