• 60 ideas
  • Checked October 2026

Family Tree Art Ideas

Press for a family tree layout to fill with your own names: a tree, thumbprints, a painting.

Family Tree Art Ideas

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  1. A family tree with a color key for each householdGive each home its own color and outline everyone who lives there in it. Put the key in a corner.

Next step Things to draw on a posterWays to letter a name

All 60 ideas

Trees with branches 12

  • A bare winter tree with a name written along each limb The trunk is the oldest person you know of and each fork is the next generation. Fine pen on white.
  • A flowering tree with a bloom beside each relative's name Cluster the flowers household by household and write each name small beside its flower. Watercolor.
  • A palm tree with one frond for each household Made for a family in two or more homes: each frond is a home, with its names written along it. Markers.
  • A pine tree with a name on each layer of boughs The bottom layer is the oldest generation and the tip is the newest baby. Suits any size of family. Crayon.
  • A sawn stump seen from above, a ring for each generation The middle ring is the oldest generation and each ring outward is the next. Letter the names around the rings.
  • A tree with a cut paper leaf glued on for each person One name on each leaf. Elders go near the trunk and children at the tips. Colored paper and a glue stick.
  • A tree with a perched bird for each person Big birds for grown-ups and small ones for children. Birds that share a bough share a home. Felt tips.
  • A tree with you on a swing and names in the canopy You are the figure on the swing. Everyone who looks after you sits in the leaves above. Colored pencil.
  • A willow family tree, names on the drooping strands Oldest names at the top of each strand and the youngest at the tips. Watercolor, then pen once it is dry.
  • An apple tree with one apple for each person Oldest relatives on the lowest boughs, youngest near the top. Any number of apples. Markers or crayons.
  • An oak with elders in the roots and children in the crown The roots are the oldest generation, so the tree reads from the ground up. Brown and green pencil.
  • Several trunks rising from one shared set of roots For step, foster and blended families: each trunk is one household, all growing from the same ground. Ink.

Thumbprint and handprint leaves 12

  • A drawn trunk with a thumbprint leaf for each person Each person presses a thumb in green paint. Write the name beside it once dry, elders lowest.
  • A four-season tree with thumbprint leaves in four colors Split the crown in four: green, yellow, orange and pale blue. Sort the family any way you like, elders low.
  • A handprint for each household joined by one painted bough For a family in several homes: each hand is a home and its fingers are the people. Acrylic on card.
  • A handprint tree: a painted palm and five finger branches Press one painted hand, fingers up. Write a name along each finger and add twigs for more. Poster paint.
  • A traced forearm for the trunk, spread fingers for boughs Your own arm is the tree. Add a fingerprint leaf at each fingertip for the people in your home.
  • A wreath of handprints, wrists toward the middle A ring has no top or bottom, so nobody has to come first. One hand each, names on the palms. Finger paint.
  • Baskets under a tree with a thumbprint apple per person Each basket is one household. Print an apple in it for everyone who lives there. Red ink pad, brown pen.
  • Fingerprint leaves in a different green for each generation Darkest green near the trunk for the oldest generation, lightest at the edge for the youngest.
  • Footprints for the roots and handprints for the crown Small footprints, toes down, make the roots. One handprint per person makes the crown. Washable paint.
  • Stacked handprints with the biggest hand underneath Each person prints over the last one, largest hand first, in a new color. Names go along the wrists.
  • Thumbprint balloons tied to the boughs of one tree Every print is a balloon on a pen-line string. Older relatives' strings are tied to the lower boughs.
  • Thumbprint owls along one bough, an owl for each person Print a thumb, then pen in eyes, a beak and feet. Owls sitting close together share a home. Ink pad.

Not a tree at all 12

  • A family bookshelf, each relative's name on a spine One shelf for each generation, the oldest on the top shelf. Letter each name down a spine. Colored pencil.
  • A family garden: one named flower for each relative Tall flowers at the back for the grown-ups, short ones in front for the children. Any number. Felt tips.
  • A family quilt with a named patch for each relative One row for each generation, oldest row on top. Every patch holds a name and one small drawing.
  • A family river, each side arriving as its own stream The spring at the top is the oldest generation and each stream that joins is another side. Blue watercolor.
  • A fan chart: half-circle rings around one person A real chart type. The person sits at the center and each ring outward is an older generation. Compass and pen.
  • A honeycomb with a cell for each person Start with the oldest person in the middle cell and build outward, generation by generation. Ruler and pen.
  • A row of nesting dolls from the biggest to the smallest Oldest person largest on the left, youngest smallest on the right. Best for one line of a family. Crayon.
  • A solar system with you in the middle You are the sun and the people closest to you take the nearest orbits. No generation has to come first.
  • A star map with a named star for each person Biggest stars for the oldest generation. Rule lines between stars to show who is related. White pen on black.
  • A street of houses, one house for each household Draw the houses side by side and write who lives in each on its door. Works for two homes or ten. Markers.
  • A transit map with a colored line for each family side Stations are people and lines cross where two sides join. Rule every line straight or at a slant.
  • Family bunting: a pennant with a name for each relative String the pennants in age order or home by home, and add more string when the family grows. Cut paper.

