50 Best Rock Painting Ideas For All Skill Levels
Looking for impressive painted rock ideas that you can replicate at home? If so, this article is for you!
Now that the weather is getting warmer, many of us are thinking about decorating our houses with spring and summer-inspired decor and crafts. Painted rocks are a great crafting project that you can display in your garden, next to house plants, or even on shelves indoors.
They are great to make by yourself to relax and wind down, but they are also great for kids – these projects will keep them busy for hours!
If you need some inspiration for your next painted rocks project, have a look at the list below. There are some amazing ideas that range from easy to advanced; choose something that you are comfortable with at the moment.
Now without further ado, let’s get into the ideas!
The Best Painted Rocks Ideas To Try
1. M&M Rocks
Image Via Judy Davis Brent on Reddit
These fun half-eaten M&M rocks are perfect for painting rocks with a rugged edge and could make a fun candy-land-themed party decor.
2. Ladybugs Crossing
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Ladybugs have always been a classic rock painting pattern. These are perfect for keeping as decor on an outdoor windowsill or front porch.
3. Olives
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For small smooth stones, the kind you can find by a lake, these mini olives make cute table decor. Just make sure you wash them thoroughly before painting.
4. Strawberry Rocks
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Another great rock painting idea for decorating your garden and porch is these fun juicy strawberry rocks. What makes this look more fun is to do an assortment of sizes.
5. Hedgehog Rock
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For those who are more artistically inclined, this brushstroke hedgehog is the perfect challenge. The great thing about this is that the natural colour of the rock is the perfect canvas to peek through the paint.
6. Painted Rock Art
Get The Tutorial On Typically SImple
If you like to be bold with your designs, these abstract rocks can be used to decorate plant pots and bland outdoor porches.
7. Honey Bear
This adorable honey bear is such a cute design and will look so sweet anywhere in your home. The little yellow bees flying around the face of the bear is a perfect finishing touch!
8. Mini Cactus Rocks
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This fun plant pot design is perfect if you don’t want your rocks to be cluttering your garden, or be dangerous obstacles for little ones running around the garden.
9. Scary Shark
If you have a pointy, triangular rock ready to paint, then this shark design is perfect for you! This design is easy to recreate as well with your children.
10. Mini Monster Rocks
Get the tutorial on Easy Peasy And Fun
These mini monster rocks are perfect for little ones to express their creativity whilst creating minimal paper waste. You can also then wash the paint off, and start again!
11. Simple Hedgehog
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This simple hedgehog rock is perfect for a little one to replicate and gift a family member to decorate their house, as opposed to painting or drawing a picture to stick on the fridge.
12. Gnome
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For a Christmas or Valentine’s Day motif, this “rocking” gnome is the perfect low-cost gift or decorative piece.
13. Bees
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Another one for all the bee enthusiasts. The bright yellow color against bright green grass or a dull neutral pouch will brighten up your outdoor area for the summer season, without having to spend big bucks.
14. Spongebob & Patrick
If you’re a fan of the guy who lives in a pineapple under the sea – this pair of characters is the perfect weekend project and can be used as a paperweight, or table decor if placed in a fun decorative dish.
15. Penguin
Keeping with the character theme, this penguin is super cute if you have a pond in your back garden, or want to make a fun set up during the snowy months.
16. Burger & Fries
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One for all the foodies who love their Big Macs and McNuggets. A fun weekend idea would be to get your friends together, and all paint your favourite fast food.
17. Kitty Cat
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For all the cat lovers, this cute kitty cat is the perfect idea for painting any light-colored rocks – just be sure to wash them properly before painting.
18. Chicks
This craft would be perfect for Easter – a great decoration to add to your Easter Sunday table presented in an egg box. These chicks feature a lot of intricate details, like the blush on the cheeks and long eyelashes, but you can easily simplify the design.
19. Neutral Hearts
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If painting a whole rock feels too messy, using the natural colors of these with fun heart motifs over top is a great way to have fun, but mess-free.
20. Fish & Pebbles
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This is one for all the inner Picasso’s. This lifelike koi fish painted onto a natural rock is like inception, though we’d suggest keeping this rock on dry land.
21. Personalized Bunny
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For Easter, a great way to make an Easter egg hunt more fun is to have personalized painted rocks like these dotted around as “grand prizes,” to be exchanged for gigantic chocolate treats.
22. Cute Cacti Rocks
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These cactus rocks are great because the method of displaying them has already been thought out for you. Find any old plant pot, fill it with small stones or pebbles, and wedge in your painted rocks.
23. Hedgehog Painted Rocks
Get the tutorial on Easy Peasy And Fun
These hedgehogs clearly don’t require as much artistic ability as the koi fish rock. These are great for getting little ones involved in caring for a garden or outdoor area.
24. Cacti Display
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This cacti display is a little more toned down than the cactus people we previously showed you. These would require to be painted over a series of days but are a great chilled weekend project.
