Rock Painting with a simple Acrylic Paint Dip Technique

Acrylic paint dip rock painting is a great way to teach your kids how to transform a simple rock to a piece of art.

Rock painting is a rightful passage of being a kid right? It’s an easy craft that kids of all ages can do. Chances are you already have all the supplies at home too! If you want to create a new and fun craft why not try rock painting for kids? Of course, you could always paint the rocks normally but to make the experience more fun, give dip painting a shot! This dip painting method stops the paint from getting too messy so makes the cleanup much easier as well.

A few things to note about acrylic dip painting before we begin;

1. Water down the acrylic paint and thin it out if you want to create a more “marbled” effect on the rocks.
2. You can also mix a pouring medium into the acrylic paint for the same effect.

Today we will be dipping the rocks into acrylic paint without adding water or a pouring medium to it.

What you will need for acrylic rock painting:

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• Rocks or pebbles
• Acrylic paint – You can also use marbling paints which will spread a little easier but acrylic paints work fine
• A container
• Wooden skewers
• Pouring medium (optional)- this creates a more “fluid” marbled look

How to paint rocks with an acrylic paint dip technique

Step 1:

Before you start, make sure the rocks are clean by washing and drying them properly. 

Step 2:

Pour paints of different colors onto different sides of the container but do not mix them. If you have a pouring medium mix that with the paint before pouring into the container. Not having a pouring medium is also completely fine and will not affect the painting process as much. To make the process easier for the kids, use a container that is smaller in height with larger sides. 

Step 3:

Take a wooden skewers and swirl it across the different colors to create various patterns. There are absolutely no rules to this so just allow the kids to have fun and swirl it around!

If you are not happy with the results just add a few more drops of color and create more patterns until it turns into something you like. 

Step 4:

Once you are satisfied with the patterns created, it is time to start with the dip painting. 

If you do not want to get paint on your hands, feel free to wear gloves. But since acrylic paint is pretty easy to clean up, gloves are not entirely necessary. 

As for the dip painting method, simply hold the rocks with the side you want to paint facing down and dip them into the containers until the rock touches the paint. Rotate the rocks to cover the surface and also to create more variations in patterns. If you would like to give the kids rock painting ideas, show them different ways they could turn the rocks to create different effects. Or just let them do their own things and develop their own painting methods. 

Step 5: 

Once dipped in paint, set the painted rocks aside with the painted side facing up and allow them to air dry. This should not take much time as acrylic paint usually dries up pretty quickly.

Once dried, they are done and ready to be displayed. And now you have made pretty painted rocks using dip painting method! You could also use these to create more crafts that need pretty rocks. Once you have tried this craft of rock painting for kids it might even become a go-to activity whenever they are bored. Now go ahead and experiment with different colors, patterns or even sizes of rocks to create an entire collection of painted rocks! 

See more about how to paint rocks for a fun kids craft here! I’ve also included a handful of other rock painting ideas in this post.

Make sure to also check out our Christmas Rock Painting with a Nativity Scene too!

Acrylic paint dip rock painting

How simple is that? This is one of many different rock painting ideas and techniques. Personally, I think this is one of the simplest methods to paint rocks. What do you think?

If you are looking for another kid friendly paint project, you might enjoy my DIY kid safe nail polish post!

Until next time,

Happy Crafting!