Leaf held to the light, a beetle's shadow showing throughYellow green, green, dark green. Paint the leaf pale and the beetle shape as a soft dark green patch on it.
Bug jar: a brushed jar outline full of thumbprint bugsRed, yellow, green, black, in finger paint. Brush the jar outline, fill it with thumbprints and turn each into a bug.
Ladybug bending a stalk of grass into an archRed, black, green. Curve the stalk over and set the bug at the top of the bend.
Blue beetle with striped wing cases on a white daisyBlue, black, white, yellow. Stripe the wing cases from head to tail with a liner brush.
Emerald beetle on bark, a streak of gold along its backEmerald, gold, black, brown. Paint the shell emerald, then drag a little gold down one side while it is wet.
Firefly on a grass stem, a soft green lamp at its tailNavy, yellow green, black, olive. Sponge a soft yellow green round at the tail before painting the dark body.
Horned beetle in profile, its back a glossy brown domeBrown, black, tan, green. Paint the horn as one curve rising from the head and the back as a high dome.
Ladybug bending a stalk of grass into an archRed, black, green. Curve the stalk over and set the bug at the top of the bend.
Ladybug lifting off a leaf tip, its shadow left behindRed, black, green, gray. Raise the bug off the leaf and leave a small gray shadow where it stood.
Ladybug mid-takeoff, red shells swung wide over gray wingsRed, black, gray, white. Swing the two red halves apart and glaze watery gray wings between them.
Ladybug seen from overhead, a red circle split by one lineRed, black, white. Paint a red circle, split it with one black line and stamp the spots with a cotton swab.
Parade of ladybugs shrinking from jar-lid size to a dotRed, black, white. Trace five lids from large to small and split each red circle with a black line.
Specimen-tray page of beetles, every shell another colorBlack, green, blue, red, cream. Pencil a grid and paint one oval beetle in each square, mixing a new color for each.
Stag beetle in flat black on a mustard groundBlack, mustard, brown. Paint the body as two ovals and the jaws as a pair of antler shapes.
Two ladybugs nose to nose on one clover leafRed, black, green. Paint the clover as three round lobes and set a bug on two of them.
Bees and dragonflies 12
Bee curled asleep inside an orange blossomOrange, yellow, black, green. Paint the petals as a cup and curl the striped bee at the bottom.
Bee deep in a foxglove bell, only its back end showingPink, magenta, yellow, black. Paint the bell first and tuck a striped half oval into its mouth.
Dragonfly in plan view: blue segments, four oar-shaped wingsBlue, white, black, pale gray. Paint the body as a row of blue beads and each wing as a long pale oval.
Dragonfly resting on a cattail, wings held out flatBrown, green, turquoise, white. Paint the wings straight out to the sides and stand the cattail upright.
Fuzzy bee stippled with a dry brushYellow, black, white. Dab the bands with a nearly dry round brush so the edges stay fuzzy.
Pollen-dusted bee hovering at a purple flower spikePurple, yellow, black, green. Dab the flowers in short purple strokes up a stem and dot yellow on the bee's legs.
Round bumblebee: a lemon oval belted three times in blackYellow, black, white, pale blue. Paint the oval yellow, band it black and add two pale blue wings like teardrops.
Small bee with a curly broken line showing where it flewYellow, black, white, sky blue. Paint a loop of dashes across the sky and put the bee at its end.
Three bees circling the dark center of a sunflowerYellow, brown, black, orange. Fill the canvas with the flower and space three bees around its brown center.
Two dragonflies facing each other across a round pondTeal, green, white, navy. Paint one dragonfly, then its twin facing it across the middle of the canvas.
Wall of hexagon wax cells, one worker bee crossing itGold, amber, brown, black. Draw the hexagons in brown and fill each with gold, deeper amber toward one side.
White hive boxes in a meadow, bees as dots in the airWhite, green, yellow, black. Stack three white boxes and dot the bees with a cotton swab.
Caterpillars, snails and ants 12
Ant close up: three body parts, six legs, bent antennaeRust, black, tan. Paint head, thorax and abdomen as three ovals and bend each antenna once.
Anthill cut open to show tunnels and chambersBrown, tan, black, cream. Paint the tunnels as tan ribbons through brown earth and dot ants along them.
Ants in single file carrying leaf chips along a branchBlack, green, brown. Paint each ant as three dots and give every one a green chip above its head.
Banded caterpillar beside the round hole it chewedYellow, black, white, green. Band the body in three colors and leave a hole in the leaf beside it.
Caterpillar stamped as a wavy chain of green roundsGreen, yellow green, black. Stamp seven rounds in a wavy line and add a face to the first.
Garden snail, its shell coiled in tan and brown bandsBrown, tan, cream, green. Start the spiral at the center of the shell and wind outward with a round brush.
Inchworm arched in a loop on a twigGreen, brown, cream. Paint the body as an upside-down U with both ends on the twig.
Jade-green chrysalis dangling beneath a bare twigJade green, gold, brown. Paint the chrysalis as a green teardrop and add a row of gold dots near its top.
Red mushroom cap with a snail on each side of the domeRed, white, brown, cream. Paint the cap as a low red dome with white spots, then a snail at each end.
Snail at the end of a wavy silver line on gray stoneGray, silver, brown, tan. Drag a dry brush of silver behind the snail in one wavy line.
Snail scaling a bamboo cane, shell leaning to one sideTan, brown, cream, green. Paint the cane as one upright tan stroke and set the snail on it, shell tilted out.
