Fall is a colorful season for making art! Apples, leaves, pumpkins, and changing landscapes give kids plenty of inspiration for painting, collage, printmaking, drawing, and mixed-media projects.
These fall art projects for kids include simple process art, famous artist-inspired activities, and seasonal projects for kindergarten through elementary grades. Many include free printable templates, making it easy to add fall art to the classroom, homeschool, or an afternoon at home.
Grades: K–6
Art Ideas: Painting, Printmaking, Collage, Drawing, Process Art
Fall Themes: Apples, Leaves, Pumpkins, Nature, Halloween, Thanksgiving
Easy Fall Art Projects
Start with a few of our favorite fall art ideas. These projects use familiar seasonal themes while giving kids opportunities to experiment with color, line, shape, texture, pattern, and different art techniques.
- Kandinsky Fall Tree Art – Create a colorful fall tree inspired by Kandinsky’s circles and bold use of color.
- Leaf Rubbings – Explore the shapes, veins, and textures of real leaves with a classic rubbing technique.
- Coffee Filter Apples – Blend marker colors with water to create bright apple art.
- Salt-Painted Leaves – Combine glue, salt, and watercolor for a colorful raised painting.
- LEGO Stamped Fall Tree – Use LEGO bricks as printing tools to stamp a fall tree.
- Bubble Wrap Pumpkin Prints – Turn recycled bubble wrap into a simple printmaking tool.
- Mess-Free Apple Painting – Explore paint and color mixing inside a sealed bag.
Many of these projects include printable templates, so you can choose a quick art activity or extend it into a larger seasonal lesson.
Fall Art Projects for Elementary Students
Looking for fall art that feels a little less crafty and gives elementary students more opportunities to explore artists and art concepts? These are excellent places to start.
- O’Keeffe Fall Leaves – Look closely at leaf shapes, lines, and colors while creating oversized leaf art inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe.
- Matisse Leaf Collage – Cut and arrange organic leaf shapes inspired by Henri Matisse.
- Kandinsky Fall Tree – Explore circles, color, and composition.
- Pop Art Leaves – Turn a simple leaf into bold repeated images inspired by Pop Art.
- Fall Silhouette Art – Combine a painted fall background with dark silhouette shapes.
- Negative Space Leaf Art – Use leaves to explore positive and negative space.
- Black Glue Leaves – Create strong outlines and stained-glass-style color areas.
- Kusama Pumpkin Art – Explore repetition and pattern with pumpkins inspired by Yayoi Kusama.
👉 These projects also work well for introducing the 7 elements of art through seasonal subjects kids already recognize.
Fall Art Projects for Preschool and Kindergarten
Younger kids can explore fall colors and textures with painting, stamping, wrapping, and other hands-on art techniques.
- Tissue Paper Fall Tree – Add colorful tissue paper leaves to a printable tree.
- Apple Stamping – Use cut apples as printing tools.
- Yarn-Wrapped Pumpkins – Wrap cardboard pumpkin shapes with colorful yarn.
- Mess-Free Leaf Painting – Explore paint and fall colors inside a sealed bag.
👉 For even more ideas for younger kids, explore our preschool fall activities.
September Art Projects
September is a great time to begin with apples, leaves, trees, and nature-inspired art before moving into pumpkins and Halloween later in the season.
Try these easy September art projects for kids:
- Apple Dot Painting – Explore dots and color with an apple theme.
- Coffee Filter Apples – Experiment with blending colors.
- Apple Stamping – Turn a real apple into a printmaking tool.
- Leaf Rubbings – Collect leaves and investigate their patterns and textures.
- Matisse Leaf Collage – Cut and arrange fall-colored shapes.
- O’Keeffe Fall Leaves – Look closely at the colors and details found in leaves.
- Kandinsky Fall Tree – Create a colorful tree using circles and repeated shapes.
September art can also pair easily with nature study, apple themes, and your first lessons on line, shape, color, and texture.
Apple Art Projects for Fall
Apples are one of the easiest fall themes to use for painting, printmaking, and process art.
Start with our free Apple Template.
- Coffee Filter Apples – Color coffee filters with markers and mist them with water to blend the colors.
- Apple Stamping – Create prints using halved apples.
- Fizzy Apple Art – Mix art and science with baking soda paint and vinegar.
- Apple Bubble Wrap Prints – Stamp textured apples using bubble wrap.
- Yarn-Wrapped Apples – Add texture by wrapping cardboard apple shapes with yarn.
👉 Looking for more? Explore our complete collection of apple crafts and art projects.
Leaf Art Projects for Kids
Real and printable leaves make easy starting points for exploring color, shape, texture, pattern, and famous artists.
Start with our free Leaf Template.
