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 

Rock Painting Ideas: Houses and Buildings

I've enjoyed painting houses and buildings on rocks and stones.

I'm always looking for new ways to paint and embellish rock buildings and have a new Pinterest board: Ideas: Houses Painted Rocks.

The next time I paint a stone cottage or other building, my Pinterest board will be a reference for different colors, doors & window styles, cute embellishments, etc. 

For instance, here's a cute idea for a gnome home window.

Visit my Pinterest Rock Painting Ideas and Helps board to get inspiration for other painted rocks projects.

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks

Painting Rocks: How to Create a Stained Glass Effect with Glue and Paint

I tried this black glue painting technique on stones and rocks to create a stained-glass effect.

I had loads of fun with this easy project which is great for kids. They can easily draw their own design and paint within the lines.

 

Stained glass effect using "black glue"

Supplies

• White school glue (e.g, Elmer's); 1/2 bottle
• Black acrylic paint
• Flat stone
• Paint colors of your choice

Steps

• Mix 2 squirts black paint into 1/2 bottle of white glue. (I used the end of an old paint brush to mix the glue and paint right in the bottle)
• Draw your design on the stone with a pencil first
• Trace over your pencil design by squeezing the black glue bottle (see Tips)

• Let the black glue dry completely (several hours is best) before painting the sections
• Paint each section. It will be easy to stay within the lines with the black glue border 

• Finish with a gloss sealer

Tips

• It's important to use this technique on a flat stone otherwise the glue will drip down the sides
• After drawing your design with pencil, fill it in with white paint and your paint colors will be brighter
• If you mess up while tracing your design with the black glue, just wipe it off before it dries
• You can also correct and erase black glue mistakes by using a toothpick or paper clip to scrape off or re-shape the line when the glue is semi-dry
• Two or more coats of paint may be necessary, especially if you didn't use white as a base coat  

Ideas

Look what you can paint on stones using the black glue technique

Black Glue Stone Heart Cheat Sheet

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks

Rock Painting Tip: Use Paint Pens Instead of a Brush for Detailing

Sometimes my rock is too small or my hand too unsteady to paint fine details with a brush. Regular Sharpie markers smeared and changed color when a sealer was applied. Micron pens scraped the paint off my rock and dried up quickly.

Update: Monday, October 24, 2016

Since the date of the original post, I have discovered the Uni Posca marker and consider it the best pen/marker for rock painting. This post has now been updated to include the Posca pen. (Click here to see my experiments with the Posca Pen.)


Four pens suitable for rock painting are the: 

• Uni Posca Marker (extra fine tip)
• Elmer's Painters Pen (fine tip)
• Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Marker (fine tip)
• Sakura Pigma Brush Pen (brush tip)

Note: When you click on certain links in this post, I may receive a commission for the purchase of products.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
 

While only one of these pens is my perfect solution, they all enable me to add details to my painted rocks without using a brush.

I drew a simple kitty using each pen to illustrate how they perform on a rock. (FYI: Smooth stones are easier to draw on than pitted stones.) 

Uni Posca Marker (water-based paint filled)

Uni Posca Marker - My Perfect Rock Painting Pen

 Pros

• Available in various colors
• Many tips available from extra fine point to extra broad
• Can be used on unpolished and polished stones
• Dries quickly
• Does not blur or change color when sealer is applied

Cons

• None

Elmer's Opaque Paint Marker (acrylic paint filled)

Elmer's Painters Pen

 Pros

• Available in various colors
• Fine tip available
• Dries quickly
• Doesn't smear or change color when sealer is applied

 Cons

• Fine tip is not as fine as I'd like

Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Pen

Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Pen

Pros

• Available in various colors
• Fine & extra fine tips available
• Dries quickly
• Glossy
• Doesn't smear or change color when sealer is applied

Cons

• Fine tip is not as fine as I'd like (I have not tried the extra-fine tip)

Sagura Pigma Brush (archival ink)

Sakura Pigma Brush

Pros

• Available in various colors
• Dries quickly
• You can control the thickness of the line by amount of pressure used when drawing

Cons

• The kitty drawn with the Pigma Brush smeared when I applied a polyurethane varnish (Delta Ceramcoat)

Polyurethane sealer smeared my kitty design

Tip

• After redrawing the kitty with the Sakura Pigma Brush, I carefully sealed the rock with a thin coat of Mod Podge first, then I applied the Delta Ceramcoat  

Apply Mod Podge first then polyurethane sealer when using Pigma Brush

I previously used three of these pens interchangeably but my new favorite is the Posca marker.

How to Prevent "Sharpie" Permanent Markers from Blurring When Sealed

Note: I may receive a commission for the purchase of products when you click on certain links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks 

How to Paint a Stone-Clothespin Alligator Critter

Here's a fun, easy project for young and old alike using two common items - a clothespin and a stone.

Supplies Needed:

• Wooden clothespin
• Wedge-shaped stone
• Acrylic paint - dark green, light green, pink, white, black, yellow
• Glue

Instructions:

Look for a stone that has a shape resembling an alligator's head.

Paint the clothespin and stone dark green, leaving the teeth portion unpainted.

Paint the teeth portion of the clothespin white on both sides of the clothespin.

Paint the mouth area pink. (You'll need to hold the clothespin open while the paint dries, otherwise the top and bottom will stick together.)

Using a light green shade, paint 2 rows of arcs along the top of the clothespin. (You can mix a little white or yellow with the dark green color you used for the body to get a lighter green color.)

Mix a little black paint with the green color used for the body to get a very dark green shade. Use this color to fill in the area beneath each light green arc.

Outline each tooth on both sides of the clothespin with black paint. (You can also omit this step.)

Paint two nostrils and eyes using black paint.

Using a light green shade, paint eyelids over each eye and add a curved line on each side of the head from the nostril up to the eye.

Fill in the eye area with yellow or gold paint.

You can stop painting the head here, or add more detail by outlining each nostril and eye with white paint and adding a dot of white in the pupil.

Glue the painted stone head onto the tip of the clothespin. (I used E6000 glue to attach the head to the clothespin.)

You did it!

Ideas

• Attach a magnet to the bottom of the clothespin to make a refrigerator magnet to hold artwork, lists, etc.

• In the kitchen, use the stone-alligator clothespin as a fun, inexpensive way to close up bags to keep food fresher longer

• Use the stone-alligator clothespin to keep stacks of papers together if you're out of binder clips. It's a great gift for teachers, office workers or anyone with a cluttered desk

• Create other stone-clothespin critters with large teeth, e.g., sharks, dinosaurs, etc.

© Cindy Thomas Painted Rocks