Woolly caterpillar: rust middle, black at both endsBlack, rust, brown. Dab the bands with a dry brush so the edges bristle.
Thumbprint and stamped bugs 12
Bottle-cap snail shells with brushed-in bodiesBrown, cream, green. Stamp brown rings with the rim of a bottle cap and paint a cream body under each.
Bug jar: a brushed jar outline full of thumbprint bugsRed, yellow, green, black, in finger paint. Brush the jar outline, fill it with thumbprints and turn each into a bug.
Bumblebees printed with a kitchen sponge cut into ovalsYellow, black, white. Stamp yellow ovals with the sponge and band them black with a flat brush.
Cork-stamped ladybugs with swab-dot spotsRed, black, white. Stamp red rounds with the end of a cork and dot the spots with a cotton swab.
Fingerprint caterpillar in a rainbow of touching printsRed, orange, yellow, green, blue, in finger paint. Press a line of fingertips that touch and draw the legs when dry.
Ladybug dome built from pencil-eraser dotsRed, black. Stamp the whole dome in red dots with a pencil eraser and add black ones on top.
Thumbprint ants: three prints in a line, six swab legsBlack, brown, in finger paint. Press three small prints in a row for each ant and add six legs with a swab.
Thumbprint bees buzzing in a line, fingertip dabs for wingsYellow, black, white, in finger paint. Press yellow thumbs, stripe them with a swab and dab two white wings on each.
Thumbprint dragonflies, a head-to-tail line of prints eachBlue, green, white, in finger paint. Press four prints in a line and brush two pairs of white wings beside them.
Thumbprint fireflies glowing yellow on black paperYellow, white, in finger paint, on black paper. Press yellow prints for the glow and add small wings with a swab.
Thumbprint ladybugs dotted across a big painted leafRed, black, green, in finger paint. Press red thumbprints, let them dry and add heads and spots with a cotton swab.
Thumbprint snails, a swab line for each bodyOrange, brown, in finger paint. Press the shell print and draw a spiral on it once it is dry.
Bugs on leaves and flowers 12
Ant's-eye view up a tulip stem, one ant climbingRed, green, black, sky blue. Paint the stem as a wide green band rising to a red cup against the sky.
Berry bush close up with five kinds of bug to findGreen, pink, red, black, yellow. Paint the bush first, then hide five small bugs among the leaves.
Caterpillar camouflaged on a stalk, a shade lighter than itGreen, yellow green, brown. Paint the caterpillar one shade lighter than the stem it sits on.
Cricket singing on a clover leaf beneath a crescentNavy, green, black, white. Paint the crescent small and the cricket as a dark shape on the clover.
Grasshopper gripping an ear of wheat, knees above its backGreen, gold, brown. Paint the back leg as a tall folded Z above the body.
Green mantis on a stem, forelegs folded under its chinGreen, yellow green, tan. Paint the body as one long slanted line and the head as a small triangle.
Ladybug between two dewdrops on a long grass leafGreen, red, black, white. Dot the drops white along the leaf and paint the bug between two of them.
Ladybug on a daisy petal, the flower filling the canvasWhite, yellow, red, black, green. Paint the daisy first and add the bug as one small red dome.
Leaf held to the light, a beetle's shadow showing throughYellow green, green, dark green. Paint the leaf pale and the beetle shape as a soft dark green patch on it.
Moth flat on a white wall beside a porch lightTan, brown, cream, white, yellow. Paint the moth as a triangle crossed by a pattern of bands.
Snail and ladybug at opposite ends of a strawberry leafGreen, red, brown, cream. Paint the leaf with a saw edge and set one creature at each end.
Three ants exploring a pink peony budPink, green, black. Paint the bud as a pink ball and dot three ants across it.
How it works
An insect is three body parts and six legs, which on canvas comes to three ovals and six lines. That one pattern covers the ladybugs, bees and ants here; the snails came along anyway.
Read the full guide
Cute insect ideas to paint from round shapes
A ladybug is an oval beetle with a domed back, so from above it is a circle: red, one black line down the middle, spots by cotton swab. Ladybug seen from overhead, a red circle split by one line is exactly that. A bumblebee is the same trick with an oval and three bands.
Thumbprint bugs in finger paint
Eight ideas press a thumb or a fingertip for the body, and those name finger paint in their colors. Legs, spots and stripes go on afterward with a cotton swab. Four more are stamped with a cork, a sponge, a bottle cap or a pencil eraser instead.
The easy ones sit under More filters, Level: 22 bugs from circles, ovals and prints.
Questions and answers
Is a snail a bug?
Not an insect. Snails are gastropods with shells, a kind of mollusk, and have no legs at all. This page uses bug the everyday way, for small garden creatures, so snails sit beside the caterpillars and ants.
Why are ladybugs red with black spots?
It is a warning. Many ladybug species wear bright colors and patterns, red with black spots among them, that tell predators they taste bad. On canvas that makes red the strongest color in the picture.
What is an easy bug to paint with kids?
Thumbprint ladybugs dotted across a big painted leaf: red prints in finger paint, then heads and spots with a cotton swab. Caterpillar stamped as a wavy chain of green rounds is stamped round by round and needs no drawing.
How do you paint a bee's stripes so they look fuzzy?
Use a nearly dry brush. It leaves a scratchy, broken edge where a wet brush leaves a smooth one. Fuzzy bee stippled with a dry brush dabs both the yellow and the black that way.