How to Paint Snails on Rocks

Wipe off any dirt on the rock with a corner of your paper towel. If there is excess dirt on your rock, your paint will not stick to it.

Choose a color and paint a 1/8-inch-thick line with soft edges on your rock using your paintbrush and acrylic paint. Realistic snails are a light caramel color, but if you are painting with kids, any color is fine. If you want your snail to look like it is in motion, paint your snail to look like a backward "z" with soft, rounded edges and a longer bottom. This is where the shell sits.

Paint two antennae on the top of the far right side of your snail. These look like two stubby sticks with a small ball on top. These are the feelers of the snail. They are the same light caramel color that you painted the snail body.

Wash off your paintbrush in the cup of water, then dry it with the paper towel. Do this each time you use a new color so you do not contaminate your colors.

Paint a large circle that connects to the top of the back of the snail body. This is the shell of your snail. Leave a small tail sticking out at the back end of the shell. Snail shells are usually a dirty cream color or pale tan. If you are painting with children, yellow is a good color for a snail shell because it is easier to paint designs on.

Paint an eye on your snail. This is a side view so you can only see one eye. You can paint a mouth, too, if you are not creating a realistic snail. Snail eyes look like small black dots. If you are working with kids, big, round cartoon-looking eyes might be more appealing.

Paint a black or dark tan spiral on your shell to show definition. Paint the spiral from the farthest point outside the shell, closest to the tail, winding in toward the innermost point. Using a dark tan or black to create the swirl is ideal. Black gives the illusion of the snail being dirty from being in the garden, while a dark tan color makes it look shadowed.