The Perfect Art Craft for Halloween (Inspired by Eric Carle)

As the days get shorter and pumpkins start glowing on porches, it’s the perfect time to make some spook-tacular art with your child! This Halloween, why not create a creepy creature together — inspired by beloved children’s book illustrator Eric Carle?

You might know him from The Very Hungry Caterpillar or The Very Busy Spider — both filled with bright colors, fun shapes, and textured art. His unique process lends itself beautifully to Halloween themes. You can make a realistic spider like I did… or let your imagination run wild and invent a brand-new spooky character!

At Kaleidoscope Learning, we’ve used this process with kids many times — and they always love it. It’s messy, creative, and full of possibilities. Whether you’re crafting at home or in a classroom, this Halloween-themed project is sure to be a hit.

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🕸️ What You’ll Be Making:

A creepy (or cute!) creature using Eric Carle’s 4-step art technique:

Paint • Design • Cut • Glue

Materials:

• Paper (preferable card stock/thicker paper)

• Paint

• Brushes

• Texturing tools (like cardboard, string, q-tips or leaves)

• Colored pencils or markers

• Scissors

• Glue

• Googly eyes (optional—but fun!)

• Pencil for tracing

Our materials used for creating our very own Eric Carle inspired artwork!

Step 1: Painting

Here’s where the fun begins! Cover your paper with bold colors and layered textures. Think: monster fur, bat wings, spooky spider legs, or alien skin! To keep things vibrant (and not muddy), stick to 2–3 colors per paper.

Texture ideas for Halloween:

• Crumpled paper bags for creepy skin

• Cut cardboard for jagged fur

• Leaves for a witchy forest feel

• Cotton swabs or sponges for polka dots and slime textures

  
  

Let your papers dry completely before moving on. This might take a few hours.

Note: your kids might want to stop here, and that's ok!

painting with paint brush

painting texture with cardboard

Here are some paintings our students made!

Step 2: Designing Your Creature

Now it’s time to plan your Halloween character! You can take inspiration from real animals (like bats, owls, or spiders) or make your own ghoulish creation — a one-eyed ghost worm? A rainbow werewolf? A candy corn monster?

Sketch your design first, focusing on the shapes it’s made of — ovals, triangles, rectangles, etc. You can either use your sketch to trace pieces or keep it nearby for reference.

👻 Tip: If you're tracing, break your creature into parts (like wings, head, legs) and trace them individually for easy assembly.

My spider design sketch

Step 3: Cutting

Flip your painted paper over, trace your shapes lightly with a pencil, and cut them out carefully. You’ll now have all the colorful, textured pieces you need to bring your creature to life!

Gluing

This is where your Halloween critter takes shape — spooky, silly, or both!

Arrange your cut pieces on a background paper. Once you’re happy with the look, glue them down. Add details like:

• Googly eyes (use paper or draw your own!)

• Fangs, claws, or antennae

• Pencil or marker lines for fur or feathers

  
  

Display your creature proudly on the fridge, the classroom wall, or your front door. Better yet, make a whole haunted gallery together!

The final result!

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💡 Bonus Ideas:

• Storytelling Prompt: After you finish, ask your child: What’s your creature’s name? Where does it live? What spooky sound does it make?

• Book Pairing: Read The Very Busy Spider or Mister Seahorse before you create for extra Eric Carle inspiration.

🧛‍♀️ Happy Halloween Crafting!

This Halloween, skipping the store-bought decorations to make something magical together leads to fun family bonding. Eric Carle’s method is the perfect blend of art, creativity, and hands-on fun — perfect for little monsters and grown-up ghouls alike.

Tag us @kscopelearning if you make one — we’d love to see your spooky creatures! 🕷️🍁