120 Easy Rock Painting Ideas to Inspire You to Start Making Painted Rocks

The rock painting movement is popular with experienced and beginning painters alike! 

Once you discover rock painting, the first thing you will start looking for is rock painting ideas.

Soon, painted rocks will take over your Pinterest feed and Google search history as you seek more and more rock painting pictures and rock painting ideas.

If you are not crafty or don't have experience painting, you might be overwhelmed with lots of beautiful rock painting ideas that you have no idea how to execute. 

You don't have to worry, though! Lots of great artists and craft bloggers have put together rock painting tutorials that are easy to follow -- even if you don't have a lot of experience painting!

Here are more than 100 of my favorite easy rock painting ideas. These easy rock designs are simple enough that a beginner can follow along and still have a beautiful rock when they're done! 

Don't forget to pin this post to use later as well!

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Throughout this post I link to different rock painting tutorials, books and rock painting supplies. Some of the links below are affiliate links and if you make a purchase after clicking, I may get a small commission at no extra cost to you.

More than 100 Easy Rock Painting Ideas for Beginners

Happy Rocks from Taylor Made Creates

Getting started with simple rock painting designs like hearts are the perfect way to start painting rocks. 

This dead simple design is the epitome of easy painted rocks even for the most novice among us!

Ladybug Painted Rock from I Love Painted Rocks

Who doesn't love ladybugs? This simple ladybug rock painting idea is easy to do and oh-so-cute!

Natalie Shaw walks you through how to paint a ladybug rock step-by-step. You'll end up with an adorable ladybug painted rock that you might just want to keep for yourself.

Rainbow Painted Rocks from I Love Painted Rocks

This simple rock painting idea is perfect for rocks that cracked in half or are arch shaped.

Natalie from I Love Painted Rocks shows you how to paint this easy rock painting idea for beginners or kids in the post.

Rainbow Mandala Painted Rocks

These rainbow mandala rocks are super cool but they have a secret! 

Instead of needing extreme artistic talent to paint a fancy mandala, you just paint the rainbow ombre with acrylic paint and then apply the pre-painted mandala design.

It's like magic! Click over to the post to see the tutorial and even watch a video of it in action.

Love Rocks from Color Made Happy

Color Made Happy has all kinds of rock painting tutorials. She even has a rock painting book out!

She has lots of easy to follow rock painting tutorials and simple rock painting design ideas.

Easy Marbled Rocks from Creative Green Living

These marbled rocks are so cool!  Making marbled rocks is a simple rock painting technique for beginners that looks really cool when you are done. 

This rock painting idea is hard to screw up and even kids will want to make these fancy rocks!

Rainbow Paint Poured Rocks from Creatively Beth

I love the look of these two-tone paint poured rocks in rainbow colors! 

This rock painting idea is not a hard technique to master and grouping rocks together like this in a rainbow makes an extra big impact. 

How to Make a Robot Dog Painted Rock with Stamps

I'm a sucker for novel rock painting techniques. When I met the stamp company, Heffy Doodle, at an industry trade show in January of 2019 I was able to take home some sample stamps with me.

I used those sample stamps to make this cool robot dog painted rock. You can see the full-length tutorial video for how to create this rock on the I Love Painted Rocks YouTube channel.

This rock stamping technique is easy to do and perfect if you don't feel like you know how to draw.

Hedgehog Rocks from Easy Peasy and Fun

It feels empowering for people who aren't normally crafty to make rocks that actually look like something. These adorable hedgehogs are the perfect simple rock art idea for newbies.

Stamped Word Painted Rocks from Michelle's Party Plan It

I love this dead-simple approach to painted rocks that looks so cool! Even if you worry you don't have hand lettering, drawing or painting skills, you can still make cool painted stones with the help of stamps! Check out Michelle's tutorial at the link above.

If you love the idea of stamped stones, I also have my own stamping tutorial that will teach you how to use clear sheet word stamps of rocks. 

This is a different look and a slightly different technique but still lets you use stamps to make up for any lack of hand-lettering or painting talent you might otherwise wish you had.

Adorable and Easy Blue Birdies from Sweet Sugar Belle

Technically these bluebirds are candies but they would make great simple rocks! 

Just base coat a rock with blue paint and add eyes and a beak with a Posca pen or FolkArt 3D paint. Easy and cute!

Sparkley Glitter Kindness Rock from 100 Directions

My good friend and doodle artist, Jen Goode made this cute stone with my favorite glitter paint for rocks called Glitterific.

If you made a rock like Jen's, just make sure you seal it so the glitter doesn't become litter! I have detailed instructions on how to seal glitter painted rocks here!

Magical Unicorn Painted Rock Idea from I Love Painted Rocks

This adorable and magical unicorn rock painting idea is easy to pull off with the step-by-step video tutorial. Click the link to check it out

"Hope" "Peace" and "Love" Sharpie painted rocks from Club Chica Circle"

This particular blog post on Club Chica Circle talks about using sharpies on rocks. Check it out here.

