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Kids will love painting this cat painting as an activity for a birthday party! It’s such a cute painting and is even more fun to paint with the bright fun colors painted on the canvas.

If you have a cat-obsessed child who enjoys painting and is starting to explore detail, this will be a great activity for them. While this is intended for a cat birthday party, it can serve as a fun cat activity at any time.

While it does explore some detail painting, this cat activity is relatively simple. Paint down the base, paint the cat head, and then add some detail. That’s all there is to it!

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Cat birthday party activity

This cat painting is most ideal as an activity for a birthday party that is cat-themed. I will be sharing even more cat crafts and activities followed by an entire cat birthday party! If you’re considering choosing a cat birthday party for your child, you will love some of these crafts and activities.

They are so simple, fun, and are sure to make for a fun birthday party. Stay tuned for the rest of the posts in this series!

Ready to learn how to make this cat painting? Scroll down below for the full instructions.

Cat painting supplies

To make this cat painting activity, you’ll need these supplies:

  • Tempura paints – white, black, grey, teal, pink, and purple
  • Fine detail paintbrush
  • Angled square foam paintbrush
  • 8 x 10 canvas
  • Tabletop display easel

How to make a cat painting

To get started, paint 2.5-inch stripes of paint using the foam paintbrush in pink, teal, and purple colored paints – covering the entire canvas. Allow the paint to dry for a few minutes. Wipe the leftover paint off using a towel or rinse brush. We dabbed it on a paper towel and it wiped almost all of it off without bleeding through to the next color.

Next, paint a circle of black paint in the middle of the canvas with the foam paintbrush.

Gently dot the black paint around the edge of the circle using the angled tip of the foam paintbrush so that it appears like hair.

Paint 2 lines that meet to create a triangle ear on each side of the cat’s head.

Dot the black paint around the edge of the ear to add hair to the triangle you just painted.

Now using the fine detail paintbrush, fill each ear with grey paint and draw a small grey upsidedown triangle in the middle of the cat face to form the nose; rinse paintbrush.

Draw the whiskers with white paint using the fine detail brush on each side of the cat’s head. Add 2 big white circles to form the eyes and let it dry for a few minutes.

Paint slightly smaller black circles inside the white eyes to form the pupils using the fine detail brush and let it dry for a few minutes.

Lastly, use the fine detail brush to paint a small streak of white paint on each corner of the eye to form the appearance of a reflection.

Allow at least an hour for the cat painting to dry. You’re finished!

Yield: 1 cat painting

Cat Painting Tutorial for Kids

Kids will love painting this cat painting as an activity for a birthday party! It's cute, fun, and full of bright colors.

Active Time 30 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Materials

  • White tempura paint
  • Black tempura paint
  • Grey tempura paint
  • Teal tempura paint
  • Pink tempura paint
  • Purple tempura paint
  • 8 x 10 canvas
  • Tabletop display easel

Tools

  • Fine detail paintbrush
  • Angled square foam paintbrush

Instructions

    1. Paint 2.5-inch stripes of paint using the foam paintbrush in pink, teal, and purple colored paints – covering the entire canvas. Allow the paint to dry for a few minutes. 
    2. Wipe the leftover paint off using a towel or rinse brush. We dabbed it on a paper towel and it wiped almost all of it off without bleeding through to the next color.
    3. Paint a circle of black paint in the middle of the canvas with the foam paintbrush.
    4. Gently dot the black paint around the edge of the circle using the angled tip of the foam paintbrush so that it appears like hair.
    5. Paint 2 lines that meet to create a triangle ear on each side of the cat’s head.
    6. Dot the black paint around the edge of the ear to add hair to the triangle you just painted.
    7. Using the fine detail paintbrush, fill each ear with grey paint and draw a small grey upsidedown triangle in the middle of the cat face to form the nose; rinse paintbrush.
    8. Draw the whiskers with white paint using the fine detail brush on each side of the cat’s head. Add 2 big white circles to form the eyes and let it dry for a few minutes.
    9. Paint slightly smaller black circles inside the white eyes to form the pupils using the fine detail brush and let it dry for a few minutes.
    10. Use the fine detail brush to paint a small streak of white paint on each corner of the eye to form the appearance of a reflection.
    11. Allow at least an hour for the cat painting to dry. You’re finished!

Notes

Tempura paints work best as they dry quickly, clean up easily, and are best for kids to work with. Different paints may yield different results and longer drying times.

Don’t forget to pin this cat painting tutorial for later!