Wax-Resist Butterfly

It's been a really long time since I used black paint on a wax-resist project. I decided to utilize the technique to make a realistic butterfly craft. Mine is inspired by Colorado's state insect, the Colorado hairstreak butterfly. Affiliate links below. 

Wax-Resist Butterfly Craft

Materials: 

• watercolor paper
• crayons
• black paint
• microtip scissors
• colored pencil

Steps: 

Because I was making my project based on a real butterfly and I wanted it to be as accurate as possible, I started by printing out a picture of the Colorado hairstreak. I used the window to trace the butterfly onto watercolor paper. 

The next step is using a variety of crayons to color in the butterfly. Layer the colors to get just what you want. Press hard and leave a thick layer of wax where you want the paint to resist; color lightly in the areas where you want black to cover most of the crayon marks. 

Create a wash by mixing a few drops of black paint into some water. Brush the wash over the butterfly. 

When the paint is dry, cut out the butterfly. Then, use a colored pencil to draw the veins on the butterfly's wings. Press hard - this will carve out some of the wax from the thick areas, providing a nice contrast. 

I'm really happy with how my Colorado hairstreak turned out. I may end up doing something similar with other butterfly species.