Black seahorse silhouette against a pale green circlePale green, teal, black. Blend a light circle into a darker surround and fill the seahorse in flat black.
Long-snouted head close up, a small fin behind the eyeCoral, cream, dark red. Paint the snout as a narrow tube that widens a little at its tip.
Profile with each bony ring raised as a pale ridgeTan, brown, cream. Cross the body with short curved lines and put a light edge above each one.
Seahorse facing left, belly round and snout tipped downPink, rose, lilac. Build the body from a large oval and a small one before joining them with a neck.
Seahorse in profile filling a tall narrow canvasOrange, yellow, deep blue. Let the head touch the top edge and the tail curl just above the bottom.
Seahorse in profile on flat aqua, tail in a neat spiralAqua, orange, white. Paint the water flat, then the seahorse as one orange shape ending in a coil.
Seahorse outlined in gold on deep navyNavy, gold. Paint the canvas navy, let it dry, and draw the whole seahorse in one gold line.
Seahorse painted as a question mark with a snoutPurple, white. Pull a question-mark curve in one stroke, thicken the middle, and add the snout.
Seahorse with one eye swiveled ahead and the other behindGreen, yellow, black. Paint both eyes as raised domes and point their pupils in different directions.
Seahorse with the crown spine on its head catching lightGold, brown, navy. Keep the body dark and touch the crown and the top of each ridge with gold.
Spiny seahorse with short points along its back and headRust, cream, olive. Pull short spikes outward from the outline with the tip of a liner brush.
Tail tip upward: square rings growing larger toward the bodyOchre, brown, cream. Paint the tail as a chain of small boxes that grow as they climb.
Three sizes of one seahorse stepping down the canvasTeal, lime, white. Paint the largest first at the top left and halve the size for each one after.
Upright seahorse with its back fin fanned mid-flutterYellow, ochre, pale blue, white. Paint the fin as a small see-through fan of fine lines on the back.
White seahorse left unpainted in a wash of blueUltramarine, bare white paper. Draw the outline lightly and brush the blue up to it, never inside.
Among coral and sea grass 15
Night reef with a pale seahorse in a circle of lamp lightBlack, navy, cream, coral. Paint a soft light circle on the dark and put color only inside it.
Seagrass meadow with one seahorse hidden in the bladesGreen, yellow green, olive. Paint the seahorse in the same greens as the grass and overlap it with two blades.
Seahorse above a sandy floor with a few shellsSand, aqua, orange. Split the canvas into water and sand and set the seahorse just above the line.
Seahorse among mangrove roots in green shallowsOlive, brown, lime. Arch the roots down into the water and tuck the seahorse between two of them.
Seahorse and five bubbles rising past orange coralOrange, blue, white. Dot the bubbles with a cotton swab and add a small white curve to each.
Seahorse between two tall ribbons of green weedDark green, lime, yellow. Paint each ribbon in one wavering stroke from the bottom edge to the top.
Seahorse drifting with a clump of floating weedYellow brown, olive, blue. Paint the weed as a loose tangle near the surface with the tail holding on.
Seahorse hiding against a sea fan of its own colorRed, orange, navy. Paint the fan as a web of fine branches and the seahorse in the same red on top.
Seahorse holding an anchor chain furred with weedGray, rust, green, yellow. Paint the chain as a line of linked ovals and wrap the tail around one link.
Seahorse in an estuary, brown water and reed stemsBrown, ochre, olive. Glaze watery brown over the whole scene once the seahorse and reeds are dry.
Seahorse resting with its tail hooked on a spongeYellow, purple, teal. Paint the sponge as a cluster of tubes with dark openings at the top.
Seahorse under a pier post in slanting lightBlue green, brown, pale yellow. Rule three slanted bars of pale yellow across the water behind the post.
Seahorse where the coral stops and open water beginsCoral, teal, navy. Crowd the reef into one lower corner and leave the rest as open water.
Seahorse wrapped around a branch of pink coralPink, coral, yellow, teal. Paint the coral as a forked branch and hook the tail twice around one arm.
Tiny seahorse beside a huge round coralTan, cream, orange, blue. Fill most of the canvas with the coral and its grooves and keep the seahorse small.
Color and texture studies 15
Seahorse built from short dashes like a mosaicOrange, red, yellow, dark blue. Lay dashes side by side with a small flat brush and leave gaps between.
Seahorse buttered on with a palette knife, ridges raisedTurquoise, white, ochre. Spread each ridge with the flat of the knife and leave the marks raised.
Seahorse changing color: half coral pink, half weed greenCoral pink, green, cream. Blend the two colors where they meet in the middle of the body.
Seahorse in a sunset blend, yellow head to magenta tailYellow, orange, magenta. Blend the three colors down the body while wet, then outline when dry.
Seahorse in black line over loose pools of watercolorAny three watercolors, black ink. Drop the colors on wet paper, let them dry, then draw over them.
