• 50 designs
  • Checked October 2026

Fire Hydrant Painting Ideas

Press for three painted fire hydrant ideas, each with its barrel colors and where the design sits.

Fire Hydrant Painting Ideas

Show all 50
  1. Elephant with its trunk painted down from the front capGray, pink, white. Gray barrel; big ears fanned out around the side outlets; white tusks either side of the trunk.
  2. Goalkeeper with the side caps as keeper's glovesGreen, white, black. Green jersey with a number of your own in white; black shorts at mid-barrel; socks at the flange.
  3. Orchard fruit scattered over a leaf-green barrelLeaf green, red, yellow. Apples or peaches the size of a palm, evenly spaced; a short stalk and one leaf on each.

Next step Sketch the character on paper firstDraw the animal on paper first

All 50 designs

Characters 14

  • Astronaut with the bonnet as the helmet dome White, gray, orange. White suit with gray seams; side caps are the gloves; orange hoses loop from the front cap.
  • Baby in a bonnet, the front cap as its pacifier Peach or brown, white, pale yellow. A face around the front outlet; a white ruffle under the bonnet; a yellow romper.
  • Band leader with braid looped between the side outlets Red, gold, white. Red jacket; gold braid swags from one side outlet to the other; white cuffs around both.
  • Beekeeper with a net veil under the bonnet White, yellow, black. White suit; a dotted net veil painted around the outlets; two striped bees on the barrel.
  • Builder in a hard hat, side caps as work gloves Orange, yellow, blue. Orange vest with yellow stripes over a blue shirt; a tool belt painted under the front cap.
  • Firefighter with the bonnet as the helmet Tan, yellow, black. Tan coat on the barrel with two yellow bands; side outlets are the sleeves, front cap the buckle.
  • Gardener with a hose coiled around the barrel Green, tan, yellow. A green hose winds three times around; a tan apron under the front cap; the bonnet is a sun hat.
  • Goalkeeper with the side caps as keeper's gloves Green, white, black. Green jersey with a number of your own in white; black shorts at mid-barrel; socks at the flange.
  • Knight in armor with the bonnet as the helm Silver, gray, blue. Plate lines around the barrel; a blue crest under the front cap; side outlets are shoulder guards.
  • Lighthouse keeper holding a lamp on the front cap Navy, yellow, white. Navy coat; yellow lamp rays fan out around the front cap; a white beard painted above it.
  • Park ranger with a badge painted beside the front cap Olive green, tan, gold. Olive shirt with two pockets; a gold badge beside the front cap; tan pants to the flange.
  • Robot with a dial chest, the front cap as its speaker Silver, red, yellow. Rivets ring the barrel; three dials under the front cap; side outlets are the arm sockets.
  • Strongman with the side outlets as dumbbells Red, white, black. Red and white striped singlet on the barrel; a curled mustache over the front cap; black boots.
  • Toy soldier at attention, side outlets as epaulettes Red, navy, gold. Red coat with gold buttons down the barrel; gold fringe painted around each side outlet; navy legs.

Animals 12

  • Chameleon with the side caps as swivel eyes Green, yellow, blue. Banded green barrel; a curled tail on the back; a long tongue line running from the front cap.
  • Crab, pincers painted around the two side outlets Red-orange, white, black. Each side outlet sits inside an open pincer; two eyes on stalks above the front cap.
  • Dalmatian sitting up, the side caps as its ears White, black, red. Black spots over a white barrel; the front cap is the nose; a red collar ring below it.
  • Elephant with its trunk painted down from the front cap Gray, pink, white. Gray barrel; big ears fanned out around the side outlets; white tusks either side of the trunk.
  • Koala, fluffy rings around the side caps as its ears Gray, white, black. Gray barrel; white fluff painted around each side outlet; the front cap is the big nose.
  • Lion with mane rays around the front cap Gold, orange, brown. Orange and brown rays fan out from the front outlet; gold barrel; a tufted tail on the back.
  • Mouse with the side caps as big round ears Gray, pink, black. Gray barrel; a pink ring around each side outlet; black whiskers fan out from the front cap.
  • Octopus, the bonnet as its head, arms down the barrel Purple, lilac, white. Eight arms with lilac sucker dots wrap the barrel to the flange; side caps are the eyes.
  • Raccoon with a mask band between the side outlets Gray, black, white. A black band across the front at outlet height; white brows; a ringed tail on the back.
  • Ram with horns curled around the side outlets Cream, brown, black. A brown spiral painted around each side outlet; cream wool curls down the barrel; black hooves.
  • Rhino with the front outlet as its horn Gray, dark gray, white. Skin-fold lines around the barrel; small eyes beside the outlet; toenails at the flange.
  • Walrus with tusks painted down from the front cap Brown, white, pink. Two long white tusks below the front outlet; whisker dots either side; flippers at the flange.

