How to Paint a Snowman

We’re back with our acrylic painting tutorial for beginners – this time we’ll show you how to paint a snowman.

This easy to follow step by step drawing tutorial will teach you how to draw a beautiful and vibrant picture in no time.

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Canvas painting is a very popular pastime during the holidays and snowmen are one of the most popular things painted.

They are festive, friendly, colorful and easy to draw, and everyone can create their own version because no two are exactly alike anyway.

This canvas painting is designed to be quite simple to add to a scarf, so you can easily customize and add your personal touch by choosing your own color combinations.

I will guide you from start to finish and you can change any details on the snowman you want.

The buttons added at the end are just to change the standard paint project but they can also be easily ignored.

You can also do it multiple times with friends and turn it into a fun party!

How to draw a snowman

What you need:

• 16” x 20” canvas
• pencil and eraser
• large sheet to sketch out the circle for his head – about 10 to 12” is good
• acrylic paint in your choice of colors – I used white, black, dark gray, orange, dark turquoise, and red
• palette or paper plate and brushes ranging in size from small for detail painting to about 1 inch
• paper towels and disposable tablecloths or cloth covers
• easel if desired
• glass of water
• hot glue gun and various sizes and shades of white/light blue buttons

Step by step instructions

You want to start by sketching out the shape of the snowman, starting at the head.

I use a clear glass because it allows you to easily see where you’re painting, but any large round glass will do.

Place the plate on the far left side of the fabric, just above the bottom, with the edge of the plate slightly overhanging.

Then redraw the circle.

Next, sketch out the top of the circle to make the brim, then add the hat strap and sketch a line from there to the top of the fabric to make the crown of the hat.

The hat should also overlap and extend out of the fabric to the side and out past the top.

You can then erase the overlapping line where the hat meets the head if that helps you stay on track with where to paint later.

Now, let’s add more details to the scarf and face.

You can use a ruler to cut the carrot if you want it straight, but carrots are usually not very straight so don’t stretch that part too much.

The scarf should drape along the lower part of the face and possibly over the chin area, looking like it is blowing in the wind and swaying back and forth along the other side of the fabric.

You can choose to paint it with stripes or paint it a solid color and add a pattern.

There are so many options for scarves and this is where your personality comes into play so choose a color that you love.

The face should have cute eyes, I like to draw the eyes like inverted commas, but circles are fine too.

If you plan on completing the entire painting in one go or with a group, you will want to have your glue gun and buttons ready, although this is the final step, it will come very quickly and since everyone paints at different speeds, it is best to remember to plug in the glue gun as you complete the entire scarf and add the final details to warm it up.

Set up a station for that if you have room.

Now let’s start drawing!

First, use a thin round brush and draw an outline around the snowman using the background color.

I always dip my brushes in water when I first use them to soften them and help the paint flow better.

Blot excess water onto a paper towel and dip into the base color.

mine is black

Paint around the hat, face, nose and scarf on both sides…

…and make sure to extend those lines around all the edges of the fabric.

Then use a larger brush to paint the entire background thoroughly.

Depending on the color you choose, you may need to apply a second coat, but let the first coat dry a bit so you can see where you actually need to paint.

You may only need to fill in a few fields.

Next, repeat the steps of sketching on the hat in the color of your choice and sketch around the brim, keeping it white for now, then paint the top half and bottom brim of the hat.

Now you can go back and finish the base coat.

Check all edges and if you are using an easel, you can turn the easel upside down for a few minutes to paint if needed.

Let it dry for a few minutes. It’s always nice to get up and take a break anyway, so this is a good time to do it.

Select your button now if you want.

Once the background is fairly dry, go ahead and paint his face white. It may seem silly to paint white when the canvas is white, but it gives the whole painting the same finish and helps hide the pencil lines.

You can leave the carrot unpainted so that when painted, the entire carrot will have an even coat of paint.

Paint right over the pencil lines you drew for the face, they should still show through a little, and if not you can always repaint, but I had no trouble seeing my face. Just a quick coat.

While waiting for the white to dry, paint the brim of the hat first, then the carrot.

Your next step is to start knitting the scarf.

I recommend using one of the colors you plan on using on your scarf for consistency, but that’s completely up to you.

Painting the carrots first can cause the orange to bleed into the white, I learned this the hard way, so it’s best to paint the brim first.

If you use the same color as the hat band for a section, do that first since you’ve already used that color, then switch to another color if you want stripes.

If you are using a solid color, paint the entire thing, let it dry, then apply a second coat if needed and let it dry.

While waiting for the towel to dry between coats of paint, you can apply your makeup.

Use a fairly small brush and outline the eye shape first, then fill in with a slightly larger brush.

This keeps you from increasing the size beyond your intended size.

For the mouth, first draw a thin line, then go back and make it thicker if you like. I also added small circles at each end of the smile.

Continue working on the towel until you get the finished coat.

You don’t want any of the fabric to show through or any brush strokes, so if you still have some, keep working. Add any patterns you like if you used a solid color.

Now, let’s add the finishing details. (This is a good time to whip out your hot glue gun if you haven’t already!) Using a very thin paintbrush, add some light outlines to the hat and scarf.

On a scarf, sketch out stripes or along the edges, but don’t make the lines completely continuous. This helps give the scarf the appearance of floating and movement.

Then add some movement lines here and there and some lines that look like folds of fabric, small curves are best. With the hat, the color will depend on the color of the hat. If your hat is black, use gray or white. If the hat is gray, use black.

Add some semicircles to the curve of the brim and the edge of the band to give the hat a circular shape.

Additionally, a few light strokes along the top edge also work.

This makes the hat look less flat in the picture.

Also, add white highlights to the eyes. Draw a small half circle or dot in the same spot for each eye. This brings the cat to life.

The final step in the painting process is the sky. I added some sparkling stars and some dots to the background with a small brush…

…and use the back of the brush handle to create dots.

Then to add the splash stars, take one of the larger brushes and dip it in water. Then take a small amount of white paint and mix it well on the plate.

You want a thin layer of white that is wet but not too wet.

Lay the brush flat on the table, then hold the brush above the canvas and tap lightly with another brush of the same size.

Move across the canvas and continue until you get the desired amount of paint splatter. The higher you hold the brush, the lighter and smaller the dots will be. If it doesn’t work, it’s probably too dry, and if it’s too much or too large, it’s probably too wet.

Once you have the amount you like, you’re done! You can sign the painting if you like, then let it dry for a few minutes.

The final step in this process is to glue on the buttons. How many buttons you use is up to you. I tried using different shades of white and a few sizes.

First, place the buttons on, no need to glue them to fit, as you may need to play with them a little first. Carefully place a drop of glue on the fabric where you want each button to go and press down gently.

Leave the fabric for a minute and the glue will dry. Once dry, you can pull any strands of glue off.

Now you’re done!

Enjoy your snowman and have a wonderful holiday season!

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Categories: Activities for Kids
Source: fetb.edu.vn