In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to create a dog painted rock.
Dog Painted Rock Inspiration – A Dog Named Cow
Pets are very special creatures. They come into our lives, depend on us, and love us unconditionally. I was fortunate to have a wonderful dog named Cow.
She came with that name. I adopted Cow, a Pembroke Welch Corgi at age 4. Cow’s former owner said that she did not have time for her and put her up for adoption. I brought her home to our four children. My husband and I had decided that the older two were ready for the responsibility of a dog. At the time, they were 13 and 7.
Cow was laid back and fit right into our household. I bonded with her quickly and she eventually became “my dog”. Cow loved to go for car rides so she went almost everywhere with me. She was so well-behaved that I did not need a leash to take her outside. She would just follow me wherever I went.
Sadly, after ten years together, Cow passed away. We filled the room at the veterinarian’s office. Each of us took turns petting her and saying our goodbyes.ontent goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.
As you can tell, she loved hats 
.
My husband is working on a memorial rock for her. I hope to share that with you someday when it is finished. I imagine that it will take him a while to complete. In the meantime, I decided to make a pocket-sized memorial that could go with me wherever I went. In reality, you could paint any kind of dog on a rock, but I am going to share with you how to draw and paint a Corgi.
Supply List for your Dog Painted Rock
- Smooth rock, size dependent on project
- Acrylic paint, I used vanilla and a light coffee color
- Acrylic paint markers, I used black, pink and light blue
- Acrylic sealer, spray on or brush on
- Paintbrushes – small flat-tipped brush and the finest round pointed brush I had
- Other supplies: table cloth, paper plate, cup of water, pencil
Designing Inspiration for your Dog Painted Rock
The links that I have below will be for painting different types of dogs on rocks. Sarah at Ruffles and Rain Boots gives us a cute step-by-step tutorial.
Dog Rock Painting Tutorial – Easy, Step-by-Step Dog (rufflesandrainboots.com)
Danielle’s place has some fun examples of painting a dog on a rock that are appropriate for any age or skill level.
Nature Crafts (daniellesplace.com)
This example from I Heart Crafty Things is probably the most similar to the drawing that I do of a Corgi.
Corgi Drawing – How To Draw A Corgi Step By Step (iheartcraftythings.com)
Dog Painted Rock – Choosing a Rock / Priming and Base Coat
Choosing your Rock
Rocks are everywhere. But not all rocks are ideal for painting. You can go on a stroll through your neighborhood or park and pick up a few rocks. However, I have found that most of those can be too small or not have much of a flat surface. Purchasing rocks is also an option. You can find them at craft stores, home improvement stores, landscaping companies, or even order them online.
Priming your Rock
Priming the rock first is an important step in the process. Rocks are naturally porous and can sometimes be slick. They can also have an uneven tone. Painting a few base coats before starting on your design can help your rock look better. This step also helps the other layers of paint stick to the rock better. Here is some more information on priming rocks if you would like to read further.
How to prepare rocks for rock painting
Base Coat for your Dog Rock
I used some vanilla-colored paint from Folk Art over the surface of my rock. I like using Folk Art brand, I find that it dries quickly and leaves fewer brush streaks than some others. This color will also show through as the white places of my Corgi. What kind of acrylic paint do you like to use when painting rocks?
In total, I applied three coats of paint for the base coat. Allow each coat to dry completely before moving on.
Dog Painted Rock – Drawing the Dog
I practiced drawing my Corgi several times before trying on my rock. Use a pencil and a light hand so you can make corrections.
Here is my finished practice drawing. I like to use lined paper for practice. It helps to train your hand to make symmetrical shapes. Then when you go to draw on the rock you can rely a little more on muscle memory.
To start the dog drawing on my rock, I began with the face. I drew two oval eyes, a half-circle nose, curved lines for the mouth, a long oval for the tongue and marked off the end of the dog’s chin.
Then, I added more detail to the head. I outlined the head shape, making it pretty irregular in shape to represent the fluff of the dog. The ears on a Corgi point up, so I extended triangle shapes from the eye level.
For the body, I extended down the head fluff into the neck and chest. I added the legs and marked off where the feet would be.
Dog Painted Rock – Painting the Dog
This particular dog will only need a couple of colors to complete. I wanted a light tan for the body and head. I would normally use a paint marker, but I was not finding the color I wanted in my collection. I found this shade from Folk Art called Café Au Laut. Using the smallest brush I could find, I painted the top of the head, the back and the tops of the legs. The white parts of the Corgi will remain the vanilla background color.
Using a pink paint marker I filled in the tongue and the insides of the ears.
Then I switched to a black paint marker and filled in the eyes and nose.
Sticking with the black paint marker I outlined the dog.
For added depth, I outlined the outside of the entire dog again with a thin line of light blue. This dog is too cute!
Dog Painted Rock – Sealing the Rock
I used a spray acrylic sealer from ModPodge to seal the dog rock. I made sure to do this step outside. Spray sealer can give off some strong fumes and you don’t want that to linger inside the house. I set the rock on a protective surface so I didn’t get the sealer everywhere. Using a paper plate or plastic table cloth works perfectly for this step. I sprayed a light coat of sealer on the surface and let it dry completely. Be sure to follow the package instructions on your can of sealer.
Top Take-Aways for Painting a Dog on a Rock
- Make yourself a great pet with zero responsibility
- Practicing on lined paper will help develop muscle memory to aid in drawing
- Painting a dog on a rock can be a great memorial for a past pet or a gift for someone who has.
Paint a memory!