Jellyfish as one pink wash with wet lines trailing downRose, violet. Wash the bell, then pull thin lines down from its rim with the tip of the brush.
Elephant face straight on, ears wide, wrinkles dry-brushedGray, umber, cream. Block the head and ears flat, then drag a darker gray across for the creases.
Panda sitting up with a bamboo stem, built from circlesBlack, white, pale green, gray. Paint the white circles first and add black patches over them.
Cat shape at a window in one flat indigo washIndigo, pale yellow. Wash the window yellow, dry it, and paint the cat over it in a single shape.
Dachshund stretched the full width of a long canvasChestnut, black, sky blue. Paint the body as one long bar and add four short legs under it.
Dog portrait where only the eyes and nose are sharpBurnt sienna, sepia, black. Paint the head loosely wet, then add eyes and nose on dry paper.
Golden retriever head tilted to one side on a teal groundOcher, cream, umber, teal. Pull the ear fur downward with a nearly dry brush over the flat base.
Guinea pig trio in loose tan, white and black patchesTan, black, pink. Leave the white patches as bare paper and paint only the colored ones.
Hamster with stuffed cheeks gripping one sunflower seedTan, cream, pink, gray. Paint two overlapping circles for the cheeks and stipple the fur edge.
House cat asleep under a lit tree, one ornament by its pawDark green, warm yellow, gray, red. Dot the lights with a cotton swab and keep the cat a soft gray curl.
Kitten in two washes, a gray body and a darker stripePayne's gray, water. Wet the body shape, drop the darker stripe down the back and let it spread.
Lop-eared rabbit, fur dropped into damp paper, whiskers lastRaw umber, burnt sienna. Wet the rabbit shape, touch in the browns, and draw whiskers when dry.
Old dog asleep on a striped rug, gray round the muzzleBrown, gray, cream, rust. Scumble a little gray over the dry brown around the nose and eyes.
Parakeet pair sharing a perch, one green and one blueLime, sky blue, yellow, black. Fill each bird flat, then bar the wings with short dark dashes.
Sleeping puppy as three soft overlapping brown blobsBurnt umber, ocher. Let head, body and haunch touch while wet so they run into each other.
Tabby cat tucked into a loaf on a windowsill, eyes shutGray, black, cream, pale blue. Block the whole loaf shape before any eye or whisker.
Birds 16
Barn owl face appearing where a sepia wash is lifted awaySepia, indigo. Lay the dark wash, then lift the face disc and breast out before it dries.
Cardinal in watercolor, red dropped wet, mask added dryCadmium red hue, black, gray. Wet the bird shape, flood it with red, and paint the mask when dry.
Cardinal pair on a rail: red male, reddish-olive femaleRed, olive, tan, black, gray. Paint both birds the same shape and change only the color.
Head-down flamingo feeding, pink bleeding into wet paperRose, coral, black. Wet the body, drop in rose, and let it run toward the tail.
Heron in pen and wash, long neck and longer legsBlue gray, sepia, black pen. Wash the body in one gray shape and ink the legs and beak when dry.
Hummingbird in three washes with its wings left blurredGreen, rose, gray. Paint body and throat crisply and touch the wings into damp paper.
Hummingbird mid-hover, beak deep in an orange honeysuckleEmerald, white, orange, gray. Paint the wings as two pale gray fans with soft edges.
Hummingbird perched on a bare twig, throat in magentaGreen, magenta, white, brown. Paint the throat patch last and brightest.
Lone flamingo asleep on one leg, head folded onto its backCoral pink, white, black, aqua. Paint the body as an oval, the neck curled over it, and one thin leg.
Male cardinal on a snowy pine bough, crest raisedRed, black, dark green, white. Block the red body first, then add the black mask around the beak.
Peacock walking away with its train folded and trailingUltramarine, viridian, ocher. Paint the train in one long graded stroke, blue into green.
Peacock with its train fanned, eyespots dotted in rowsTeal, royal blue, green, gold. Fan the train in green strokes, then dot blue eyes with a swab.
Robin in two washes, brown above and orange belowBurnt umber, orange. Paint the orange breast first and bring the brown down to meet it.
Single peacock feather close up, the eye in four ringsNavy, turquoise, bronze, green. Paint the rings from the outside in and pull fine barbs outward.
Two flamingos facing, their necks curving into a heart shapePink, coral, white, teal. Paint one bird, mirror it, and leave a clear gap between the beaks.
White swan and its mirror image on dark green waterWhite, deep green, orange, black. Paint the swan, repeat it upside down, and blur the copy.
Woodland and forest 15
Badger nose-on, its white face stripes painted firstWhite, black, gray, olive. Lay the white stripes, dry them, and cut the black in on both sides.
