100+ Moon Painting Ideas & Tutorials [Art Landscape Inspiration Examples]

Below are 100+ moon painting ideas that you can use as moon art reference photos (acrylic and watercolor). These ideas are intended to provide you inspiration for your own moon painting art. After the photos, I have included a list of moon painting tips for beginners and moon painting tutorial videos for you to learn from.

Inspiration for Moon Painting Ideas

Acrylic Moon Painting Ideas

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Watercolor Moon Painting Ideas

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Moon Painting Tips for Beginners

• Light Washes – My advice is to begin with light washes around the moon to create a soft, glowing effect and gradually build up to darker tones, preventing over-saturation and maintaining the moon’s luminosity.

• Moon Texture – The texture of the moon can be hard for beginners. I’d recommend you to use reference photos for craters and details, applying light touches and subtle shading to create a realistic moon surface, blending colors carefully to avoid harsh lines.

• Simplified Technique – For a more basic moon, start by painting a perfect circle using a round object as a template. Choose a flat, medium-sized brush and fill in the circle with a solid color. Many people use white or grey, but this is a cool opportunity to use bright yellow or orange to make your moon stand out.

• Gradient Skies – Start with lighter colors like phthalo blue near the moon, gradually transitioning to darker shades like indigo towards the edges, creating a smooth gradient effect in the sky. Apply multiple layers, allowing each to dry before adding the next, to deepen the night sky’s color and add richness without causing unwanted splotches or backwash.

• Stars and Splatter – Utilize white gouache and a toothbrush for starry effects, splattering paint for stars and adding larger dots for a glowing effect, enhancing the night sky’s depth. There are many ways to make stars, but I think this is a relatively easy way to do it for beginners.

• Moon Positioning – Decide the moon’s placement carefully, using a circular object to trace, creating a focal point that balances the composition and guides the viewer’s eye. You can then use that as the light source in your painting.

• Simplified Shapes – My advice when you start is to use simple shapes to represent trees, mountains, stars, and other objects in your watercolor night sky scene. Simplifying these shapes helps capture the essence of the night without getting lost in intricate details.

• Perspective – Remember to convey the depth of your watercolor moon scene by scaling elements – distant trees and land should be smaller and less detailed, becoming larger and more defined in the foreground.

• Clouds – I like to add clouds around the moon for a more dynamic scene. Use thin, wispy strokes of white or light grey to paint clouds, allowing some of the background colors to show through for a realistic effect.

• Silhouettes – Add a silhouette of a landscape or city skyline against the moonlit sky. This provides a sense of scale and context, enhancing the overall composition of your moon scene. But using a silhouette keeps it simple and easier for you as a beginner.

Moon Painting Tutorials for Beginners

Below are ten moon painting tutorials (watercolor and acrylic) so you can follow along and learn from popular online creators:

Watercolor Moon Tutorial – This tutorial demonstrates how to paint different phases of the moon using watercolor techniques. The focus is on creating seamless blends and patterns to emulate the moon’s surface. Click here to view.

Acrylic Moon Tutorial – This tutorial demonstrates a step-by-step approach to painting a vibrant full moon landscape on a 20×20 cm canvas. It uses a variety of brushes and colors, suitable for beginners and advanced artists. Click here to view.

Watercolor Moon Tutorial – This tutorial covers the process of painting a night sky with indigo, highlighting the use of minimal layers for effectiveness. Techniques for creating a gradient sky and adding stars with gouache are discussed. Click here to view.

Acrylic Moon Tutorial – This tutorial covers painting a moon with a purple sky, reflecting over a lake with trees and horizon hills. This tutorial focuses on creating a serene and colorful nighttime landscape. Click here to view.

Watercolor Moon Tutorial – This watercolor moon scene video tutorial guides viewers through painting a detailed moon using a wet brush on dry paper, with emphasis on creating texture and depth. The process includes layering and adding highlights to enhance realism. This is a good place to start if you want to create realistic moon paintings. Click here to view.

Acrylic Moon Tutorial – This tutorial offers guidance on painting a detailed moon without a landscape background. It focuses on creating a detailed moon and is a good example if you are wanting to create a more advanced moon. Click here to view.

Watercolor Moon Tutorial – This tutorial presents four different night sky watercolor paintings, each exploring various techniques like wet-on-wet, creating moonlight effects, and using salt for texture. It focuses on experimenting with different scenes and learning watercolor beginner techniques. Click here to view.

Acrylic Moon Tutorial – This tutorial teaches you how to paint a moon backdrop using four colors and various brushes to create a spherical look for your moon. It also teaches you how to add a basic starry effect around the moon. Click here to view.

Watercolor Moon Tutorial – This tutorial shows you how to paint a watercolor full moon night sky, starting with a wet base and building layers around the moon. Key steps include creating a detailed moon crater and adding stars using white gouache. Click here to view.

Acrylic Moon Tutorial – This beginner-friendly tutorial focuses on painting a simple moon against a blue background. It uses easy techniques for those new to acrylic painting. Click here to view.