Patterns and local color 12

  • Bicycles riding nose to tail around the barrel One base color, black, red. A ring of small side-on bikes at mid-barrel, all heading one way; a road line below.
  • Book spines banding the barrel outside the library Five spine colors, cream. Each band around the barrel is one book lying flat; the titles are your own words.
  • Dots that shrink as they climb the barrel One base color, white. Coin-size dots at the flange, pinpoints near the outlets; a ring of dots around each outlet.
  • Lighthouse for a harbor town, bonnet as the lamp room White, red, black. Wide red and white bands around the barrel; a black door at the flange; windows under the outlets.
  • Local river as a blue ribbon winding around the barrel Blue, green, white. One ribbon spirals from the flange up to the outlets; white ripples; green banks on both sides.
  • Neighborhood map with a star where the hydrant stands Cream, gray, red. Streets as gray lines around the barrel; one red star at the hydrant's own corner.
  • Orchard fruit scattered over a leaf-green barrel Leaf green, red, yellow. Apples or peaches the size of a palm, evenly spaced; a short stalk and one leaf on each.
  • Patchwork, each neighbor painting one square of the barrel Any colors, white. Rule the barrel into squares a hand wide; one square to a household; white lines between.
  • Rooftops of your block in a band above the flange Sky blue, three building colors. The nearest roofs and chimneys in one band around the base; open sky above.
  • School-color spiral for the hydrant at the school gate Your two school colors. One wide stripe winds from the flange to the outlets; no mascot and no crest.
  • Street name lettered down the barrel One dark color, one light. Stacked letters, one to a row, on the side that faces the sidewalk; a line at each end.
  • Town flower climbing the barrel from the flange Green, white, your flower's color. One stem winds up and around the barrel; a bloom opens under each outlet.

Holidays 12

  • Chick hatching, a cracked shell edge around mid-barrel Yellow, white, orange. White shell with a zigzag crack below the outlets; yellow chick above; orange feet at the flange.
  • Corn cob for harvest, husk leaves rising from the flange Yellow, pale yellow, green. Kernels in even rows around the barrel; green husk leaves peel up from the base.
  • Earth Day globe with the continents wrapped around Blue, green, white. Blue barrel; green landmasses around the middle; white swirls of cloud near the outlets.
  • Fourth of July drummer with crossed white belts Navy, white, red. Navy coat; white belts cross under the front cap; a red drum painted just above the flange.
  • Ghost with the side outlets as raised arms White, black, gray. White barrel with a wavy gray hem above the flange; two oval eyes over the front cap, the mouth.
  • Green monster for October, side outlets as neck bolts Green, black, white. Green barrel; a zigzag of black hair under the bonnet; a white-toothed grin below the front cap.
  • Holiday wreath ringing the front cap, a red bow below it Green, red, white. White barrel; a ring of green leaf dabs around the front outlet; red berries; a red bow under it.
  • Jack-o'-lantern grinning under the bonnet stem Orange, black, yellow. Orange barrel with rib lines; black triangle eyes flank the front cap; a toothy yellow grin.
  • Midnight clock for New Year, hands meeting at the front cap White, black, gold. Twelve numerals in a ring around the front outlet; both hands point up; gold stars above.
  • School pencil standing on its point, bonnet as the eraser Yellow, silver, black. A silver band with two black lines under the bonnet; a sharpened point painted at the flange.
  • Shamrock chain spiraling the barrel for March Green, darker green, white. One vine of three-leaf shamrocks winds from the flange to the outlets on white.
  • Snowman with the side caps as earmuffs White, black, two scarf colors. Coal eyes above the front cap, the nose; three buttons below; a striped scarf ring.

How it works

A fire hydrant's colors, the body's included, can be a code firefighters read. Paint one only with the written permission of whoever owns it. These 50 designs repaint the barrel and leave the bonnet and outlet caps as they are.

Read the full guide

Why the top and caps keep their color

In the United States the AWWA and the NFPA recommend a chrome yellow hydrant whose bonnet and nozzle caps are colored by available flow: light blue, green, orange or red. In that scheme the body color is a code too (yellow municipal, red private, violet non-potable); local schemes differ. Every design repaints the barrel.

The shape does the drawing

The bonnet is a hat or the top of a head, the two side outlets are ears, arms or eyes, and the front cap is a nose, a horn or a buckle. Chameleon with the side caps as swivel eyes and Rhino with the front outlet as its horn each need three colors.

Questions and answers

Can I paint the fire hydrant on my street?

This page cannot say. A hydrant is a connection point firefighters use to reach a water supply, and its colors can be a code they read. The 50 designs are for a hydrant that the people responsible for it have agreed to have painted.

What do the colors on a fire hydrant mean?

In the scheme set out in NFPA 291, the bonnet and nozzle caps show available flow: light blue for 1,500 gallons a minute or more, green for 1,000 to 1,499, orange for 500 to 999 and red below 500. Local schemes differ.

Which designs suit a group of painters?

The 12 under Patterns and local color have no face to get right. Patchwork, each neighbor painting one square of the barrel gives every household a square, and Dots that shrink as they climb the barrel needs no drawing.

What paint goes on a fire hydrant?

We do not test paints and recommend none. Each of the 50 lines lists colors for the barrel and says where the design sits; the bonnet and caps stay the color they are.

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