Bat hanging upside down, wings folded like a cloakSepia, violet. Paint one teardrop shape and darken its edges while wet.
Chipmunk with full cheeks in burnt sienna and creamBurnt sienna, sepia, cream. Paint the back stripes on dry paper so they stay sharp.
Deer standing on a ridge as a flat shape against orange duskOrange, yellow, black. Blend the sky wet, dry it, and paint deer and ridge as one black shape.
Fawn curled in tall grass, spots lifted with a damp brushRaw sienna, sap green. Wash the fawn, and while damp touch out a row of pale spots.
Hedgehog as one brown wash flecked with dark spinesBurnt umber, sepia. Wash the dome shape, then tick dark dashes into it while it is damp.
Hedgehog whose spines are pulled out with a fan brushUmber, cream, tan, black. Tap and pull the fan brush backward from the face in rows.
Howling wolf whose body is a single graded gray washPayne's gray, water. Start dark at the raised muzzle and add water as the wash goes down.
Panda cub slung over a branch, all four legs danglingBlack, white, brown, leaf green. Paint the branch first and drape the body over it.
Panda face in wet black patches on dry white paperBlack, a touch of blue. Paint ears, eye patches and nose only; the paper is the rest of the face.
Panda sitting up with a bamboo stem, built from circlesBlack, white, pale green, gray. Paint the white circles first and add black patches over them.
Porcupine climbing a birch, pale quills dragged out in rowsDark brown, white, gray. Drag a nearly dry white brush outward from the body in short strokes.
Raccoon peering round a trunk, mask and one paw showingGray, black, white, brown. Paint the trunk first and let it hide half the face.
Stag in profile, its antlers branching past the top edgeUmber, tan, cream, moss. Block the body, then pull the antlers up with a liner brush.
Wild rabbit sitting up in clover, ears lit pink from behindTan, pink, cream, green. Glaze thin pink inside the ears once the tan is dry.
Farm 12
Cow in black patches dropped onto a wet white shapeBlack, pink, water. Wet the cow shape with clean water and touch in the patches.
Donkey looking over a stable door, both ears forwardGray, sepia, brown. Paint the door in flat brown and the head in soft gray above it.
Foal lying in buttercups with its long legs foldedBurnt sienna, yellow, green. Paint the foal first and dot the flowers around it.
Goose stretching its neck, the white left as bare paperGray, orange, blue. Paint only the shadow side of the goose and the sky behind it.
Horse grazing at sunset, lit along the line of its backDark brown, orange, gold. Keep the horse nearly black and run one thin gold line along its top edge.
Line of ducklings following a white duck across a yardYellow, white, orange, tan. Print each duckling with two swab dots, one large and one small.
Piglet asleep in a pink wash with a darker curl of tailRose, a touch of ocher. Wash one bean shape and draw the tail and eye into it when dry.
Pink pig in a mud patch with its snout toward youPink, rose, brown, cream. Paint the snout as an oval with two dots and build the head around it.
Shaggy highland cow face, its fringe covering both eyesRust, ocher, cream, pink. Pull the fringe downward in long strokes of a nearly dry brush.
Three sheep in a field as loose gray blobs with dark facesGray, sepia, sap green. Wash the field first, leaving three gaps, and tint the gaps pale gray.
White goat chewing sideways, beard wagging, on a barn rampWhite, tan, barn red, gray. Dry-brush the ramp boards and stand the goat on them in flat white.
Woolly ewe sponged in cream, black face turned toward youWhite, cream, black, green. Dab the wool with a sponge and add the black face and legs last.
Sea and river 14
Beaver on its dam at dusk, tail flat on the sticksSepia, ocher, violet gray. Wash the dusk sky first and paint the beaver as one dark rounded shape.
Betta fanning its veil tail, crimson deepening to blueCrimson, ultramarine, black. Paint the fins thinly, dry them, and glaze a second color over the tips.
Dolphin fin and wake in three watercolor strokesIndigo, cerulean. One curved triangle for the fin and two level strokes for the wake.
Dolphin leaping as a dark shape against a sunsetOrange, magenta, navy. Blend the sky and sea, dry them, and arc the dolphin above the horizon.
Dolphin pair below the surface, blue shapes on bluer seaCobalt, navy, pale aqua. Paint the dolphins barely darker than the water and light their backs.
Goldfish nose to the glass of its bowl, one bubble aboveOrange, yellow, pale blue, white. Paint the bowl as a circle with a flat top and one white highlight.
Gray seal hauled out on a kelp-strewn rock, whiskers downPale gray, white, black, slate. Blend the body in two grays and add whiskers with a liner brush.
Humpback whale breaching, the spray dabbed with a spongeNavy, gray, white, teal. Paint the whale at a slant and sponge white where it leaves the water.
