Starfish Art Lesson Summer Ocean Art Project Easy Elementary Beach Art Activity

This Starfish Art Lesson is a bright, cheerful summer ocean art project that combines drawing, pattern and creativity. Students draw a bold, smiling cartoon-style starfish and surround it with a pattern-filled background, in an elementary art classroom or a homeschool setting.

After the guided drawing, students fill the background with repeating curved "rainbow" lines to explore line, repetition and pattern. The last step is paint, which reveals the resist effect as the design pops through. That is usually the moment students say "whoa."

WHAT TEACHERS ARE SAYING

★★★★ “This Art project was super cute and easy to use. This was such a time saver!” Tina Y.

WHAT'S INCLUDED (NON-EDITABLE, 30+ PAGES)

• Starfish art lesson plan
• Step-by-step drawing instructions with visuals
• Printable student step-by-step drawing sheet
• Teacher instruction pages
• Art rubric for assessment
• Example artwork poster

WHAT STUDENTS LEARN

Students draw the starfish step by step, starting with the face and building outward, then add dimension lines and texture spots. After outlining, they fill the background with repeating curved lines before adding color and paint. Along the way they practice pattern, line, shape and movement, creative backgrounds and composition, and the Elements of Art (line, shape, color, space, texture, form and value).

Materials: pencil and eraser, black marker, coloring materials (crayons, oil pastels or similar), paint (watercolor or similar), paintbrush and water, and paper or cardstock. Project the step-by-step instructions, demonstrate as needed, and let students follow along. It works for elementary art lessons (Grades 1 to 4), summer projects, ocean or beach units, beginners, sub plans, homeschool art and end-of-year projects.

FAQ

What grade level is this best for?

Grades 2 to 5, and it is easy to adapt.

How long does it take?

About 1 to 2 class periods, depending on detail and drying time.

Is it beginner-friendly?

Yes. The step-by-step format makes it approachable for all learners.

Get free, classroom-ready art lessons and printables in my Free Art Lesson Library.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathleen McGiveron (Ms Artastic) is an artist who has been featured on NBC LX News and designs art lessons for kids and educational resources for teachers. She is the founder of Ms Artastic and hosts the Ms Artastic YouTube Channel and Podcast.

TERMS OF USE

Images and lessons are copyright products.

YOU MAY: use this in creative ways and have as much fun with it as you like. For clip art, you may use the images as clip art, website graphics, binder covers or bulletin board decorations. Additional licenses are available for school use.

YOU MAY NOT: use this on OutSchool, put it on your blog, share it with other teachers, administration or districts (admin can buy additional licenses), sell it, give it out for free or photocopy it for others.

Sincerely,

Ms Artastic