• 60 ideas
  • Checked October 2026

Neon Sign Painting Ideas

Three ideas, each a neon sign with its colors and the step that makes it glow.

Neon Sign Painting Ideas

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  1. ON AIR in red inside a black box frameBlack, white, red, gray. Edge the box in gray so its corners show against the wall.
  2. Yellow lightning bolt on a navy wallNavy, white, yellow. Rule the bolt as six straight tubes and haze the whole shape yellow.
  3. Winking smiley face in yellowBlack, white, yellow. Paint the circle, one dot eye, one short dash and the curve of the mouth.

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One word 15

  • BOOM in red inside a spiky yellow burst Black, white, red, yellow. Paint the burst as one zigzag tube that closes on itself.
  • DREAM in pale blue script with a small star after it Navy, white, sky blue, yellow. Scrub a blue haze behind the word before the tube goes on.
  • First name in turquoise script with a line swept under it Black, white, turquoise. Write the name in chalk, then follow the chalk with a round brush.
  • GLOW in lime with a second outline around the word Black, white, lime, turquoise. Paint the turquoise outline as a loose border around the whole word.
  • HAPPY in pink and yellow, the letters alternating Black, white, pink, yellow. Paint all five letters white, then color every other one pink.
  • HELLO in pink script, written as one unbroken line Black, white, hot pink. Paint the word in white first, then pink over it, leaving a white core.
  • HOME in warm white with a small roof line over it Dark brown, white, cream, orange. Glaze thin orange around the cream tube for a warm glow.
  • LOVE in red capitals inside a pink square frame Black, white, red, pink. Paint each letter as a separate tube with a small gap before the next.
  • MUSIC in violet with a pink eighth note beside it Navy, white, violet, pink. Paint the note's stem and flag as one bent tube.
  • PLAY in four colors, one letter each Black, white, pink, yellow, turquoise, lime. Haze each letter in its own color so the glows overlap.
  • RELAX in mint capitals, widely spaced Charcoal, white, mint green. Leave a letter's width between letters so each glow stays separate.
  • SHINE in gold with short rays around the word Navy, white, golden yellow. Paint each ray as a short tube, palest at its middle.
  • SMILE in yellow with one curved line beneath it Charcoal, white, yellow. Paint the curve as its own tube and haze it the same yellow.
  • WOW in orange, both Ws drawn as zigzags Black, white, orange, yellow. Run a thin yellow line down the middle of each orange tube.
  • YES in green capitals, tilted, with an underline Black, white, lime green. Tilt the pencil guide line first; every tube follows it.

A simple shape 15

  • Blue crescent moon with three small stars Black, white, pale blue, yellow. Draw the crescent as two arcs that meet at the tips.
  • Cat's head in one line, ears up, six whiskers Black, white, turquoise, pink. Paint the head and ears as one tube and each whisker as a short one.
  • Coffee cup with three wavy lines of steam Dark brown, white, orange, pale blue. Paint the steam as three separate pale blue tubes.
  • Cone with one pink scoop and a drip Charcoal, white, pink, yellow. Outline the cone in yellow with two crossed lines inside it.
  • Five-point star drawn twice, one inside the other Navy, white, yellow, pink. Rule the outer star in pencil and copy it smaller inside.
  • Flamingo in pink, one leg tucked up Navy, white, pink, orange. Paint the neck and body as one S-shaped tube and the legs as another.
  • Green cactus drawn in a single line Black, white, green, pink. Follow the outline without lifting the brush and add one pink flower.
  • Guitar outline in red with white strings Black, white, red. Paint the body as one closed tube and the strings as four thin white lines.
  • Pair of red cherries on green stems Black, white, red, green. Paint two circles and a V of stem; leave a gap in each circle as a shine.
  • Palm tree with green fronds and an orange trunk Black, white, green, orange. Paint each frond as one curved tube from the top of the trunk.
  • Pink heart outline with a smaller heart inside it Black, white, hot pink, red. Paint both hearts white, then the outer one pink and the inner one red.
  • Rainbow arc in five tubes Navy, white, red, yellow, green, blue, violet. Paint five white arcs first, a brush width apart.
  • Ringed planet in violet and turquoise Black, white, violet, turquoise. Break the ring where it passes behind the planet.
  • Winking smiley face in yellow Black, white, yellow. Paint the circle, one dot eye, one short dash and the curve of the mouth.
  • Yellow lightning bolt on a navy wall Navy, white, yellow. Rule the bolt as six straight tubes and haze the whole shape yellow.

