Preschool Portrait Printmaking Face Painting

Preschool portrait printmaking is a fun and easy preschool art activity that kids love! Perfect for a no-mess face painting experience, this project is also a great addition to a preschool all about me theme.

Two preschoolers are sitting outdoors at a small table. One is painting on a clear acrylic sheet with bright colors like blue, green, and pink, while the other child smiles and holds a brush.

Preschool portrait printmaking is filled with magic

Whenever I introduce this project, I tell the kids, “Today we’re doing face painting…but no paint is going to get on your face.”

They’re *instantly hooked.* 100% intrigued.

“HOW?!” fills the air as they look at the paint, at me, and back at the paint.

⭐ We love, love, love printmaking and have a collection of the best printmaking projects for kids!

A preschooler wearing a purple shirt leans over a white table, pressing paper onto a painted acrylic sheet outdoors. The bright colors and process of transferring paint are part of this fun art activity.

Preschool portrait printmaking is a fun twist on face painting

With a little paint and an acrylic board, kids can create a portrait of a friend in a super fun way.

But if you don’t have a clear acrylic board on hand, you can easily do this with children standing on opposite sides of a sliding glass window, you could use a clear clipboard, or you could use a plastic insert from a picture frame (as long as the corners aren’t sharp).

Where there’s a will, there’s a face painting project. 😂

Try some of these other printmaking faves:

An acrylic sheet lies flat on a white table, painted with a colorful face portrait using vibrant hues of orange, green, pink, and blue. A paint jar set with brushes is visible in the foreground. This captures a moment of the preschool portrait printmaking activity.

Materials

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Clear acrylic board or window – a picture frame plastic insert works, too!
Kids’ paint
Paintbrushes
White paper
Baby wipes or wet towels

A preschooler stands in a sunny garden, beaming as she holds up her artwork—a bright and playful painted portrait. This joyful moment highlights her participation in preschool portrait printmaking.

Directions

Invite one child to hold the clear acrylic board in front of their face, gently pressing against their nose.
Begin by painting their first child’s face painting the board and not directly on their skin, describing each part as you go. Ex: “First, I’m painting your eyes…now, I’m painting your nose…”
Once finished, set the board on a table with the painted side face up.
Lay a piece of white paper on top of the painted side.
Gently rub the back of the paper to ensure it picks up all the paint.
Carefully lift the paper to reveal the portrait print!

After you have modeled the steps, kids will have a blast doing this with their peers.

A close-up shows a preschooler carefully lifting a print from a painted acrylic sheet. The activity’s vibrant colors and process exemplify preschool portrait printmaking creativity.

Exploring emotions with portrait printmaking

It’s fun to invite kids to explore different emotions through this project, too.

After the first round of prints, kids can make different faces (ex: excited, sad, angry) while their peer paints their face.

This is an incredible opportunity for children to observe the changes in facial features for different emotions (ex: brows may scrunch when angry, eyes may widen when surprised, etc.).

We love, love, love how this project can tie into social-emotional learning in such a fun and interactive way.

A laughing preschooler sits in a green chair while another child uses a brush to paint colorful designs on a clear acrylic sheet. The vibrant scene is filled with creativity.

Create a class or family preschool portrait printmaking gallery wall

After creating their portrait prints, invite kids to proudly display them on a special gallery wall.

Can you imagine how adorable a giant collection of colorful portrait prints would be all displayed together? Too adorable.

The gallery wall could be such a fun focal point for families visiting the classroom and lets kids show off their artwork to friends, building a sense of pride and community in their creative work.

It’s also a beautifully meaningful display to have in a home as well.

Two cheerful preschoolers stand outdoors, holding up their colorful portrait art made with bright paints like green, pink, and blue. Their smiles reflect the joy of the preschool portrait printmaking experience.

Learning with preschool portrait printmaking

This activity isn’t just fun—it’s educational too! Here’s what kids are learning:

Fine Motor Skills: Using paintbrushes builds coordination.
Observation Skills: Kids observe and describe facial features.
Art Concepts: They learn about printmaking and color mixing.
Social Skills: Working with a friend encourages teamwork and sharing.

A young child in a pink shirt is seen lifting a sheet of paper off a painted acrylic board. The paper reveals a colorful print created during the preschool portrait printmaking project.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can do you do this without the clear acrylic boards?

Yes! The easiest substitution is doing this directly on a large window.

What type of paint did you use?

We used Crayola kids’ paint and it’s fantastic.

What is printmaking?

Printmaking is an art technique that involves creating images by transferring ink (or in this case paint) from a surface onto paper or another material.