For a school project 12

  • A descendant chart from one elder down to you A real chart type: one person at the top, widening downward. Choose the elder whose line you know best.
  • A family tree with a color key for each household Give each home its own color and outline everyone who lives there in it. Put the key in a corner.
  • A lift-the-flap tree with a fact under each leaf Fold a paper leaf over each name. Underneath, write one thing that person likes. Elders on the low boughs.
  • A poster with you as the trunk of the tree A branch for each grown-up who raises you and twigs for their parents. Thick markers on poster board.
  • A slot-together card tree for the top of a desk Cut two tree shapes and slot them together at right angles. Names go on all four faces, oldest lowest.
  • A timeline tree with birth years marked up the trunk Mark the decades up the trunk like a ruler. Each person's branch leaves the trunk at their birth year.
  • A tree with a small object drawn beside each name Next to each name, draw one thing that stands for the person: a ball, a book, a guitar. Fine pen.
  • A tree with blank circles for drawing each face Leave a circle the size of a jar lid for each person and draw the face inside. Oldest at the top. Pencil.
  • A tri-fold display board with a panel for each generation Left panel for the oldest generation, the middle for the next, the right for you. Yarn joins across the folds.
  • An ancestor chart read from left to right, starting with you A real chart type: you sit at the left edge and older generations go to the right. Add only people you know of.
  • Generations as rows of stick people, oldest row on top Line the stick people up generation by generation and join each row hand to hand. Pencil, then pen.
  • Three rows on one sheet, with your own row at the bottom Three generations: the oldest row on top. Draw a box for each person you want to include, no set number.

To frame 12

  • A burnt umber trunk with thumbprint leaves in three greens On canvas board. Print the leaves in sap, olive and lime green, then letter the names in white pen.
  • A chalkboard-style tree in white paint on a black board Matte black ground, a white paint-pen tree and names in block capitals. Easy to add a name to later.
  • A cream canvas tree with a swab-dot bloom for each person Dark brown boughs on cream. Dot the flowers in three pinks with a cotton swab; names in brown ink.
  • A fall tree with each household in its own hue Leaf clusters in crimson, amber, gold and russet, one hue for each home, on an ivory ground. Acrylic.
  • A family tree in black against bands of sunset color Wash yellow, orange and magenta across the board first. Black tree on top, names in white gel pen.
  • A gold tree on a navy canvas with white name leaves Metallic gold trunk on deep navy. Each leaf is a white oval with a name lettered in navy. Acrylic.
  • A round tree inside a painted ring on a wooden board Boughs and roots both curl out to touch a copper ring. Names in cream paint over a dark walnut stain.
  • A watercolor tree with a leaf wash in a color per generation Yellow ochre low down, leaf green, then blue-green at the top. Letter names in dark gray once dry.
  • A white birch on pale gray with names between bark marks White trunk with black bark dashes on a gray ground. Letter a name in each gap in charcoal gray.
  • An indigo night tree hung with a name lantern per person Indigo sky and charcoal boughs. Lanterns in warm yellow and orange, with a name lettered under each. Gouache.
  • Names lettered on painted hearts hanging from the boughs Raw sienna boughs with hearts in rose and coral. Letter each name in white with a fine brush, elders low.
  • One tree painted across four small canvases Each canvas holds one side or household. Ochre trunk, teal leaves, and a gap between canvases on the wall.

How it works

Sixty family tree art ideas, each a layout you fill with your own names: trees with branches, thumbprint and handprint leaves, layouts that are not trees, school projects and paintings to frame.

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A layout for any family

No layout here needs a set number of parents or homes. A palm tree with one frond for each household and several trunks rising from one shared set of roots both suit a family in more than one home. A wreath of handprints has no top, so nobody comes first.

Family tree painting ideas to frame

The To frame kind holds 12 written for paint on canvas or board, with the colors named: a gold tree on a navy canvas with white name leaves, or a burnt umber trunk with thumbprint leaves in three greens. Letter the names last, once the paint is dry.

  • Count the people before you draw a single branch, so every name gets a space.
  • Write the names in pencil first and check each spelling with the person.

Questions and answers

What is an easy family tree idea for a school project?

Rule three rows on one sheet, with your own row at the bottom: three generations in boxes. A tree with blank circles for drawing each face is as plain. For a school project holds 12.

Which way up does a family tree go?

Family trees are often shown with the oldest generation at the top and the youngest at the bottom. A descendant chart starts from one person at the top and widens downward. Some layouts here turn that over and put elders in the roots.

How do you make a thumbprint family tree?

Draw or paint a bare trunk and boughs first. Each person presses a thumb in paint or on an ink pad to make a leaf, and the name goes beside it once dry. Thumbprint and handprint leaves holds 12 versions.

What if my family does not fit a tree?

Pick a layout that is not a tree: a street of houses with one house for each household, a star map with a named star for each person, or a solar system with you in the middle. Not a tree at all holds 12.

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