Open and closed signs 15

  • CLOSED in blue, hung crooked on two chains Charcoal, white, blue, gray. Tilt the whole sign and paint the chains as dull gray dashes.
  • COFFEE in orange above a small blue OPEN Dark brown, white, orange, blue. Let the two hazes overlap between the words.
  • COME IN WE'RE OPEN in two colors Black, white, yellow, red. Paint COME IN as yellow script and OPEN in red capitals below it.
  • DINER in pink with a yellow arrow underneath Black, white, pink, yellow. Paint the arrow as one long tube with a V at its end.
  • EXIT in green over a dark doorway Black, white, green, charcoal. Dry-brush green down the door frame under the sign.
  • ON AIR in red inside a black box frame Black, white, red, gray. Edge the box in gray so its corners show against the wall.
  • OPEN 24 HOURS stacked in three lines Black, white, red, yellow, blue. Rule three guide lines and give each line of words its own color.
  • OPEN in a window with blinds, the glow banded on the slats Charcoal, white, red, pink. Paint the slats as level gray lines and tint each pink near the sign.
  • OPEN in green script with a flourish beneath Black, white, green. Run the last stroke of the N back under the word as the flourish.
  • OPEN in red capitals inside a blue rounded frame Black, white, red, blue. Paint the letters first and the frame around them last.
  • OPEN seen backward from inside the shop, the street beyond Navy, white, red, gray. Letter the word in mirror writing and paint a dim street behind it.
  • OPEN sign and its reflection on a wet sidewalk Black, white, red, blue. Repeat each letter below as a few broken strokes pulled downward.
  • OPEN with one dead letter, the P left dull gray Black, white, red, gray. Paint the P gray with no white core and no haze.
  • SORRY WE'RE CLOSED in pink and white Navy, white, pink. Keep SORRY small and white above a large pink CLOSED.
  • VACANCY in red under a dark, unlit NO Navy, white, red, gray. Paint NO in flat gray and haze only the red word.

Glow on brick 15

  • Blue arrow on a white-painted brick wall Pale gray, white, blue, navy. Tint the wall blue around the arrow and gray toward the edges.
  • Brick alley with one small sign at the far end Black, umber, white, yellow. Keep both walls nearly black and brush yellow only on their far ends.
  • Brick arch with a tube following its curve Umber, black, white, turquoise. Paint the arch bricks as a fan and run one tube above them.
  • Corner of a brick building, a different sign on each face Umber, black, white, pink, blue. Blend the two hazes to violet where they meet at the corner.
  • Drainpipe crossing a sign's glow, casting a dark stripe Brick red, black, white, turquoise. Haze the wall, then paint the pipe and its shadow over it.
  • Faded painted lettering on old brick beneath a new sign Brick red, cream, black, white, blue. Dry-brush the old letters in cream so the bricks break them up.
  • Ivy on a brick wall, the leaves by the sign lit green Umber, dark green, white, lime. Paint all the ivy dark, then touch lime onto the leaves near the tube.
  • Pink script on red brick, the glow caught in the mortar lines Brick red, black, white, pink. Dry-brush pink over the bricks nearest the tube and along the mortar.
  • Sign above a sidewalk, its color pooled on the ground below Black, gray, white, orange. Scrub a soft orange oval on the pavement straight under the sign.
  • Sign beside a dark window, the glass holding its reflection Umber, black, white, pink. Repeat the sign in the glass, dimmer and without the white core.
  • Sign over a doorway, light falling on three steps Umber, black, white, green. Edge the top of each step in green, fainter on the lowest.
  • Two signs side by side in pink and blue, violet between Brick red, black, white, pink, blue. Overlap the two hazes while wet so they mix to violet.
  • Wall and sign painted in one color only, bricks and all Black, white, magenta. Mix three magentas with black and white; use the palest for the tube.
  • Wet brick after rain, highlights dotted in the sign's color Brick red, black, white, orange. Dot orange on the top edge of each brick with a cotton swab.
  • Yellow sign on black-painted brick, only the nearest bricks showing Black, white, yellow, ochre. Paint a few ochre bricks around the tube and let the rest stay black.

How it works

Real neon gas glows reddish orange; other sign colors need different gases and techniques. Each sign is glass tubing bent into shape, so a painted one reads best as an unbroken bright line on a dark wall.

Read the full guide

Three layers make the glow

Let the dark wall dry. First scrub a wide, thin haze of the sign's color where the tube will run, with a nearly dry brush. Next paint the tube in white, so the color laid over it stays bright. Last, go over the white in color and leave a thin white core down its middle.

Lit, unlit and reflected

A tube that is switched off gets flat gray, with no core and no haze: OPEN with one dead letter, the P left dull gray, or VACANCY in red under a dark, unlit NO. A reflection repeats the sign dimmer and without its core, as broken strokes on a wet sidewalk or a faint copy in a window.

  • Script suits neon: write the word in chalk as one line, the way a bent tube would run.
  • Keep the canvas darkest at its edges, so the glow has dark all around it.

Questions and answers

What colors do I need for a neon sign painting?

White is in all 60 palettes, under each tube and as its core. Black is in 40 and navy in 11, mostly as the wall. The commonest sign colors are pink, yellow and red, each in 15 palettes or more.

What is the easiest neon sign to paint?

OPEN in red capitals inside a blue rounded frame: four capitals and one frame. Yellow lightning bolt on a navy wall is six straight lines. Of the 60 signs, 21 are marked easy.

What words work for a painted neon sign?

Short ones. One word holds 15, among them HELLO, DREAM, YES, WOW and GLOW, in script or spaced capitals. First name in turquoise script with a line swept under it takes your own.

How do you paint neon light on a brick wall?

Paint the bricks dark, then dry-brush the sign's color over those nearest the tube. Pink script on red brick, the glow caught in the mortar lines shows the method; Two signs side by side in pink and blue, violet between mixes two glows.

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