Winnie the Pooh Painted Rocks

Some images are just so iconic, they are difficult to replicate. I was in the middle of planning a Winnie the Pooh-themed baby shower when I decided to paint some character rocks to decorate the tables. Now I like to draw, but I am not the best at creating some of those famous characters. I feel like you have to get the drawing just right so it looks like the character you are working with.

I have struggled with many character drawings. There is little room for interpretation with the sketching. But I am a believer that art is for everyone, so I came up with a simple solution. I am going to show you how to use carbon paper to create great character sketches.

For this project, I created four rock character faces, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. The technique was the same for all of the rocks, so we will start with how to use the carbon paper and then I will show you the painting for each one. This project will also incorporate our 4 Ps approach to rock painting: prime, pencil, paint and protect. For more information on the 4 Ps approach, please see my beginner’s guide to rock painting here: How to Paint Rocks – A Beginner’s Rock Painting Guide

Prime: I wanted to start with a plain, even background on all of the rocks. I used Folk Art acrylic paint in Vintage White and applied two coats of paint to the face of each rock. Be sure to allow for dry time in between coats. Priming your rock will give you a clean slate for your project. Priming will even out the color of the rock, fill in small holes, and provide a base coat so the rest of the paint will stick better to your rock. For more information on priming, please visit my article here: How to Prepare Rocks for Painting

Pencil: Normally, we would just put our pencils down on the rock and sketch out the design we want to paint. But for my Winnie the Pooh Painted Rocks, we are going to use carbon paper to make the best rendition we can of this famous character. I purchased an inexpensive pack of carbon paper on Amazon. Then I went online and found simple drawings of my character’s faces. I copied and pasted the images into a word document and resized them to the size of my rocks. Then I printed the images.

Using the Carbon Paper to Draw your Character 

First, you place the carbon paper on top of the rock. There are two sides to the paper, a shiny side and a dull side. You want to put the shiny side down. Then, I cut out the character’s face and placed it on top of the carbon paper.

I went over the entire drawing with a pencil You will want to push down a bit, but you don’t have to push very hard. Having a sharp pencil or fine-tipped mechanical can help with detailed subjects.

Once you are confident you have gone over the entire drawing, you can lift up the carbon paper and admire your work. Here’s a look at each of the designs after I used the carbon paper.

Paint: I used Posca Paint Markers for Each of the projects. Here’s a post on how I use paint pens with my rock painting: Paint Pens for Rock Painting

Let’s take a quick look at the colors I used for each of my Winnie the Pooh Painted Rocks.

Winnie the Pooh

I colored the face with a peachy orange. Then I filled in his other areas with red. Finally, I used back to outline the entire design.

Tigger

The base of Tigger’s face is orange. I added yellow in the area around his mouth and inside the ears. Then I used pink on his nose and outlined the entire design with black.

Piglet

I used two shades of pink on Piglet; a lighter shade for the face and a darker shade for the ears and nose. I used red on Piglet’s neck and then used black for outlining.

Eeyore

The top of Eeyore’s head is blue. I used peach around his mouth and pink for the inside of the ears. Then I colored his hair black and outlined the entire drawing.

Protect: Sealing your rock is a very important step that should not be skipped. Using a sealer will protect your design and help it last for a long time.

There are many different options for sealing, from acrylic sprays, paint-on sealers and even resin. I like using a clear, spray-on acrylic sealer. The one I use most is from Mod Podge, but there are many different brands and finishes. Be sure to read the instructions on your sealer so you are getting the best results. I recommend using spray sealers outside. They can get fumy so you need good ventilation while using them.

Here is some more information on sealing your rocks: How to Seal Painted Rocks 

I think they turned out great and will make a cute addition to the baby shower décor. I can’t wait to try this technique with other character designs.

What project will you tackle first?

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”
Winnie the Pooh

Enjoy,

Corie