If you’ve never painted a simple snowman (snow person or snow woman!) before, it’s a DIY that’s actually very fast and easy to do, and they end up looking so cute and even kids and beginners can paint them! We are going to paint this on a 6 x 6 canvas. We also have a free snowman printable below, where you can cut them out and use a low tack adhesive to add them to your work for just the season. You can also use this easy snowman painting tutorial to create one of a kind works of art on your own painted backgrounds such as painting your own landscape on canvas board. If you decide you’re going to paint on old artwork, make sure it’s not valuable or something you might want to display later without a snowman in it. If you are going to use this project for a paint party, it’s easier and more economical to use blank canvas boards than canvas. There is a quick instruction video along with this post if you need more visual clues.
Supplies you will need to paint an easy snowman
-Large flat paintbrush
-Small flat paintbrush,
-Liner brush
-White acrylic craft paint such as Titanium White
-Orange acrylic paint
-Black acrylic paint
-Brown acrylic craft paint such as burnt umber
-Red or blue acrylic craft paint for scarf color
Paint A Backdrop or Use a Vintage Painting or Print
We painted a night sky background by painting dark blue paint on the upper 2/3 of the canvas board and white with a little gray paint on the lower 1/3. This will give it some dimension.
Paint the Snowman Base to the Canvas Surface
You can use the template below to transfer the snowman shape to your artwork, or you can just freewheel it by painting a large circle. Start by painting three circle stacked on top of each other make the largest circle at the bottom and the smallest circle at the top. Let that dry. It may need a second or third coat of paint. Let dry between layers.
Brighten the Background with Easy Snowflakes
Use the back of the brush dipped in white paint to create dots of “snowflakes” on the canvas while the snowman base layer dries to paint a snowy night. These don’t have to look perfect at all! In fact, different sizes makes it way more interesting.
Paint the Snowman Faces with Eyes and Details
Once your initial snowman is painted, you’re ready to create his or her personality! Use the back of the brush handle to dip into black craft paint and create two of the snowman’s eyes and a mouth. On one of my snowman, I decided to just paint a smile with the bristle end of the brush, but you can always use the back end of the brush just to create little dots for lumps of coal in the smile. Also use the back of the brush to create three “lumps of cold down the front.”
Paint on the Snowman Arms
Use a thin liner, brush and brown paint to draw stick arms. This is an easy as drawing a straight line straight out of the body and then a little Y angle at the end of the stick to finish the arm. You can add a little white paint along the top when it dries if you want to make it look like there’s snow resting on the arms.
Add the Painted Carrot Nose
Once the eyes and mouth are painted in, use a bit of orange to create a small sideways triangle to make a carrot nose. You can also do a black dot for the lump of coal nose.
Embellish and Add Small Details
Add a hat and scarf with a small brush. We painted a black top hat and a red scarf, but you can do any color you like. We also used some white paint to make it stripey.
Once your adorable snowmen are painted, you’re ready to display your artwork! Below is a snowman we painted separately, cut out and then taped onto a vintage painting with low tack double sided tape. You can also grab this as a printable for personal use to decorate with!
Below you can also grab the free printable for personal use to either use as a template or print and cut out to add to your winter and Christmas decor with a variety of different snow people!
We hope you loved this acrylic painting tutorial for making snowman art! If you loved this painting tutorial and are looking for ideas, try painting this winter scene tutorial-link opens in a new window.