If you decide you want to use Sharpies on painted rocks, there are some tips and tricks you need to learn to make sure you don't ruin your project. Read my article: Can You Use Sharpies on Painted Rocks? for more info!

Painted Rock House (AKA Fairy Door)

Painted rocks that resemble houses being painted to look like tiny houses are so cool! These would be perfect for using to set up a painted rock fairy door in your area.

Easy Galaxy Rocks from Val Event Gal

Galaxy painting is all the rage. Turn some rocks into pretty cosmic pieces of art! This is an easy rock art idea that kids and beginners alike will enjoy. The easy rock painting tutorial shows you how to make them.

"Spread Love"  Painted Rocks from Paint Happy Rocks

This simple rock painting idea is easy to pull off. After a base coat, you paint a heart shape and use some stamps to add works. 

Simple Mermaid Stones from @NaturePlusPigment

Christine Brand (@NaturePlusPigment on Instagram) created these simple but really cool mermaid scale rocks to giveaway to customers who purchased things from her Etsy shop.

(please note this photo and promotion are from 2016 - I have not idea if she is still giving away mermaid stone to customers!)

3D Jawa Star Wars Rocks

One of the things I love about these cool jawa painted rocks from Crafts by Amanda is that they are 3D and paint the rocks so that they become mini jawas instead of just painted designs onto rocks in 2D.

Love Star Wars? I have lots more Star Wars Painted Rock Ideas!

Ladybug Painted Rocks from Crafts By Amanda

These ladybug rocks are the perfect addition to any fairy garden. They are a simple and easy rock painting idea perfect for beginners - even if you have zero painting experience.

Donut Painted Rocks

If donuts are your obsession, you will love these sweet rock painting ideas that resemble an assortment of tasty desserts. Uploaded to Pinterest by Ana Vega.

Silver Glitter Galaxy Butterfly Painted Rock

This purple and sparkly painted rock is a fun twist on the galaxy painting technique. The stars, in this case, are created by a special glitter paint called Glitterific. 

Just make sure if you use glitter paint on rocks, that you use the right technique for sealing glitter to rocks so that your glitter doesn't become litter.

The best part about this rock design is that you don't even need to know how to draw or paint designs - the metallic silver butterfly is actually a temporary tattoo!

Pop over to the butterfly rock painting tutorial to get all the details.

Tic Tac Toe Rocks from Color Made Happy

Don't just paint your rocks - use them, too! Painting X's and O's on stones is as easy as is gets. Use a garden paver to make a board to play on.

Even though this idea looks simple enough, be sure to pop over to the Color Made Happy website anyway. Sam has lots of great rock painting pictures and tutorials.

She has even more rock painting designs and easy rock painting ideas in her book: Rock Art Handbook

Domino Rocks from Paging Super Mom

Not very crafty? Anyone can draw lines and dots with a paint pen! 

This easy rock painting idea lets you turn rocks into a functional game of Dominoes. This may be the simplest of all rock painting ideas.

Succulent Inspired Dot Mandala Prayer Stone by hisOpal on Etsy

This beautiful dot mandala from hisOpal on Etsy is an inspirational way to approach dot art. If you love this beautiful painted stone.

How to Paint Flowers on Rocks
These rose-inspired flowers remind me of a cool tapestry. They look fancy but are actually simple to paint with the tutorial video! Check out the flower painted rock tutorial here.

Graphic Sunset Beginner Rock Painting Idea from Rock Painting 101

As their name implies, Rock Painting 101 has lots of simple rock painting ideas for beginning rock painters. 

They'll take you through their easy sunset rock painting tutorial step by step.

A collection of happy rock cacti  from @cara.dura.designs on Instagram

I love how unique each little face is! I'm especially a fan of the ones with flowers for eyes and adorable little mustaches.

These simple cactus rocks would be easy for beginner to make - just paint a base coat or green and add the face and details you love.

Tropical Vibe Painted Rocks

Even though these rocks look fancy, they have a secret - they were made with stencils! Isn't that cool? Check out the rock painting tutorial on DoodleCraft to learn how Natalie made them.

Unicorn Painted Rock

If you love unicorns, you will love this magical rock painting tutorial. Like the rock painting idea above, this unicorn rock painting idea uses a a stencil - which means that anyone can get an awesome painted rock like this one!

How to Paint a Pumpkin Rock from I Love Painted Rocks

This adorable pumpkin painted rock is perfect for both fall and Thanksgiving. The step by step instructions makes this rock painting craft easy and fun to make for both adults and kids.

Puffy paint painted rocks from I Love to Create

Using puffy paint on rocks is a fun technique to make you feel like you leveled up in rock painting
(get the puffy paints used to make these rocks on Amazon here)

Colorful Geometric Shapes by Alisa Burke

Worried that whatever you try to paint won't look quite right? Then the easiest solution is the paint nothing at all! 