Jellyfish as one pink wash with wet lines trailing downRose, violet. Wash the bell, then pull thin lines down from its rim with the tip of the brush.
Koi seen from straight above between lily padsOrange, white, black, deep green. Paint the fish as a curved teardrop and overlap one pad on its tail.
Octopus curling two arms, suckers dotted with a swabCoral, plum, cream, teal. Paint the arms as tapering curls and dot a double row down each.
Otter adrift belly-up in kelp, forepaws folded on its chestSepia, burnt umber, blue gray. Paint the otter dark and wet, and the water as two pale strokes.
Sea turtle gliding, shell plates left as dry paper linesOlive, burnt sienna, cerulean. Paint each plate separately and leave a hairline of paper between.
Trout under ripples, its spots dropped into a wet bodyOlive, rose, sepia. Wet the fish, band it with rose, and dot the spots while damp.
Safari 14
Baby elephant in gray washes with pink dropped into the earsPayne's gray, rose. Wash the body pale and touch rose into the damp ears.
Cheetah at full sprint, spots dotted on with a swabOcher, black, cream, tan. Stretch the body level, dry it, and dot the spots smaller toward the legs.
Elephant face straight on, ears wide, wrinkles dry-brushedGray, umber, cream. Block the head and ears flat, then drag a darker gray across for the creases.
Elephant family in a line at dusk, trunks holding tailsOrange, red, black. Paint the sky in two blended bands and the elephants as flat black shapes.
Giraffe head and neck rising into a pale washed skyYellow ocher, burnt sienna, cerulean. Wash the sky, dry it, and paint the patches with gaps between.
Hippo's eyes and ears showing above a flat green riverOlive, gray, pink. Wash the river flat and paint two small bumps with pink inside the ears.
Leopard draped along a branch with its tail hanging downOcher, black, brown, olive. Paint the branch first and ring each spot loosely in black.
Lion cub with oversized paws in an ocher washYellow ocher, sepia. Wash the cub in ocher and darken the ears, nose and paw pads when dry.
Lion in profile at dusk, lying on a rock ledgeOrange, plum, black. Paint the lion and rock as one dark shape against the blended sky.
Lion's mane in dry-brush strokes fanning out from the faceOcher, sienna, umber, cream. Paint the face first and pull the mane outward, darkest strokes last.
Meerkat sentry standing tall on a sandy moundRaw sienna, sepia. Paint one upright bottle shape and add dark eye patches when dry.
Rhino side-on, heavy as a boulder, in grays and dusty pinkGray, dusty pink, cream. Block the body as one mass and lighten only its top edge.
Zebra eye and lashes in close-up, stripes bending round itBlack, white. Paint the canvas white, dry it, and curve black stripes around a single eye.
Zebra foal leaning on its mother, crisp stripes on pale grayBlack, pale gray. Shade the bodies in pale gray first and add crisp stripes when dry.
How it works
Fur, feather and scale each want a different stroke, and acrylic and watercolor come at them from opposite ends. Every idea here gives its palette and that one stroke, and the list sorts by animal and by medium.
Read the full guide
Acrylic paint ideas: animals on canvas
On canvas, block the whole animal in one flat color before any eye or whisker, then drag a nearly dry brush over it for fur. Lion's mane in dry-brush strokes fanning out from the face is that method. The easy ones sit under More filters, Level.
Watercolor painting ideas: animals in two washes
In watercolor, wet the body shape, drop the darker color in and let it spread. Add the eye when the paper is dry, and leave the paper bare where the animal is white. Robin in two washes, brown above and orange below needs two colors.
Ideas for acrylic paintings of elephants on canvas sit under Safari, beside the lions.
Fish painting ideas are under Sea and river: a koi, a betta, a goldfish and a trout.
Panda painting ideas are under Woodland and forest, with three deer.
Questions and answers
Which animal canvas painting ideas are easiest?
The ones made of simple shapes. Deer standing on a ridge as a flat shape against orange dusk and Dachshund stretched the full width of a long canvas are each one blocked shape and a few marks.
What is an easy cardinal painting for beginners in acrylic?
Male cardinal on a snowy pine bough, crest raised. Block the red body, then add the black mask around the beak. The female is a reddish olive, so Cardinal pair on a rail: red male, reddish-olive female shows both.
Bird painting ideas: watercolor or acrylic?
Both. Birds holds 16 ideas, seven of them in watercolor. Three are hummingbirds. The flamingo painting ideas include Lone flamingo asleep on one leg, head folded onto its back, and the peacock painting ideas include Single peacock feather close up, the eye in four rings.
Are there lion painting ideas here?
Three, under Safari. Lion in profile at dusk, lying on a rock ledge is a flat dark shape on a blended sky, and Lion cub with oversized paws in an ocher wash is the watercolor one.