25. Cute Owl
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These owls are fun to balance in any trees you have in the garden, particularly for all the Harry Potter fans (if you know, you know.)
26. Mandala Rocks
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These mandala rocks are perfect during the South Asian festival seasons of Holi and Diwali which are both colorful, merry and bright.
27. Snoopy
These character rocks are perfect for painting if you’re a nostalgic person and may not want your childhood cartoon embellishing your home, but don’t mind it in your backyard or porch.
28. Pink Pig Rocks
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These mini pig rocks are super cute for decorating a spring table or for a themed party for little ones – like Peppa Pig!
29. Rainstorm
This abstract take on rock painting is perfect for glueing onto a canvas or frame, as the small pieces could easily be lost or blown away if left outdoors.
30. Desert Scene Painted Rock
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Western is BIG right now – whether in fashion or music and now perhaps interiors is next. This fun western landscape is made even funkier when painted on a rock and could be mounted and displayed on your entryway.
31. Musical Note Rocks
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One for all music lovers. Not only is it funky, but also practical. Those who’ve had to use sheet music know if the wind or fan hits your pile of music, it’s likely to blow away, these rocks can be used as paperweights to avoid this.
32. Bunny & Carrot
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This is another one for all the expert painters. This adorable lifelike bunny accompanied by its favourite snack is the perfect two-part rock painting to do with your bestie.
33. Galaxy Rocks
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This whimsical nighttime landscape is perfect for painting a dark, or even black, rock. Though it looks detailed with the fine brushstrokes of the tree, it is super simple to do, requiring very little skill.
34. Family of frogs
This family of frogs makes a great piece for your front or back yard and is easy to recreate – just make sure you have the right size and shape of rocks. If you don’t want to paint anything to complex then these frogs are ideal as you just have to paint everything green.
35. Floral Bugs
We love these floral bugs for a windowsill in the spring and summer. You can adapt the floral to match your artistic abilities – with the option for more detailed designs as well as simple designs if you want something a little easier.
36. Mermaid Rocks
Image via @ NaturePlusPigment
If you have a decorative bowl that you need to fill with something, these mermaid scale textured rocks are perfect for anything in a blue or white hue, similar to the ocean.
37. Disney Designs
Any Disney fans will love these painted rocks in their home and they make a great gift. This project is better if you have a little more practice with painting and drawing and you may want to draw your design on paper for painting the rock.
38. Sleeping Fox
Image Via Lil Blue Boo
This uber-cute sleeping fox is perfect for decorating your outdoor area if you live near woodlands where foxes tend to gather.
39. Silver Owl
Get this on Rock Street Art
Another one for all the Harry Potter fans who miss seeing the annual return of his companion Hedwig. This painting (if done well) is still elevated enough to blend into a modern interior as art.
40. Totoro
This Totoro pebble is so sweet and simple to recreate too! You just need white, grey, and black paint to add each of the design elements to transform a grey pebble into this cute character.
41. Expressions + Emotions
You can paint a whole range of different expressions and emotions with just a little black and white paint. Keep these expressionful rocks on hand to help your children recognize and name their feelings and emotions by choosing the rock that matches how they feel.
42. Christmas Tree Rock
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Christmas is the time for staying at home and being cozy, whether baking or creating art. This golden Christmas landscape is magical, and exactly what the holiday season is about.
43. Painted Fish Rock
Get the tutorial on I Love Painted Rocks
If you have a pond in your backyard, or an affinity with fish, this is perfect for decorating your outdoor area. If you’re strapped for time, sketching out the fish with a pen, and then filling in the spaces with paint is a great idea.
44. Cute Pebble Sheep
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If you’re open to using a hot glue gun these sheep can be made by gluing a small black pebble onto your rock before painting.
45. Pear Pebbles
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If you want to practice your painting skills, painting on rocks is waste-free, and your paint can be washed off and re-done if you don’t want many paintings lying around your home.
46. Desert Vibes
These cacti, western-themed rocks are perfect if you want to spice up your decor in a neutral home. These look great as pictured in a raw-edged wooden bowl.
47. Winter Gingerbread man
This wintery gingerbread man pebble is a great addition to your festive decorations on a windowsill or your Christmas table alongside other festive designs.
48. Colorful Ostrich
This colorful ostrich is just adorable! Lots of little blue and purple strokes are an easy way to create the fluffy feathers of an ostrich, then finish with eyes and a little beak.
49. Halloween Rocks
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Rocks are the perfect blank canvas for paintings for any holiday season whether Easter, Christmas, or the spooky Halloween time!
50. Fox Family
These foxes are the perfect way to say “I Love You” to your family, friends or partner. This is also a great activity to do together with your loved ones and can be completed by writing a message on the back.
Which of these painted rock ideas was your favorite? Let us know if you are going to attempt to recreate any one of them!