These easy rock painting patterns are just abstract color block, stripes and shapes. They look cool and are simple enough for the perfect beginner to pull off.

Easy Turkey Painted Rock from I Love Painted Rocks

This simple and adorable turkey craft is an easy rock painting craft kids or adults can both make. I think these would be adorable with names written underneath them and used as place markers on a Thanksgiving table!

Want more great Thanksgiving rock painting ideas? Check out 22 Thanksgiving Rock Painting Ideas You Will Love!

Magical Unicorn Painted Stones from Happy Go Lucky Blog

Kara from Happy Go Lucky has a secret to getting perfect unicorns on her painted rocks - even if you have absolutely zero drawing skills! Click the link to check it out and then come back to read my list of the best tattoos to use on painted rocks.

Dandelion Wish Kindness Rock from Paint Happy Rocks

When you are new to painting rocks doing a detailed flower like this can feel overwhelming. Lucky for you, expert rock painter Adrianne breaks it down step-by-step to make it super easy.

Like her tutorial? She's also the author of Rock Painting for Beginners which is one of my all-time favorite rock painting books. Check it out on Amazon:

Simple Sayings Rocks from Mod Podge Rocks

Want encouraging kindness rock ideas? Check out Mod Podge Rocks and her great collection of simple sayings for rocks.

She has lots of easy rock painting designs and ideas for what to paint on kindness rocks to get you started with easy rock art ideas.

Kindness Rocks with SVG Cut Outa from Burton Avenue

This rock painting idea is perfect for people who are already crafty (maybe you own a Cricut or Silhouette) but are new to rock painting.

To make these painted stones, Angie cut inspirational messages out of vinyl on her craft cutter and used them to create different looks. Click the link above to see how she did it!

Glow in the Dark Rocks from Dukes and Duchesses

These easy rock painting ideas from Dukes and Duchesses are easy for anyone to paint. The simple rock painting patterns have the added bonus of glowing in the dark. 

Even if your rocks don't look like a painting masterpiece, that's ok! Glow-in-the-dark paint makes any rock painting idea a cool rock painting idea!

Clever Dollar Store Stone Painting Hacks from Mad in Crafts

Jessica from Mad in Crafts went a little crazy at the Dollar Store and came up with some really cool ways that you can use Dollar Store materials to paint rocks in different ways!

The rock above is painted using a tool I bet has never occurred to you but once you know about it, I can bet you'll be dying to try it yourself! Check out the post on her website for all the details

Easy Woodland Creatures from Deco Art

Looking for some easy animals designs to paint on rocks? Deco Art will show you how to paint three different woodland creatures: a bear, a fox, and an owl in their easy step-by-step tutorial.

Easy Monster Faces from Easy Peasy and Fun

These adorable monsters are a super cute and simple rock painting idea!

Build a monster face with easy designs to draw like circles, triangles, and squiggles. Even if they turn out silly, goofy or mean, just say that's how it was meant to look!

Pokemon Rocks from Inspiration Made Simple

Pokemon might seem like an adventurous undertaking for any beginning rock painter but these pokemon faces are simple enough that even a beginner can pull them off. 

Pop over to the tutorial and follow along with the rock painting pictures to paint your own Pokemon rock at home.

How to Paint Bright Colored Flowers from Mark Montano

Mark Montano pulls off some pretty impressive DIY projects! 

This one is easy to follow along with so you can see exactly how he makes these pretty, Mexican pottery inspired flowers. He shows you simple rock painting designs that together make an impressive painted rock project!

Dot Painted Rocks from Twitchetts

Using a variety of dotting tools from around your house, Twitchetts shows you how to make simple dot art patterns even beginning rock painters can do.

Rainbow Colored Inspiration Rocks from Mark Montano

Mark Montano is back with another easy rock painting idea for beginners. 

Follow along with him step-by-step as he shows you how to paint this simple plant-inspired design on a rock. Make a whole collection to give away as gifts or keep in a bowl.

Inspirational Words Rocks from Embracing the Lovely

Simple letters and dots make for an easy rock painting idea that anyone can do! 

With simple patterns and shapes like hearts and dots, this easy rock painting project is perfect for kids and novice adults alike.

Thanks for stopping by! For more information how to play the hide and seek rocks game, check out our post on how to get started!

About the Author:

Carissa is a lifelong crafter and mom of two creative boys. 

The owner and lead writer of both I Love Painted Rocks and Creative Green Living, she has won multiple awards for her craft writing including the Craftys Award for the "Best Craft Blogger" category in 2016 and the ShiftCon award for "Best DIY blogger" in 2018. 

Her projects have been featured in magazines like Kids Crafts 1-2-3, Country Sampler Farmhouse Style and more.