Tracing books are often shelved with preschool workbooks. But older kids can get a lot from tracing too, especially when the characters are detailed, funny or cool enough to grab their interest.
Why older kids enjoy tracing
- Detailed characters are satisfying to trace carefully.
- Comic-style inking with a fine black marker looks professional.
- Coloring techniques like shading and blending are fun on a well-traced outline.
- It is relaxing. Many older kids, like adults, find tracing and coloring calming.
- It teaches drawing. Tracing shows how artists build characters.
Choosing pages for older kids
Look for:
- Detailed characters with lots of parts and textures
- Sci-fi and tech: Trace Then Color: Alien Cyborgs is full of gadgets and robotic detail
- Gross-out humor older kids love: Trace Then Color: Crusty Goobers 2
- Strange creatures: Trace Then Color: Weird Creatures
See coloring for 8-year-olds and coloring for tweens.
Projects for older kids
Comic inking
Trace the outline with a fine black marker, varying line thickness: thick on the outside, thin on the inner details. This is how comic artists "ink" their pencil drawings.
Shading and highlights
After tracing, color with shading: darker on one side, lighter on the other. Add white highlights. See easy shading for kids.
Character redesign
Trace the character, then redesign it: new costume, new gadgets, new expression.
Make a comic
Trace a character in several poses (or the same pose) across a comic strip and add speech bubbles.
Study the lines
Ask: Where are the lines thick or thin? How are the shapes simplified? What makes the character look funny or cool? This is how artists learn from other artists.
Tracing in the professional world
Many illustrators, animators and designers trace as part of their process. They trace over rough sketches to refine them, use light boxes to clean up animation frames and trace reference photos to understand poses. Tracing is a tool, not a crutch. See is tracing cheating?.
Respecting their age
Older kids may feel tracing is "babyish." Present it as an art technique, not a learning exercise. Talk about inking, comic art and design. Let them choose cool, funny or gross characters.
Questions parents ask
My 9-year-old loves tracing. Is that OK?
Absolutely. Tracing is a relaxing, skill-building art activity at any age.
Will tracing stop my older child from drawing freehand?
Unlikely. Many kids trace and draw. Tracing often improves freehand drawing.
What tools should older kids use?
Fine black markers, colored pencils for shading, and even brush pens for comic-style lines.
About Kevin Coulston
Kevin Coulston is a cartoonist and member of the National Cartoonists Society who has written and illustrated more than 100 drawing, tracing and coloring books for kids, including the Trace Then Color series. Meet Kevin or browse all his books on FirstArtBooks.com.
