Super Easy Ghost Rock Painting Tutorial: Bonus Jack-O-Lantern

Halloween is coming. I thought I’d do some cute little ghost rock paintings. Then I got carried away making them, I end up painting some jack-o-lanterns as well.

Easy halloween ghost and jack-o-lantern rock painting. — Easy Halloween ghost and jack-o-lantern rock painting.

Materials:

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Rocks (prepared)
- Preparing the rocks means cleaning and drying them so that the paint will stick well. If you are not sure how, check out this post on how I prepare the rocks before painting.
- I usually like using flat rocks for rock painting.
- I choose small, and light stones for this project since I plan to use them for games. Long triangular stones for the ghost and round ones for the jack-o-lantern.
- If you are planning to use it to decorate your garden for Halloween, you can also use bigger rocks.

Pencil or colored pencil (optional)
- You can use a pencil or colored pencil to sketch your design first.
- If you are confident enough, you can just do the drawing directly with paint or sharpie.

Craft acrylic paint
- I love using craft acrylic paint as they are very versatile.
- For this project you will need these colors:
  - white
  - black
  - orange (can be made by adding yellow + red)
  - green (can be made by adding yellow + blue)
- But if you are planning to make more rock art again in the future, I recommend you just buy the basic colors(white, black, yellow, blue, and red) to create the colors above. I further explained in this post why these are the most cost-efficient coloring materials to start a rock painting hobby.

Brush
- You will also need the brush to apply the paint.
- I used a medium and detail round brush in this project. The first allows me to have good paint coverage while painting larger portions. The fine brush makes it easier to paint the edges and outline if I’m not using a marker.
- You don’t need the fancy brushes, the dollar store set will work just fine.

Fine tip black marker (optional)
- You can use this to do the outline and details of your design. If you don’t want to use paint

Jar of water
- This will be used to wash the paint from the brush.
- Craft acrylic paint dries within a few minutes. So usually dip and swish the brush to rinse the paint off as soon as I’m done using it.
- In this project, you will need to wash the brushes a lot of times. If the water turns so murky, it’s time to change it.

Rags
- You will need these to wipe your paint brush dry after rinsing.
- I use some old shirts or towels for this purpose.

Scrap papers/paper plates/old lids
- Acrylic paints are very hard to remove once they get dry. You may want to place your rocks on the paper or plate to avoid paint on your table.
- I used old yogurt lids for this purpose.

Clear coat /varnish
- If you want to use the rocks to last longer or keep them outdoors, you can apply a clear coat.
- Since we will be using the stones for games and activities, I will need to seal mine.

Easy Ghost and Jack-o-lantern Rock Painting (Step by Step)

Step 1. Prime the rocks

I started by putting my rocks on top of the lids. And getting all materials ready.
On the triangular-shaped rocks, I put some white paint to make the ghost rock. Since I’m using a tiny rock here, I try to hold it with the tip of another brush. This way, it will not move while I’m painting. Bigger rocks don’t move as much.
I use a medium brush to prime the rocks. If you are using a larger rock, a larger brush will work better.

Priming the ghost rock art with white paint

I paint the sides and edges of the rock first, just to make sure I will not miss them.
When I’m done with one layer of paint for all the ghost rocks, I have to wait for them to dry.

I got bored waiting for them to dry, so I thought I’d make some jack-o-lantern, perfect pair for the cutesy ghosts.
On the round rocks, I put some red and yellow paint to make them orange. You can use orange if you have one.

Red and yellow paint to make orange for the pumpkin.

I mix the red and yellow together to make an orange. Then I start painting the entire stone.

Mixing red and yellow to paint a pumpkin rock art.

I did the same for all the other stones for the pumpkin then let them dry.

Letting the first layer of jack-o-lantern rock paint to dry.

Some of my stones didn’t have very good coverage with the first layer of primer. So I added another layer. I make sure that the rocks are dry-to-touch before adding the next layer.

Adding a second layer of white paint for the ghost rocks..

Notes:

You may need to add more layers depending on your rock.
As I wrote in the previous blog, you can use a hair dryer in between layers if you want to dry them faster.
Make sure to always rinse and pat dry your brush often. That is what the jar of water and rags are for. This is to prevent paint from drying in your brush.

Step 2. Add the details

I use a very fine brush to add the details. If you are using bigger rocks, you can use a normal detail brush.
I painted the bottom of the rock with black paint so it looks flowy. Then I put 2 round dots for the eyes and an oval dot for the mouth.

Using a fine detail brush for the face of the ghost rock art.

I then added few lines at the bottom to make it look like folds.

Adding details to the base of the ghost rock art.

I did the same for all the ghost rocks.

Done with the ghost details using black paint

For the jack-o-lantern, I put 2 triangles for the eyes. I drew a curve for the mouth, then two ‘V’ for the missing teeth effect.

Using black paint to add details to the jack-o-lantern.

Then finish painting the mouth. I find it easier to paint the mouth that way. You can also draw it first with a pencil.
I did the same with the other pumpkin stones but also tried round eyes instead of triangles.

Adding more details to the other jack-o-lantern

I could have stopped at this point since I have some simple ghost and jack-o-lantern stones. But I decided to add more details.
I used white paint on the fine brush to add more details to the eyes to make them look dreamy.

Adding white dots to the eyes makes them look a bit alive.

I also added some flowers and ribbon, just because. I used a bit of pink (white + red).for that.

More details added to the ghost stone paintings.

For the pumpkin, I added green(blue + yellow) for the top. And of course the white dots for the eyes.

More details added to the jack-o-lantern paintings

Step 3. Sealing the painted rocks (Optional)

I make sure that the rocks are completely dried before sealing or applying any coating. I let them dry overnight.
I used old egg cartons for this purpose.

You can use clear varnish, clear coat, resin, or even clear nail polish. I used the latter because I have them and don’t use any for my nails. Then let them dry again for at least 24 hours.