10 Acrylic Animal Painting Ideas
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Overview:
10 easy acrylic animal painting ideas
Panda
Cat
Pig
Zebra
Ostrich
Sea Turtle
Bird at Sunset
Peacock
Dog
Owl
There’s so much you can create with acrylic paint but one of our favourite subjects to paint is animals, especially pets. So we’ve put together 10 acrylic animal painting ideas for you to try at home (or school).
Before you start
To tackle these acrylic animal painting ideas, you’ll need to have the following painting supplies (you can get all of these online or in store at Art to Art):
Primed canvas, board or painting paper
10 easy acrylic animal painting ideas
1. Cute Panda
This cartoon panda is an easy, acrylic animal painting idea to try. Because the panda itself is only black, white and grey, make sure you choose a bright background colour. Paint this on first and let it dry before you layer on the panda. To add depth to the picture, paint the bottom section of the background a slightly different colour to the rest of the background to make the panda appear as though he’s sitting on something.
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2. Colourful Cat
This is a fun acrylic animal painting idea for cat lovers. With this one, it may be useful to measure and divide your canvas into sections to ensure that the eyes and nose are central. Then gradually build up your layers of coloured fur going from dark to light.
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3. Happy Pig
Who wouldn’t want to paint this cute little guy?! Choose a background colour that will contrast nicely with the pink of your pig and paint that on first. Once it has dried, you can add in the outline of your pig and his features in pink. When you’re happy with that, start to fill in the shape in pink, blending in some white, darker red and black as you go for shading. The whites of the eyes should be the last thing you paint on to bring him to life.
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4. Multicoloured Zebra
With this acrylic animal painting idea, you may want to draw on the outline of the zebra and his stripes very lightly in pencil. Make sure it’s very light so that you can rub out the outline easily after you’ve finished painting. Choose whatever colours you like for the stripes, the brighter the better!
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5. Funny Ostrich
We love this funny ostrich and he’s very easy to paint. Don’t worry, you don’t have to paint his head upside down – just turn your canvas upside down and paint his face the right way up!
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6. Sea Turtle
This stylised sea turtle is a really fun little project for anyone that wants to take their painting to the next level. Go with a blue green background for the sea – blending it slightly darker towards the bottom of the canvas and slightly lighter towards the top. Once it’s dry, it’s time to add the turtle layer. Begin with his shell in the middle of the canvas, and then add his head and flippers. Don’t forget to paint some reeds and bubbles!
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7. Bird at Sunset
This acrylic animal painting idea is both atmospheric and super-easy for beginners. Go with reds, oranges and pinks for your sunset background and don’t forget the ball of sunlight seeping into the horizon. Once this is dry, you can add the ground, silhouetted clouds and bird in black.
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8. Feathery Peacock
The best thing about this gorgeous acrylic peacock is how vibrant, colourful and easy it is! A neutral colour for the background is a good idea, since there will be so much colour going on in the feathers. Build up a blanket of feathers by adding oval shapes, moving upwards and outwards from the base on the peacock’s neck. Greens, reds and yellows work well, with the addition of white and black for light and shade.
9. Artistic Dog
This guy is such fun to paint – just look at those adorable eyes! A clever trick with this one is to choose complementary opposites for your background colour, and the colour of the paint and paintbrush the dog is using. So, blue and orange in the example below, but it could also be green and red, yellow and purple.
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10. Dotty Owl
Our final acrylic animal painting idea is this multicoloured owl. Those big old eyes are the focal point of the painting so make sure you begin with those once your background has dried. Framing them and the beak in white feathers, as shown in the example below, will make these features really pop. Don’t forget to add the whites of the eyes too.
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And that’s a wrap – 10 acrylic animal painting ideas for you to give a go at home. Don’t forget, you can get all your supplies from Art to Art either online or in store. From acrylic paint sets and acrylic mediums, to canvas rolls and clear varnish, when you shop online, you’ll enjoy free shipping if you spend $100 or more.
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