10 Simple Cute Easy Paintings for Beginners (With Step-by-Step Tips)

In short: The easiest cute paintings use simple shapes, bright flat colours and small cartoon faces. A smiling sun, a kawaii ice cream, a sleepy panda, a cactus in a pot or a penguin in the snow can each be painted in under an hour with basic watercolours or acrylics, even if you have never painted before.

These ten ideas are for beginners, families and anyone who wants a relaxing hour with a brush. Each one comes with a short step-by-step and a tip that makes the result look cute rather than clumsy. They work as wall art for a child’s room, handmade greeting cards, journal pages or small gifts.

What you need

• Paints: a basic set of watercolours, poster colours or acrylics. Acrylics are bolder and cover mistakes; watercolours are softer and easier to clean.
• Paper or canvas: thick watercolour paper (300 gsm) for watercolours, or a small canvas board for acrylics.
• Brushes: one medium round brush and one fine brush for faces and details.
• Extras: a pencil, an eraser, a jar of water, a palette or old plate, a tissue, and a black and a white marker or gel pen for faces.

Tips before you start

• Sketch lightly in pencil first. Cute shapes are round, so keep corners soft.
• Let each layer dry before painting faces on top, or the colours will run.
• Faces make it cute: small dot eyes set low and wide, a tiny smile and pink cheeks.
• Use a limited palette of three or four colours so the painting looks cheerful, not messy.
• Do not aim for perfect. Slightly wobbly lines are part of the charm.

1. Smiling sun and clouds

The easiest place to start. Two shapes, two colours, and a face that makes everyone smile, which is why it works so well for small children.

1. Paint a yellow circle in the upper half of the page and let it dry.
2. Add short rays around it, or a ring of little triangles.
3. Paint two or three white or pale blue clouds with bumpy edges.
4. Once dry, add dot eyes, a curved smile and pink cheeks to the sun and clouds with a fine brush or marker.

Tip: Rosy cheeks are what make it cute. A dab of pink, slightly blurred with a damp finger, does the job.

2. Kawaii ice cream cone

Kawaii, the Japanese word for “cute”, is all about round shapes, pastel colours and tiny faces. An ice cream cone is the perfect first kawaii subject.

1. Draw a triangle for the cone and paint it light brown; add a criss-cross pattern in darker brown when dry.
2. Stack two or three round scoops in pastel pink, mint and lilac.
3. Add drips at the bottom of each scoop and a cherry on top.
4. Give each scoop small eyes set low and wide apart, plus a tiny mouth.

Tip: Keep the eyes low on the face and far apart. That single choice is what reads as “cute”.

3. Sleepy panda on the moon

A calm, dreamy picture that suits a nursery or bedroom wall, and a nice way to practise soft blending.

1. Blend a dark blue to purple night sky, or leave the paper white for a simpler look.
2. Paint a large pale yellow crescent moon.
3. Draw a round panda curled on the moon: white body, black ears, arms and eye patches.
4. Finish with closed, curved eyes and a scatter of white dots for stars.

Tip: Leave the panda’s white areas as bare paper instead of painting white over blue. The result is cleaner.

4. Rainbow with happy clouds

A favourite with kids, and a gentle introduction to painting smooth curves and colour order.

1. Lightly pencil a few curved arcs.
2. Paint the bands in order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, letting each one dry slightly.
3. Paint a fluffy white cloud at each end of the rainbow.
4. Add faces to the clouds and a few raindrops or stars around them.

Tip: Use a slightly wet brush and work quickly along each arc to avoid streaks.

5. Cute cactus in a pot

Cacti are forgiving: wobbly lines only make them look more charming.

1. Paint a terracotta or bright pot shape at the bottom of the page.
2. Add one tall oval cactus and one or two smaller ones in different greens.
3. Draw short white lines or tiny crosses for spines.
4. Add a pink flower on top, a face on the cactus and a pattern on the pot.

Tip: Try a different pattern on each pot (stripes, dots, zigzags) and paint a little row of them.

6. Cat under a starry night

Silhouettes look impressive but are easy, because the subject is just one flat dark shape against a colourful sky.

1. Sponge or blend a sky in purple, blue and a touch of pink.
2. Paint a large pale moon or leave a circle unpainted.
3. Paint the cat sitting with its back to you in solid black: a round body, a smaller round head, two triangle ears and a curled tail.
4. Flick white paint from an old toothbrush for stars.

Tip: Let the sky dry completely before painting the black cat, or the edges will bleed.

7. Balloon animal with a heart

A cheerful idea for birthday cards and Valentine’s Day, and a simple way to learn highlights.

1. Draw a balloon dog or bunny from connected sausage shapes.
2. Paint it in one bright colour.
3. Add a small white curved stroke on each part to make it look shiny.
4. Paint a red heart nearby, with a string tied to the animal.

Tip: The white highlight is the whole trick. Put it on the same side of every shape.

8. Little penguin in the snow

A wintery idea that is mostly circles, so it is very achievable for younger painters.

1. Paint a black egg shape for the body and a smaller circle for the head.
2. Leave a white oval for the tummy and face.
3. Add an orange beak and feet and a bright striped scarf.
4. Dot white snowflakes all over the background when dry.

Tip: A tiny white dot in each eye instantly brings the penguin to life.

9. Fruit faces

Paint an apple, a banana and a watermelon slice with funny faces. It is a great family activity and also helps young children learn fruit names.

1. Paint each fruit in a simple flat shape and colour.
2. Add details: seeds on the watermelon, a stalk and leaf on the apple, brown tips on the banana.
3. Give each one a different expression: happy, sleepy, surprised.
4. Add accessories such as glasses or a bow for extra fun.

Tip: Painting the three fruits in a row makes a sweet set for a kitchen or a child’s room.

10. Cartoon rocket in space

Bold colours and simple shapes make this one ideal for children who love science and space.

1. Paint a dark blue or black background and let it dry.
2. Draw a rounded rocket body with a round window and three fins.
3. Paint the rocket in bright red and white and add an orange and yellow flame trail.
4. Add small planets with faces and plenty of white stars.

Tip: Use paint pens or a white gel pen for stars and details on a dark background.

Where to go next

Once you are comfortable with simple shapes, try a slightly bigger challenge, such as a landscape or a portrait from a photo. Our online drawing and sketching classes teach the basics step by step, and our miniature painting classes introduce traditional Indian techniques. For inspiration, browse hand-painted watercolour paintings and acrylic paintings by professional artists.

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Shikha Arya

Shikha Arya is the author of Artshaili.com blogs and a Student of environmental science at the University of Rajasthan. Except writing, she loves sketching, singing, dancing, and reading.