[DIY TUTORIAL] Melted Crayon Art - Kissing In The Rain

It was Anjanette's 22nd birthday. I ran out of birthday gift ideas for this special girl of mine, then suddenly an idea struck me, why not DIY something for her? That's when I came across this on internet and inspired by it - melted crayon art! If you are looking for a fun, easy, cheap art project, you can't go wrong with this. This is an easy, straightforward project that delivers a lot of graphic impact for not very much effort. Here I put together an easy step by step photo tutorial to help you make one for your own!

WHAT YOU NEED

Drawing paper

BUNCHO Oil Pastels in 24 colours

Hair Dryer

Scissors

Double sided tape

Transparent tape

STEP ONE: Draw

Before you begin, take some time to decide what and where you would like your design to be. I decided to draw a kissing couple under an umbrella. I chose to make my paper sit portrait and my design rest on the right side. Then colour it with colour pencil.

STEP TWO: Prepare

Get your crayons out!

STEP THREE: Arrange

Decide what kind of color spectrum you want to do. I opted for a rainbow palette. You could also do only cool colors, only warm colors, a random assortment, etc. Lay out your crayons along the top edge of your drawing paper.

STEP FOUR: Stick & Tape

Put double sided tape under the crayons. Make sure they stick on the drawing paper. I put an additional layer of transparent tape on top of them to secure them better.

STEP FIVE: Blow!

Cover your work surface in newspaper. You will know why later!

Here comes the fun part - turn on your hair dryer! I started out on strongest hot wind. Focus the heat on the crayons, they melt easily! 

You have to experiment a little to see how your hair dryer works with melting the crayons. If this is your first time, it is better to put it on a low blower setting first, otherwise it will spatter the crayons everywhere. 

The crayons will quickly turn sweaty, then start dripping down the paper. 

Just like the coloured rain. :)

At this point of time, you will have to tilt your drawing paper a little to control how fast the drips go and allow the melted crayon to flow in the way you wish to. Or you could also prop the drawing paper against the wall.

I concentrate on one area at a time, working my way across the drawing paper. It takes 5-10 minutes on each area. It took me about an hour to get all the colours to melt sufficiently. If you are not happy with how far down the crayons melted, you could always go back over the specific area until you get the desired effect.

STEP SIX: Wait for it to dry and voila!

To be honest, I am not satisfied with the finished artwork. :( I didn't expect the crayon painting to be ''brittle'' and part of the crayon to peel off, leaving behind a translucent coloured area on the paper. (See the yellow and green part)

TIPS: To avoid this, don't move the paper until it is COMPLETELY dry!

''Kissing In The Rain''

Nevertheless, I had fun during the process. Picking up crayons make me feel like a kid all over again.  And I am sure you would have fun watching crayons melt with the on switch of a hair dryer, too! :)

Let me know if you'd ever try something like this. What makes you feel like a kid again? What's your favourite DIY project?

Leave a comment below to share with me!

A plain white paper has unlimited possibilities.
Colour yours.