Bunnies, Easter Eggs, Wildflowers, oh my! In today’s tutorial you’ll get into the Easter vibe and learn how to paint a cute Easter bunny with some decorated easter eggs ready to deliver to some lucky recipients.
And if think you can’t paint this one- I’m here to remind you, yes you can! This beginner friendly, step by step instructions will guide you through the entire painting, and you’ll finish feeling like Frieda Kahlo!
I’m all about easy paintings that you can feel amazing about!
Let’s hop to it!
How to Paint a Bunny
Painting a bunny might seem intimidating ( I know I was), but when you break it down into simple steps (and use a stencil!) it takes something complicated, like a portrait or animal, into a completely do-able project.
I feel like when you’re focusing on both drawing and painting at the same time, it makes things so much more stressful. Focusing on JUST the painting part will make this project so much more enjoyable. For this reason I like to trace the stencil design of the bunny to my canvas first.
1. Trace Bunny with Stencil
2. Dark Brown Layer
Once I’ve traced my bunny on your canvas, I paint the top part of the bunny’s head and bunnies body with dark brown paint
Pro Tip: If you only have medium brown paint on hand, mix in some black and boom… you’ve got dark brown (and saved yourself a trip to the craft store).
3. Medium Brown Layer
Paint the bottom part of the bunny’s face with a medium brown. To get a medium brown mix in a bit if white paint into the dark brown to lighten it up. Also, paint around my bunny’s eyes and nose, so that it’s easier to paint them in the next steps.
4. Bunny Ears
Now we’re going to paint the inside of the bunny’s ears. With your medium round brush and some pink paint add light and wispy strokes in the middle of both ears. While the paint it still wet (and without cleaning off your brush) pick up some white and add it to the top and bottom of the ears, while blending it a bit with the pink in the middle.
5. Fur Strokes on Top of Face
Take a small detailing brush and add “fur” strokes to the top part of the bunny’s head with the medium brown paint. To make “fur” strokes you want to sweep your paint brush in quick, light, upward strokes. You also want to make sure you don’t cover all that dark brown below. The dark brown still peaking out from the layer below will give your bunny a beautiful dimension.
6. Fur Strokes On Bottom of Face
Now mix a light brown by mixing even more white into the medium brown mixture. There should be enough contrast between the light brown and medium brown ( add more white if there’s not enough contrast).
Using the same detailing brush and “fur strokes” (light, upward, and quick) paint the bunnies cheeks, chin, and around the eyes. The orientation of the strokes are different here: the cheeks have a aainbow/arch shape at the top, then a boat shape at the bottom (picture below).
The same thing for the chin. Around the bunny’s eye, you want to point the strokes up and outward (away from the centre of the bunny). Also, loosen up here, and paint all the strokes outside the shape of the bunny. This will make your bunny look fluffy.
7. Fur Strokes on Body
Paint “fur strokes” on the body of the bunny using medium brown paint. In terms of strokes: paint them rounded towards the centre of the bunny. Keep your strokes light, quick, & downwards to make it look like fur. Also paint your strokes outside the lines 🙂
8. Bunny Nose
Use pink paint to fill in the cute bunny nose.
9. Bunny’s Eyes
Take some pure black paint and fill in both of the bunny’s eyes
10. Bunny’s whiskers, eyes, mouth
With the same black paint paint in the details of the bunny’s nostrils and mouth. Also add in some dots on either side of the mouth (this is where the whiskers will start from). I like using my smallest detailing brush here.
11. Eyes Details
Bring your bunny’s eyes to life by adding 2 twinkling dots to each eye with white paint. Also add a thin white line around the inner side of the bunnies eyes (don’t go al the way around the oval- just the side that’s closest to the centre of the bunny). Finish off your bunny’s eye details with some fun eyelashes using black paint).I like using my smallest detailing brush here.
Pro Tip: Use the back of your paintbrush handle as a dotting tool
12. Whiskers
Finish of your bunny with some whiskers. Use your smallest detailing brush and some thinned down black paint to make it easy to get fine lines.
Pro Tip: Start at the dot and wisp outwards. Your whiskers will look more natural if you make your strokes really quick and wispy.
Mix a mint green color with dark green, yellow and double the white. Keep adding white until you have a nice minty green you like. Use a 1/2" wide brush and apply this paint to the bottom of canvas in horizontal back and forth strokes. When the paint runs out on your brush, pick up some pure white and add that on the canvas in the same horizontal back and forth strokes. Do this all the way to the top. In the end, your canvas will be darker at the bottom and lightest at the top.
Trace your bunny stencil with carbon paper
Follow the steps above to paint your fluffy easter bunny
Once your Easter Bunny is complete paint the wildflower stems and foliage at the bottom using 2 different greens (a dark green and a medium green). Tip: You can make your dark green lighter by simply adding in some white. Or you can make your medium green darker by adding in some black. Wait until paint is dry
Use your choice of colorful paints and fill in some simple wilflower shapes. Have fun here, and create some easy flower shapes- no need to get fancy 🙂
Paint all 3 Easter eggs with a color of your choice. Wait for them to dry.
Decorate your easter Eggs with whichever pattern that brings you joy.
Did you make this project?
Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest
Easter Bunny FREE Stencil
You can right click on the image below and save it to your device. Print the picture on any printer. You can then transfer it to your canvas with carbon paper. For more detailed instructions please read here.
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