• 48 designs
  • Checked October 2026

Paper Lantern Painting Ideas

Press for three paper lantern designs, each with its colors, where it sits and the brush or tool.

Paper Lantern Painting Ideas

Show all 48
  1. Full moon: gray craters dabbed over a white lanternWhite lantern, two grays. Round dabs of mixed sizes, darker on one side of the globe. Sponge.
  2. Soap bubble: thin drifts of pink, blue and green, two white glintsWhite lantern, watery pink, blue, green. Pale color drifts across the hoops; two curved glints high on one side. Sponge.
  3. Your name spelled along the string, a capital on each lanternWhite lanterns, black. One capital on the middle hoop of each, facing the same way. Stencil.

Next step Draw something from spacePaint a set of three canvases

All 48 designs

Planets, moons and other round things 12

  • Crescent lantern: one side white, the rest navy with stars White lantern, navy, yellow. Navy covers all but a curved slice; yellow dots on the navy. Flat brush.
  • Day-and-night globe: a yellow sun side, a navy star side White lantern, yellow, navy, white. Split from opening to opening; rays one side, dots the other. Flat brush.
  • Full moon: gray craters dabbed over a white lantern White lantern, two grays. Round dabs of mixed sizes, darker on one side of the globe. Sponge.
  • Gas giant: tan and rust bands along the hoops, one red oval Cream lantern, tan, rust, red. One band per hoop gap; the oval sits below the middle hoop. Flat brush.
  • Hot-air balloon: a zigzag in every hoop gap, ropes at the bottom White lantern, red, yellow, blue. Zigzags between the hoops, colors in turn; ropes run to the lower opening. Flat brush.
  • Ice giant: blues dragged along the hoops, one dark spot Pale blue lantern, mid blue, navy. Streaks follow the hoops; one navy oval above the middle. Dry brush.
  • Igloo: ice blocks ruled by the hoops, an arched door low on one side White lantern, pale blue, gray. Upright lines stagger from gap to gap like bricks; a dark arch for a door. Liner brush.
  • Mirror ball: gray squares in every hoop gap, a few left white White lantern, pale gray, mid gray. Squares side by side between the hoops; every tenth one stays white. Flat brush.
  • Red planet: rust dabbed all over, a pale cap at each opening Orange lantern, rust, white. Darker patches across the middle; white around both openings. Sponge.
  • School globe: each hoop a latitude line, the middle one red Pale blue lantern, navy, red. A fine navy line along each hoop; the red one is the equator. Liner brush.
  • Soap bubble: thin drifts of pink, blue and green, two white glints White lantern, watery pink, blue, green. Pale color drifts across the hoops; two curved glints high on one side. Sponge.
  • Sun lantern: orange dabs over yellow, darker by the openings Yellow lantern, orange, red. Loose dabs all over, deepest at the top and bottom hoops. Sponge.

Animals and faces 12

  • Armadillo: one shell band to every hoop gap, a face on one side Tan lantern, brown, black. Rows of small scale marks between the hoops; a pointed face low down. Liner brush.
  • Carved-pumpkin grin on orange, eyes above the middle hoop Orange lantern, black, green. Triangle eyes and a toothy grin; green around the top opening. Flat brush.
  • Cyclops monster: one eye spanning two hoops, a jagged grin Purple lantern, white, black, green. One large eye in the middle; teeth along the hoop below. Flat brush.
  • Fish: a row of scale scallops in every hoop gap, an eye each side Orange lantern, gold, white, black. Scallops open toward the bottom opening; fins dabbed on two sides. Round brush.
  • Ladybug: a wing line from opening to opening, six spots Red lantern, black, white. The line splits two wings; a black face with white eyes at one end. Dotting tool.
  • Nestling: the bottom opening as a wide-open beak, eyes just above Brown lantern, yellow, black. A yellow ring around the lower opening; two eyes on the lowest hoop. Round brush.
  • Peacock tail: an eye spot in every hoop gap, largest at the middle Teal lantern, green, gold, navy. Rings of eye spots in the hoop gaps, growing toward the middle hoop. Dotting tool.
  • Pig: a snout on the middle hoop with two nostril dots Pink lantern, deep pink, black. An oval snout; small eyes above; ears by the top opening. Round brush.
  • Sloth hanging on: two arms reaching up to the top opening Brown lantern, tan, dark brown. A sleepy tan face on the middle hoop; long arms end in claws at the top. Round brush.
  • Snake coiled around the globe, a turn in every hoop gap, head on top White lantern, green, yellow, black. Diamonds along the body; the head rests by the top opening. Round brush.
  • Turtle shell: plates ruled by the hoops, a head by one opening Green lantern, dark green, yellow. Upright lines split each hoop gap into plates; a head by one opening. Liner brush.
  • Yawning hippo: the bottom opening as its mouth, two teeth at the rim Gray lantern, pink, white, black. Pink around the lower opening; two white teeth; eyes and ears higher up. Round brush.

