How to paint watercolour penguins for beginners – Easy Step‑by‑Step Guide
Penguins are one of the most beginner‑friendly animals to paint in watercolour. Their simple shapes, limited colour palette, and cuteness make them perfect for practising wet on wet and dry brush techniques. In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through painting your own fun penguins, no advanced skills required.
What you’ll need
- Watercolour paper
- Watercolour paint palette
- Round brushes – medium (size 6–8) and fine detail (size 2–3)
- Water jar for rinsing
- Washi tape (optional for clean borders)
Step‑by‑step tutorial
Wet your penguins
Paint with clean water simple ovals for the bodies and smaller ovals for the heads. You can also try a figure of 8 shape, making sure to fill in the inside
Pro Tip: Tilt the head or vary the angle for extra personality.
Mix your base colours
On your palette, prepare a light grey wash and a darker grey ready for heads and wings.
Paint the body
With your medium brush, paint the penguin in light grey, you can leave some areas white such as the belly or the face. While still damp, drop in darker grey along edges where the wings would be and on the top of the head. Don’t worry about being perfect these loose shapes with find their personality when you add the details.
Details – Beak, Feet & Eyes
Leave your painted penguins to dry before adding the details. Simple lines for the wing, dashes for two feet and a dah for the beak. If it looks like the penguin is facing your way, add a couple of dots or one dot for an eye. See what the shape suggests to you as to the direction they are facing.
Finishing Touches
Add some blue to you light grey wash and paint some shadows in on the white page. Leave most of the page white to suggest snow.
Beginner Tips
- Work wet‑on‑wet for soft blends, wet‑on‑dry for sharper edges.
- Don’t overwork the paint, let the water do the blending.
- Paint several mini penguins on one sheet to loosen up.
