Rocks are everywhere, so finding one to paint isn’t difficult. You need to know your ending design before starting to determine the size and shape of the rock. Let’s dive into painting rocks.
Steps
1. Rock.
Obviously, it’s all about the rock. You want one that’s relatively smooth. The shape depends on your design. An oval rock works great as a minion. You want a rock that’s more circular if you are planning a mandala design. Animals may need a more irregular shape. Sometimes, it won’t matter. Keep this in mind as you work through the badge program as you may want to sort out some of your rocks for specific projects.
2. Find.
You can take a walk on the beach for flat rocks. Many craft stores carry them. Check out local landscaping shops as well. Online, Amazon is always your best bet for . . . well . . . everything. You can also look for online craft or specialty shops. Find one or more ways to obtain rocks for painting.
3. Clean.
You want to clean all rocks before you paint them. I purchased a couple bags of black rocks at my local dollar store. When I opened them up, I realized they were covered with wax. So, cleaning all rocks is a good idea to remove anything that either is there naturally or artificially.
4. Paint.
I’ve always used acrylic because it’s cheap and easy to find. You can also purchase outdoor acrylic paint if you’re planning on putting your rocks outdoors. Starting with basic colors (and lots of black) will provide enough of a variety for most projects. Make a list of the basic colors you feel you should have available. If you want additional colors because of a design or look you want, throw a few of those in your collection as well.
5. Apply.
You’re probably thinking you just need a couple brushes. When we did mandalas in my craft class, I added nail tools for a variety of dot sizes. In addition, items like pencil erasers (unused), needles and toothpicks can also be used if you don’t want to purchase tools to make dots. Another way to add paint is to use a stencil if you don’t feel comfortable enough to do it freehand. Explore the ways you can “paint” a rock.
6. Supplies.
There are other supplies you’ll want on-hand while painting rocks from covering your work surface to stencils to a sealer to protect the paint. Make a list of starting supplies you need. Add to it as you work through the different designs below so you have a master list.
7. Uses.
Check out the supplement with ways to use your painted rocks. Find one that appeals to you and try it. You may find you want to adjust your design for specific uses.
Designs
8. Mandalas.
Start with doing a search online and saving a few images of rocks painted as mandalas. Note the design elements and colors. A solid color background for these is best, then add dots of color as you wish. You can even add dots on top of dots. While round, flat rocks are best, I have used this technique on long thin rocks and it looked cool too! You can get rocks of different colors . . . mainly white, off-white and black. I like to use black for a background color, but other colors can work as well. See the supplement for basics on creating a template on your rock. Try making your own mandala rock.
9. Animals.
You’ll want your animals curled up or presented in a way so you don’t have to add legs, tails, etc. Go online and see how others have addressed this. Save any images you find may help you. You’ll want to sketch in details before you paint Experiment with painting animals on rocks.
10. Characters.
I mentioned minions (Disney’s) as it is a simple thing to paint. My daughter made me an example for class of a smiley, but the ladies all took the idea and made minions. This is only one character you might paint. Brainstorm characters that have simple shapes that you can recreate on a rock. Try one or more.
11. Words.
Putting words on a rock is another way to decorate it. Using a white gel pen on a darker color gives you a way to identify where you want to paint the letters and how much room they’ll take. One way to share rocks with words is “The Kindness Rock Project.” Check it out!
12. More.
Check out the “design” supplement for more ideas on what you can paint on the rocks. You might even want to add your own ideas as you experiment with designs you find.
Badge and Supplement Files
Member Level
- 0EP_B_BPG_RockP_2in_12up_MS1_larajla — generic badge printable
- 0EP_BLIST_RockP_MS1_larajla — badge items per membership level
- 0EP_BSET0_RockP_MS1_larajla —badge set and related badges
- 0EP_SUPP0_RockP_Journal_MS1_larajla — badge journal
- 0EP_SUPP0_RockP_Planner_MS1_larajla — badge planner
- 0EP_SUPPL_RockP_MS1_larajla — supplements currently available per membership level
Supplement Fun
- 0EP_SUPP0_List Fun_Painted Rock Designs_MS2_larajla — List Fun: Painted rock designs
- 0EP_SUPP0_List Fun_Painted Rocks_MS2_larajla — List Fun: Painted rocks
- 0EP_SUPP0_Printable_Mandala Rocks_MS2_larajla — Printable: Mandala rocks starting point diagrams
Sites to Explore
- paintedrocklife.com
- www.rockpaintingguide.com
- rockpainting101.com
- ilovepaintedrocks.com
- www.thekindnessrocksproject.com
- buggyandbuddy.com/30-cool-things-painted-rocks
- brightercraft.com/2018/10/18/15-painted-rock-ideas
- thedestinyformula.com/rock-painting-ideas
- artmyideas.com/60-fantastic-rock-painting-ideas-for-kids/60-fantastic-rock-painting-ideas-for-kids-1
Get the infographic here > larajla blog post
Get the PDFs of the badge program / supplements here