Flowers and branches 12

  • Bamboo stalks from bottom to top, a joint at every hoop White lantern, green, dark green. Upright stalks; a dark ring where each hoop crosses; leaves in threes. Flat brush.
  • Chrysanthemum: a row of petals in every hoop gap, top to bottom Yellow lantern, gold, orange. Petal tips point down in each gap, rows offset like roof tiles. Round brush.
  • Climbing rose crossing every hoop, one bloom in each gap White lantern, green, pink. One stem climbs from the bottom opening to the top; a rose in every hoop gap. Round brush.
  • Dandelion clock with seed lines fanning over half the globe Pale blue lantern, white, gray. Fine lines from one center; a dot at the end of each. Liner brush.
  • Forked blossom branch slanting across three hoops White lantern, brown, pink. One forked branch slants around the globe; five-petal dabs along it. Round brush.
  • Hydrangea lantern covered in four-petal florets Blue lantern, pale blue, lilac, white. Florets overlap all over; a pale dot in each. Cotton swab.
  • Lotus petals rising from the bottom opening like a cup White lantern, pink, deep pink, green. Two rows of pointed petals; green pads at the base. Flat brush.
  • Maple shapes circling the lantern once as they drop Cream lantern, red, orange, gold. Leaves are red near the top opening and gold lower down. Round brush.
  • One large poppy with its center on the middle hoop White lantern, red, black, green. Four wide petals; a black center; the stem drops to the opening. Flat brush.
  • Plum blossom dots in white over a red lantern Red lantern, white, yellow, brown. Five dots to a flower along short brown twigs. Cotton swab.
  • Sunflower from below: petals around the bottom opening Yellow lantern, orange, brown. Brown at the lowest hoop; petals fan up the lower half. Round brush.
  • Willow branches trailing from the top, each leaf one dab Pale green lantern, olive, brown. Brown strands from the top hoop; a leaf dab every finger-width. Round brush.

Sets for a string 12

  • Bees and daisies: striped lanterns between petal ones Yellow and white lanterns, black, yellow. Bands along the hoops on the bees; petals around the daisies. Flat brush.
  • Bunting triangles around the middle hoop of every lantern White lanterns, red, blue, yellow. Triangles point down from the middle hoop, colors in turn. Tape.
  • Caterpillar string: green lanterns, a face on the first Green lanterns, yellow, black, red. Yellow spots along each; eyes and a smile on the end one. Round brush.
  • Cherry pair: two red lanterns hung side by side, a glint on each Two red lanterns, white, green. A curved white glint on each; a green leaf by one top opening. Round brush.
  • Five lanterns stepping from one deep color to almost white White lanterns, one color, white. The same color mixed lighter for each lantern along the string. Foam brush.
  • Fruit string: orange, lemon, lime, peach and plum White lanterns, five fruit colors, green. A leaf at each top opening; a glint on one side. Sponge.
  • October string: a pumpkin, a ghost and a bat-eyed black one Orange, white and black lanterns, black, yellow. One simple face each, repeated along the string. Flat brush.
  • Same white dots on every lantern, a different base on each Five colored lanterns, white. Even dots over each; the string reads as one pattern. Dotting tool.
  • Spectrum string: one color to a lantern, red to violet White lanterns, six colors. A watery coat all over each, so the hoops still show. Foam brush.
  • Stop-and-go column: red, amber and green lanterns Three white lanterns, red, amber, green. One flat color each, strung one above another. Foam brush.
  • Stripes along the hoops on one, across them on the next White lanterns, one color. Level stripes and upright stripes alternate down the string. Flat brush.
  • Your name spelled along the string, a capital on each lantern White lanterns, black. One capital on the middle hoop of each, facing the same way. Stencil.

How it works

The round kind of paper lantern is tough paper over a collapsible frame of hoops. These 48 designs use the globe, the hoops and the opening at each end.

Read the full guide

The hoops are already drawn

The frame leaves level ridges around the globe, and several designs paint along them: Gas giant: tan and rust bands along the hoops, one red oval gives one band to each gap. Bamboo stalks from bottom to top, a joint at every hoop crosses them instead and puts a ring where each hoop falls.

One lantern or a string

A single lantern is a ball, so it becomes a planet, a balloon or a head. Twelve designs are sets: Caterpillar string: green lanterns, a face on the first only works as a row, and Stop-and-go column: red, amber and green lanterns needs exactly three.

Questions and answers

What paint do you use on a paper lantern?

We do not test paints. Whether a paint suits paper this light, and a lantern used with a light inside, is on the paint's label and in the lantern's own instructions.

Which designs are easiest on a round lantern?

The sponged ones. Full moon: gray craters dabbed over a white lantern and Sun lantern: orange dabs over yellow, darker by the openings need no outline, because an uneven dab already looks like a crater or a flare.

Can I paint a face on a paper lantern?

Yes: the group Animals and faces has twelve designs. The middle hoop is the widest line on the globe, so faces and snouts sit on it, as in Pig: a snout on the middle hoop with two nostril dots.

Which designs suit a party?

Mirror ball: gray squares in every hoop gap, a few left white, Hot-air balloon: a zigzag in every hoop gap, ropes at the bottom and Your name spelled along the string, a capital on each lantern.

More tools

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