Easy Ghost Art for Kids

This easy ghost art for kids is a preschool classic! Use simple art supplies to make adorable ghost art.

This easy ghost art for kids is fa-boo-lous

We can’t get enough adorable Halloween art when spooky season is here.

This ghost art project is simple to make, and each piece is equally amazing.

Plus, this project uses a little bit of Halloween magic because to paint this ghost, we don’t paint the ghost. You’ll see. 😂

Related: Our GIANT 10-foot Halloween Coloring banner is perfect for your Halloween fun!

Materials

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White paper– the thicker, the better
Black paint
Scissors
Tape
Sponge or cotton balls

Three photos: (1) A cotton ball dipped in a bowl of black paint is turned over, (2) the cotton ball is stamped on an outline of a ghost sitting on a white piece of paper (3) a sponge stamps back paint around the ghost filling up more of the background paper

Directions

Cut out a ghost outline from white paper, either by freehanding the shape or tracing it first. (I always just freehand, so each ghost is different.)

Have fun with your design! Some ghosts will be long, short, wide, narrow, leaning, have arms, have no arms…they’re all perfect.

Tape the ghost outline to the white paper using a small piece of tape.

Add black paint onto the paper using cotton balls or a sponge, making sure to get all of the edges of the ghost and as much of the background as you love.

Once the paper has been painted black and the ghost’s edges are painted, remove the ghost outline to reveal the ghost made on the paper.

Isn’t that amazing? You painted a ghost without painting a ghost!

A finished east ghost art for kids project: a white ghost shape sits in the middle of a paper covered in black paint and the ghost has googly eyes and a necklace made of large gems

More is more

Some kids love their art plain, whereas some love adding extra accessories, and this is the perfect project for both types of creators.

You can add embellishments such as drawn-on eyes, a mouth, googly eyes, jewels for a necklace…the sky is the limit.

This step for customization is one of the very best parts.

A ghost template is lifted up off of a white piece of paper that has been covered in black paint, leaving an empty white spot in the shape of the ghost template.

This type of art is called negative space

I LOVE introducing fancy art vocabulary to my preschoolers, and it will forever be one of my favorite things.

This type of art employs the process of creating negative space.

The ghost made in the middle of the painting is the negative space of the art because it’s white, blank, and “empty.”

When doing this type of art, I use this vocabulary with the kids and, in turn, will overhear comments such as, “I made negative space art!” and, “This empty spot is the negative space!” and it’s pure perfection.

Black paint has been sponged and stamped onto a white piece of paper, overlapping onto the outline of a ghost template taped to the middle.

How do you make a ghost for kids?

Modeling the steps in the project + providing optional accessories is the perfect open-ended ghost art project for kids.

Each ghost will look different, and that’s where the true beauty is.

Looking for more Halloween activities for kids? Here are some of our top picks:

A completed easy ghost art for kids piece sits on top of each other on a purple table scattered with candy corn, a small bowl of black paint, and cotton balls.

This easy ghost art for kids is a winner

Easy supplies + easy directions + the cutest ghost art? Yes, please.

I can’t wait to see the ghost fun your kids have with this project, too.

Have fun!

A close up of the texture of the sponged/stamped black paint where the white paper of the background peeks through.

FAQ

What type of paper do you recommend for this?

The thickest you have (I used cardstock). If you only have a thinner paper (ex: copy paper, construction paper, etc), just work a little carefully.

How long do these take to dry?

These dry relatively quickly because the paint is typically not very thick.

Is this process art or product art?

I think this is somewhere in between. There’s definitely a teacher-led aspect to it, but there’s also a TON of room for individual customization and creativity (plus, no pieces will look the same).