Pattern Cat 3D Art Project

Kids will love getting creative with this 3D pattern cat art project. This makes eye-catching wall art and there are lots of ways you can vary the activity to make it more colourful or less complex if you’re working with younger kids.

For the example version pictured the age recommendation is 8+.

Get the template here

I have a secret love (or maybe not so secret) of all doodle art projects. Last week we shared some cute mini doodle lovebugs for Valentine and Spring-themed crafting. There are tons more ideas in our archives to suit different seasons and holidays too (check out the list at the end of this post).

These cats win paws down though because they’re puuuuurfect for making any time of year.

The materials required are basic and the craft is very easy, involving simple drawing, cutting, folding and gluing. There is an optional scoring step to make folding the support squares easier and more accurate.

I use a metal ruler and butter knife to do this because I can never find my scoring tool. If you want a real scoring tool you can get them inexpensively online (affiliate link). They’re worth having if you enjoy papercraft.

Because patterning can be as complex as you want to make it, this is a great project for tweens and even teens and adults (I enjoyed it enough to make four doodle cats!).

There is plenty of creative licence involved so it’s easy to make this cat craft your own. See the variation list at the end of this post for more ideas.

Card stock is recommended for sturdiness. Also, sharpie markers will go through the page and may stain furniture if you use ordinary copy paper.

How to make 3D Pattern Cat Art

You will need:

Card stock in three of colours of your choice
The template, available in our printables store as well as our TPT store
An extra sheet of card stock in a colour of your choice for the backing page
Sharpie marker
Scissors
Glue stick
Cutting mat, metal ruler and optional scoring tool (affiliate link)

How to:

Print the template out as per the instructions in the digital download file.

Decorate the cat shapes using a sharpie marker, with the exception of the eyes and cat tail tab (leave those unpatterned).

3D doodle cat craft for kids

Cut the cat shapes, body shapes and outer squares of the support strips out.

3D doodle cat craft for kids steps

Optional: Score and fold the dotted lines on the 3D support strips. Otherwise, simply fold.

Cut the support strips into individual strips and glue into squares.

Glue 2 thin support squares onto each of the paws, then glue into place on the cat’s body. The nose also requires 2 thin support squares before gluing into place.

Glue the stomach, cat stripes, cheek spots and eyes on flat to the body shape.

Glue the tail onto the backing page, at approximately where the cats tail would be near the base of the paper.

Glue the 6 thick support squares onto the reverse side of the cat’s body, then glue onto the backing page.

Glue the ears into place on the backing sheet last of all, layering them under the top edge of the cat’s head.

All done!

Get your copy of the template here.

Variation ideas:

Add more colour: Print the cat shapes to white card stock and incorporate colours into the patterning step.
Make it easier for younger kids: Omit the 3D element and/or patterning and make this a regular cut-and-paste cat collage.
Make it artier: Use paper painted in a process art technique of your choice for the cat’s body shape. This would also go great in a non-3D regular collage version for younger kids
Make it more challenging: For adults, teens and older tweens, try using fine-point pens to create more complex pattern designs
Make a stuffed paper cat recycling craft: Use the template as a base and the cat shapes decorative parts to create a recycled newspaper and grocery bag cat. (Use the instructions for our stuffed paper penguin, but replace the penguin design with this cat one)