- Leaf Rubbings – Reveal the veins and textures of real leaves with crayons.
- Black Glue Leaves – Use bold black outlines with bright fall colors.
- Leaf Salt Painting – Paint raised salt lines with watercolor.
- Leaf Marble Art – Roll paint-covered marbles over leaf shapes.
- Matisse Leaf Collage – Arrange colorful organic shapes inspired by Matisse.
- O’Keeffe Fall Leaves – Create oversized leaves inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe.
- Fall Silhouette Art – Add dark silhouettes over a colorful fall background.
- Negative Space Leaf Art – Use leaves as masks to explore negative space.
- Yarn-Wrapped Leaves – Add texture with fall-colored yarn.
- Kandinsky Fall Tree Art – Explore repeated circles and color.
- Pop Art Leaves – Create repeated leaf designs inspired by Andy Warhol.
👉 Explore even more fall leaf art projects here.
Pumpkin Art Projects
Pumpkins are perfect for exploring shape, texture, pattern, color, and mixed-media art.
Start with our free Pumpkin Template.
- Kusama Pumpkin Art – Cover pumpkins with colorful dots inspired by Yayoi Kusama.
- Yarn Pumpkins – Wrap pumpkin shapes with yarn for a tactile fall project.
- Black Glue Pumpkins – Create bold outlines and colorful painted sections.
- Pumpkin Bubble Wrap Prints – Try simple printmaking with bubble wrap.
- Pumpkin Dot Art – Build a pumpkin image with small paper dots.
- Zentangle Pumpkins – Fill pumpkin shapes with repeated lines and patterns.
- Fabric Pumpkin Texture Art – Make a mixed-media pumpkin collage from fabric scraps.
- Fizzy Pumpkin Art – Add a simple chemical reaction to a fall painting project.
👉 Find more pumpkin crafts and art projects here.
Pinecone Art and Crafts
Take fall art outdoors by collecting pinecones on a nature walk and using them as part of your next project.
- Pinecone Painting – Use pinecones as unusual paintbrushes and printing tools.
- Pinecone Sun Catcher – Turn a natural material into a colorful seasonal decoration.
You can also collect leaves, twigs, acorns, and other natural materials to compare textures, shapes, and colors before creating.
October Art Projects for Kids
By October, add pumpkins, spooky silhouettes, and Halloween themes to your fall art plans.
- Picasso Halloween Portraits – Create abstract Halloween faces inspired by Picasso.
- Van Gogh Starry Night Halloween – Give a famous night sky a Halloween twist.
- 3D Halloween Papercraft – Cut, fold, and assemble a seasonal paper project.
👉 Explore even more Halloween Art Projects.
Thanksgiving Art Projects
Continue fall art into November with harvest colors, turkeys, and Thanksgiving-inspired projects.
- Coffee Filter Turkeys – Blend marker colors with water to create bright turkey feathers.
- Picasso Turkeys – Create a colorful abstract turkey inspired by Picasso.
- 3D Thanksgiving Papercraft – Cut, fold, and assemble a seasonal paper project.
- Murakami Turkeys – Explore the work of Murakami and add a turkey disguise theme.
- Tribal Corn Art – A beautiful pattern art project inspired by Lois Maillou Jones.
👉 Explore more Thanksgiving Art Projects.
Explore the Elements of Art This Fall
Seasonal projects are also an easy way to introduce basic art concepts without turning every activity into a formal lesson.
As kids create, look for opportunities to talk about:
- Line: Notice veins in leaves, tree branches, or repeating Zentangle patterns.
- Shape: Compare circles, organic leaf shapes, apples, and pumpkins.
- Color: Explore warm fall colors, complementary colors, and color mixing.
- Texture: Compare real leaves, yarn, fabric, bubble wrap, salt, and pinecones.
- Pattern: Look for repeated dots, lines, shapes, and colors.
- Space: Experiment with overlapping, silhouettes, and negative space.
- Form: Add dimension with folded paper and 3D projects.
You don’t need to teach every element at once. Choose one or two ideas that naturally fit the project you’re already doing.
Printable Fall Art Project Pack
Want the instructions, templates, and art ideas together in one place?
Our Printable Fall Art Project Pack includes 40+ fall art projects featuring apples, pumpkins, leaves, Halloween, Thanksgiving, famous artists, and seasonal process art.
Inside you’ll find:
- Step-by-step project instructions
- Printable templates
- Famous artist-inspired activities
- Process art and STEAM ideas
- Projects for preschool through elementary grades
Just add basic art supplies and start creating.
More to Explore
Famous Artists for Kids | Process Art | Leaf Art Projects | Pumpkin Crafts | Halloween Art Projects | Thanksgiving Art Project
