SpiceBox Blogs » Arts & Crafts for Kids »

Rock Painting Patterns

BLOG CATEGORY: Arts & Crafts for Kids

Rock Painting Patterns

Fun Rock Painting Patterns for Kids

Rock painting is a fun, easy craft to do that everyone can enjoy. From the hunt for the perfect pebble, to the satisfaction of finding it, from painting the first layers of paint on the stone, to seeing your rock turn in to a frog, a butterfly, or even a puppy, rock painting is an enormously satisfying craft. You can use your own power of creation to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary of imagination

Painted Rocks - The Lion


There is no doubt that many of the rocks you find will inspire you to create an animal! The shape of the rocks will help you imagine what animal is lurking inside.

Step 1) To paint Leo the Lion, start with a clean round rock, and give it a coat of gesso or white paint.

Step 2) Add a base color that you think best suits your lion. We used a dark orange.

Step 3) Use some base color to mix with white and create a lighter shade. Paint in the face shape.

Step 4) Darken your mix with a bit of black or some of the darker color, and paint in the mouth area.

Step 5) We used yellow to paint in the lion’s mane detail.

Step 6) Use your darkest color again to paint in the nose and ears.

Step 7) Add some quirky eyes. You can either glue on googly eyes or you can paint them in.

Step 8) Use white and black to add in shadow and highlights. Once you are pleased with the results, let your lion dry thoroughly, and use acrylic gel or a spray varnish to protect it.

Painting Rock Cars


A Rockin’ Beetle The Flintstones never had cars as fancy as these ones! For anyone who loves drawing cars, painting them on rocks is a great way to see them come to life in 3D.

Step 1) In this case, we want the rock to be the base color as the car will be actually “driving” on the rock. So just paint on the body of the car using a light green. You may need to paint 2 or 3 coats in order to get a nice, even color.

Step 2) Add on the tires in black.

Step 3) The windows are painted with a light blue, which you can mix with a darker blue and white. Paint on a front windshield, a back window and the two side windows.

Step 4) Use a dark green to add in shape details. For example, add in the front and rear bumpers, the panels over the tires, the doors and hood of the car.

Step 5) Create a dark gray by mixing black and white Use it to add highlights to the tires, and to outline the windows and underside of the car.

Step 6) Use a fine brush to add white highlights to the windows, a handle on the door, front headlights, rear tail lights, a license plate, and any other details you think your car needs before you can take it on the road!

Painted Rocks - Strawberries


Step 1) Fresh, sweet strawberries are delicious in the summer!  Berries are usually broader at the top and taper to the bottom. See if you can find a whole little basket of stones so that you can share them with family and friends! Once they are clean and dry, paint them with gesso or white paint.

Step 2) Of course strawberries are red, so go ahead and paint all your berries a bright, juicy red!

Step 3) Add the leaves and stem to the top of each berry in a light green.

Step 4) Paint on the seeds with black. Strawberry seeds are quite tiny, so you may find using a toothpick or the tip of your brush handle will work well for making the dots.

Step 5) Once the seeds are dry, add a white highlight with a toothpick to each of the seeds. Try to place the highlight in the same spot on each of the seeds for a more realistic look.

Step 6) Use green and yellow tones to add further detail to the leaves and stem of the berries.

Materials

Gesso is a kind of special white paint that you can use to cover the rock before you start painting. If you paint a layer of gesso on your rock, it will seal the rock and create a good base for painting with acrylics. The colors will be brighter, and you will use less paint for your design. You can paint directly onto your rock without adding a coat of gesso first, but you will likely need to use 2 or 3 coats of paint to achieve a nice color and finished design. It is easily purchased at any craft or art supply store, and is relatively inexpensive. You certainly can start painting without it though, and pick it up at a later date.

Paints

The nicest paints to use are acrylic paints. Acrylic paint is bright and comes in lots of great colors. It is permanent and water resistant, which makes it ideal for painting on rocks. If you find your paint is too thick to get into all the crevices in the rocks, you can thin it with water to make applying it a bit easier.

Brushes

You will want to use a few different sizes of brushes as you get started. A wide, flat one will be good for painting large areas of your rock quickly. Small brushes in different sizes will be needed to paint the details of your creations and outline your designs.

Aside from brushes, there are many other things you may find around your house that will create fun textures and patterns on your rocks.

TRY: Toothpicks Feathers, Cotton Swabs, Drinking Straws, Toothbrush, Sponge, Comb or a Black Marker.

A black marker is useful for outlining the pattern on your rock. Try a few different felt tips to get the thickness you want, but a regular tip and a fine tip pen are a good place to start.

Craft Supplies

You can use lots of craft supplies to make your painted rock creations even more exciting. You can use felt pieces for feet, wings or a beak. You can add googly eyes or pipe cleaners, feathers and even glitter.

Varnish & Acrylic Gel

Once you have painted your rock, you will need to protect the paint from chipping or rubbing off. The best way to do this is to coat your rock with a varnish or acrylic gel. A water-based, spray varnish that is used for furniture is easy to use and will protect your rock well.

Acrylic gel is a medium artists use to mix with their paint. It is also can be used to seal the paint onto your rock and can even be used as a glue. It is quite strong and will be more durable than a varnish. In either case, put on two layers of sealant to get the best protection for your rock art.

Choosing your Rock

The most fun part of rock painting can be exploring outside to find rocks that inspire your imagination.

Rocks come in all shapes, sizes and colors and when you are choosing a rock you should take a few different things into consideration to help you pick just the right one.

One thing to know, is that you will not be able to paint on rocks that have been polished - the shiny surface will not allow the paint to cling to it. Make sure you find your rocks in nature - the way they are made!

To find more Painting Rock Patterns check out this Painting Rock Kit

Item has been added to your cart