Seahorse in dry-brush strokes on dark rough paperWhite, orange, black paper. Wipe most of the paint off the brush and drag it so the paper shows through.
Seahorse in one color, five tints from snout to tailViolet, white. Mix five steps from pale to full color and band them down the body.
Seahorse in teal and copper, metallic on the ridgesTeal, copper metallic, black. Paint the body teal, let it dry, and drag copper lightly over the raised lines.
Seahorse quilted from six fabrics: stripes, dots, checksPink, teal, yellow, black. Divide the body into six parts and fill them with stripes, dots, checks and zigzags.
Seahorse scratched through dark paint to a bright layerYellow, orange, black. Paint bright color, let it dry, cover with black and scratch the lines while wet.
Seahorse stencil sponged in three bluesPale blue, cobalt, navy. Cut the shape from paper, lay it down and sponge the blues around or inside it.
Seahorse stippled in dots, dark on the back, pale in frontNavy, teal, cream. Press dots with the end of a brush handle, crowded on the back and sparse on the belly.
Seahorse striped ring by ring in the order of a rainbowRed, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. Stripe the body across ring by ring and repeat the order to the tail.
Tangerine seahorse on cobalt water, neither color mixedOrange, cobalt blue, white. Use the orange and blue unmixed and keep a clean edge where they meet.
White seahorse with a blue pattern like painted chinaWhite, cobalt blue. Paint the seahorse white on a pale ground and add scrolls and dots in blue.
Pairs and curled tails 15
Curled tail as a spiral pattern repeated across the canvasTeal, gold, white. Paint rows of the same small spiral and turn every other one the opposite way.
Father seahorse with a round pouch and a cloud of tiny youngTan, cream, blue. Dot the young as specks with curled tails, thinning out as they drift away.
Large seahorse and a small one drifting the same wayPurple, lilac, pale blue. Tilt both a little forward and place the small one just ahead of the large.
Mirror pair in two colors, snouts nearly touchingTeal, coral, cream. Paint one seahorse, then copy it facing the other way in the second color.
Row of five seahorses hooked on one rope by their tailsTan, orange, pink, lime, blue. Paint the rope straight across and hang one seahorse in each color from it.
Seahorse pair circling each other inside a round canvasAqua, yellow, pink. Curve both bodies to follow the rim, one at the top and one at the bottom.
Tail curled tight in a spiral, close up, ring by ringOchre, brown, cream. Draw the spiral from the center out and cross it with a short line for every ring.
Tail unrolling like a fern, three stages on one canvasGreen, yellow, navy. Paint the same tail tightly coiled, half open and nearly straight, left to right.
Tail wound three times around a pencil-slim stemLime, orange, brown. Paint only the bands of tail that cross the front of the stem.
Three seahorses at three heights, tails pointing one wayCoral, yellow, teal. Step them up from left to right and curl each tail toward the same side.
Two seahorses back to back like a pair of bookendsMustard, navy. Paint one in profile and repeat it reversed, with the two back fins almost meeting.
Two seahorses gripping one strand of sea grassGreen, coral, tan. Paint the strand first and wrap one tail above the other on it.
Two seahorses swapped: pale on cobalt, cobalt on paleCobalt blue, white. Split the canvas in half and swap the two colors from one side to the other.
Two seahorses swimming side by side, holding tailsYellow, orange, aqua. Paint both upright at the same height and link the two tail tips in one loop.
Two tails linked in a knot, the bodies leaning apartRed, blue, white. Cross one tail over the other once and break the lower line at the crossing.
How it works
A seahorse swims upright, steers with small fins behind its eyes and holds on with a curled tail. It has no scales, only thin skin over rings of bony plates. Each canvas here uses one of those features.
Read the full guide
Start with the profile
From the side a seahorse is a horse-like head on a bent neck, a round trunk and a tail that coils. Seahorse painted as a question mark with a snout gets the whole pose in one stroke. Add the crown-like spine on the head, called a coronet, and the fin on the back.
Rings, not scales
The body is armored in bony plates set in rings, and the rings of the tail are square. Profile with each bony ring raised as a pale ridge paints them as short curved lines with a light edge. Acrylic is fast-drying, so the ridges can go over the base color soon after.
Questions and answers
What is an easy seahorse painting for a beginner?
Easy first seahorses, under More filters, holds 21. Black seahorse silhouette against a pale green circle is one flat shape, and Seahorse striped ring by ring in the order of a rainbow is stripes.
What color should a seahorse be?
Your choice. Seahorses can change color to blend in with their surroundings, so no single color is the right one. Seahorse changing color: half coral pink, half weed green paints the change itself.
Which seahorse painting ideas suit children?
The flat ones. Seahorse stencil sponged in three blues needs a sponge and a paper cutout, and White seahorse left unpainted in a wash of blue is one wash around a shape.
Why does a seahorse curl its tail around things?
Seahorses are poor swimmers, so they rest with the tail wound around something fixed. Many canvases here give the seahorse a stem, a coral branch, a rope or a chain to hold.