How to Paint Simple, Two-Sided Critters on Stones

You can easily paint front/back and top/bottom critters on stones.

Supplies

• 3-inch, oval or round, flat stones

• Animal patterns

• graphite tracing paper
• acrylic paints
• sealer (optional)

How To

I found front/back and top/bottom animal patterns on this website and printed them out. The original size was perfect for tracing onto flat stones measuring approximately 3 inches. Tip: the front/back patterns are the easiest to start with.

I used this pattern tracing technique to transfer the animal pattern onto each side of a stone, then painted it. (You can also draw the animals instead of tracing them.)

Optional: As a final touch, you can add a sealer, either to the whole stone or just the painted portion, to extend the life of your painted creation.

These two-sided critter stones are a fun way to teach children the concepts of top/bottom and front/back.

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks

Rock Painting Technique: Pattern Tracing

No drawing skills? No problem. You can trace a pattern onto a rock and paint it.

Supplies

• Flat, somewhat smooth rock
• Pattern or photo
• Graphite transfer paper
• Pencil or stylus
• Paints

  
Steps

Find a rock with a smooth and/or flat surface. A rock with lots of pits or angles will be difficult to transfer a pattern onto.

Even though this rock has pits, the pattern transferred nicely because of it's flat surface.

Find a photo or pattern you'd like to paint on your rock. If the photo or pattern is larger or smaller than your rock, that's OK.

This pattern was taken from "Stained Glass in an Afternoon" by Vicki Payne

Measure the width and height of your rock. You'll need the dimensions to adjust your pattern so it fits nicely on your rock.

Copy OR scan your pattern so your original is not damaged. 

• If you copy your pattern on the printer, you'll need to play with reducing or enlarging the image so it will fit nicely on your stone
• If you scan the image, you can insert it into a drawing program and resize the image using the rock's measurements to find a good fit, then print the page

Place a sheet of graphite transfer paper on top of your rock with the waxy side down. (If your rock is dark colored, you'll use white graphite paper. If your rock is light colored, you'll use gray or black graphite paper.)

Place your pattern (face up) over the graphite paper. You can use masking tape to secure the pattern and graphite paper to the rock so it doesn't slip while you're tracing the image.

Trace around all the lines of your image using a stylus or pencil.

Remove the pattern and graphite paper and paint your rock.

Pattern transferred onto the rock

The rock after it was painted and sealed

I used a stained glass pattern for this painted rock but you can use photos and other patterns just as easily. (Remember to copy or scan them first so the original isn't damaged.)

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks