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


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

Inspiration for Night Sky Painting Ideas

Acrylic Night Sky Painting Ideas

acrylic-night-sky-painting-idea-barn-landscape-art
acrylic-night-sky-painting-idea-shadow-cowboys
acrylic-night-sky-painting-idea-fireworks-patriotic-art-inspo
acrylic-night-sky-idea-dusk-rural-landscape-art-inspiration
acrylic-night-sky-painting-idea-forest-cowboys-art-inspo
acrylic-night-sky-painting-idea-cloudy-cityscape-blue-art
acrylic-night-sky-painting-idea-starry-sky-small-town-art
acrylic-sunset-painting-crimson-bay-idea-art
acrylic-moon-painting-shore-city-sea-art
acrylic-moon-painting-riders-inspo
acrylic-moon-painting-easy-for-beginners
acrylic-moon-painting-cowboy-gazing-art
acrylic-moon-painting-cat-cityscape-art
acrylic-night-sky-painting-idea-beach-blue-art
acrylic-moon-painting-orange-river-inspo
acrylic-moon-painting-couple-romantic-art-idea
acrylic-moon-painting-riders-forest-idea-black-trees
acrylic-moon-painting-lake-sailboat-art
acrylic-moon-painting-blue-lake-art-inspo
acrylic-night-sky-painting-idea-moon-night-riders
acrylic-moon-painting-riders-canyon-inspo
acrylic-moon-painting-lavender-flower-field-art
acrylic-moon-painting-sailboat-lake-inspiration
acrylic-moon-painting-cowboys-riding-horseback-art
acrylic-moon-painting-cougar-landscape-art
acrylic-moon-painting-alley-art-idea
acrylic-moon-painting-corn-field-art-idea
acrylic-moon-painting-wolf-howling-art
acrylic-moon-painting-purple-blue-art-lake
acrylic-moon-painting-glow-forest-cowboys-outlaw-riders-art
acrylic-moon-painting-simple-easy-art
acrylic-moon-painting-black-monochrome-landscape-art-idea
acrylic-night-sky-painting-idea-mountain-pass-winter
acrylic-moon-painting-over-valley-art-idea
acrylic-moon-painting-paris-art-idea
acrylic-moon-painting-lavender-forest-glow-idea
acrylic-moon-painting-riders-forest-idea
acrylic-moon-painting-cougar-lake-art-idea
acrylic-moon-painting-riders-canyon-idea
acrylic-moon-painting-purple-forest-idea
acrylic-beach-painting-moon-reflection-cliff-art-scene
acrylic-night-sky-painting-idea-barn-horse-art
acrylic-moon-painting-farm-blue-sky
acrylic-mountain-painting-full-moon-lake-reflection-inspo
acrylic-moon-painting-riders-forest-art
acrylic-romantic-painting-easy-beach-scene
acrylic-moon-painting-tree-lake-blue-art
acrylic-moon-painting-purple-sky-art-inspiration
acrylic-moon-painting-outlaw-cowboy-canyon-art-idea
acrylic-moon-painting-pond-art-idea
acrylic-moon-painting-lake-inspiration
acrylic-moon-painting-lake-art
acrylic-moon-painting-glow-road-inspiration
acrylic-night-sky-painting-idea-forest-art-clouds
acrylic-moon-painting-forest-glow-art
acrylic-moon-painting-haunted-tree-art-idea
acrylic-mountain-painting-moon-lake-art
acrylic-night-sky-painting-idea-cowboys-riding-art
acrylic-moon-painting-black-hills-art
acrylic-moon-painting-cowboys-night-riding-art-idea
acrylic-moon-painting-autumn-small-town-art-idea
acrylic-moon-painting-after-dusk-art-lake
acrylic-landscape-painting-idea-pink-moon-lake-reflection
acrylic-jungle-painting-moon-waterfall-art-idea
acrylic-forest-painting-black-moonlight-art
acrylic-mountain-painting-lake-full-moon-art-inspiration
acrylic-mountain-painting-cowboys-campfire-moon-lake-art
acrylic-forest-painting-wolf-full-moon-art-inspiration
acrylic-forest-painting-night-riders-moon-glow-art-idea
acrylic-landscape-painting-idea-lake-mountain-moon
acrylic-mountain-painting-winter-scene-idea
acrylic-night-sky-painting-idea-highway-dusk-art

Watercolor Night Sky Painting Ideas

watercolor-cowboys-under-a-night-sky-art-idea
watercolor-night-sky-lighthouse-painting
easy-watercolor-night-sky-for-beginner
easy-watercolor-lake-stars-art-example
watercolor-full-moon-haunting-scene-art
watercolor-full-moon-wedding-art
watercolor-night-sky-inspiration-new-york-city
watercolor-night-sky-inspiration-cat-on-fence
easy-watercolor-night-sky-moon
watercolor-night-sky-idea-full-moon-city
watercolor-night-sky-idea
watercolor-full-moon-golden-gate-bridge-art
watercolor-night-sky-idea-art
watercolor-forest-night-moon-horse-riders-art-inspo
watercolor-night-sky-scene-for-beginners
watercolor-night-sky-inspiration-simple
watercolor-inspiration-jungle-milky-way-night
watercolor-night-sky-inspiration-ocean
watercolor-night-sky-inspiration-cityscape
watercolor-full-moon-idea-for-beginners
watercolor-night-sky-inspiration-cat
watercolor-night-sky-inspiration-farm
watercolor-night-sky-idea-wolf
watercolor-night-sky-idea-paris
watercolor-night-sky-lighthouse-scene
watercolor-mountain-painting-campfire-cowboys-art
watercolor-inspiration-jungle-art
watercolor-winter-painting-northern-lights
watercolor-night-sky-idea-chimney-smoke
watercolor-moon-cowboys-fire-art
watercolor-night-sky-grand-canyon-scene
watercolor-night-sky-city-scene
watercolor-night-sky-idea-window
watercolor-night-sky-art
watercolor-winter-painting-lighthouse-scene
watercolor-night-sky-black-cat-scene
watercolor-night-sky-idea-meteor-shower
watercolor-moon-statue-of-liberty-painting-idea
watercolor-jungle-inspo-night-stars-idea
watercolor-night-sky-idea-lighthouse
watercolor-night-sky-idea-cityscape
watercolor-night-sky-inspiration
watercolor-river-inspiration
watercolor-night-sky-scene
watercolor-night-sky-inspo
watercolor-night-sky-inspiration-easy
watercolor-moon-graveyard-art
watercolor-night-sky-idea-fog-city-loose
easy-watercolor-lake-starry-night-idea
watercolor-night-sky-inspiration-cityscape-loose
watercolor-night-sky-inspiration-grand-canyon
watercolor-moon-backyard-fireflies-art
watercolor-moon-lonely-road-painting
watercolor-inspiration-jungle-stars
watercolor-night-sky-city-art
watercolor-night-sky-idea-wolf-howling
watercolor-mountain-painting-night-sky-for-beginner-inspo
watercolor-night-sky-inspo-cityscape
easy-watercolor-lake-night-sky-stars-idea
watercolor-night-cityscape-for-beginners
watercolor-night-sky-inspiration-black-cat
watercolor-night-sky-city
watercolor-night-sky-inspiration-camping
watercolor-moon-idea-christ-art
watercolor-winter-art-idea
watercolor-moon-idea-bright-colors-art
watercolor-moon-painting-inspiration-farm
watercolor-full-moon-camping-fire-art
watercolor-winter-art-night-sky-idea
watercolor-full-moon-over-carnival-art
watercolor-full-moon-city-street-scene
watercolor-moon-idea-ruins
watercolor-moon-haunted-art-painting
watercolor-full-moon-painting-idea
easy-watercolor-lake-starry-night-idea
watercolor-full-moon-painting
watercolor-moon-idea-painting
watercolor-dinner-under-moonlight-painting-idea
watercolor-full-moon-scene
watercolor-forest-idea-night-sky

Night Sky Painting Tips for Beginners

  • Moon Texture – When adding a full moon to your night sky scene, you don’t need to stress about details. Use a light grey and dab gently to create a textured look. You can look at a photo of the moon for guidance, but simple dabs and strokes are enough for a beginner’s painting (it doesn’t need to match perfectly).
  • Gradual Darkening – As you move away from the moon, gradually use darker shades of blue, eventually reaching deep indigo at the edges of your paper. This creates a gradient effect for your night sky. Let each layer dry before adding the next to avoid smudging.
  • Light Sky Washes – Begin your night sky painting with light washes. Use a pale blue color like phthalo blue and paint gently around the area where you’ll have the moon (or the brightest part of the sky). This creates a soft, glowing background.
  • Stars – To create stars in you watercolor night sky scene, dip an old toothbrush in white gouache (a type of opaque watercolor) and flick it gently over your painting. This splatters tiny white dots, looking like stars. For bigger stars, use a small brush to add larger dots.
  • Tree Silhouettes – To add trees, use a dark color like black or dark brown. Don’t worry about details – just paint simple lines and shapes for branches and leaves. The silhouette against your night sky will look great even with basic shapes.
  • Moon Position – Think about where you want your moon. It can be anywhere, but placing it slightly off-center often looks nice. You can trace around a coin or a bottle cap to get a perfect circle.
  • Too Many Elements – I always like to remind beginners not to overcomplicate the sky. Some might try to include too many elements, like stars, the moon, planets, shooting stars, and clouds, all in one scene. This can make the painting look cluttered and detract from the overall effect. It’s often more effective to focus on a few elements and execute them well.
  • Color Palette – To effectively capture the essence of the night sky, I like to use a range of blues, greys, and whites. I will use darker shades of blue and black to depict the depth of the night sky. Lighter greys and whites can be used to make stars and the moon.
  • Advanced – When you get more confident, consider using a sponge or dabbing technique. Dab small amounts of white or light grey paint onto your dark background to create a variety of star sizes and intensities. This technique adds depth and a sense of realism to your depiction of the acrylic night sky.
  • Contrast – Contrast is important in a night sky painting. A dark backdrop with lighter elements such as stars and celestial objects creates a striking visual effect. This contrast draws the viewer’s eye to the stars and other highlights of your painting.
  • Clouds – Adding clouds can give your night sky a dynamic and realistic feel. Use thin, wispy strokes of white or light grey to paint clouds, ensuring that some of the dark background is visible through them. This approach adds depth and you can use it to add color to your artwork.

Night Sky Painting Tutorials for Beginners

Below are night sky painting tutorials so you can follow along and learn from popular online creators:

Watercolor Night Sky Tutorial 1 – 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.

Watercolor Night Sky Tutorial 2 – 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.

Watercolor Night Sky Tutorial 3 – This watercolor night sky scene video tutorial guides viewers through painting a detailed watercolor 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.

Watercolor Night Sky Tutorial 4 – 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.

Watercolor Night Sky Tutorial 5 – This tutorial creates a watercolor night sky painting using layers and the wet-on-wet technique, starting with a light wash of phthalo blue and gradually adding depth with Payne’s gray. The sky is then splattered with white gouache stars and a shooting star, and completed with a dark silhouette of trees using a scumbling technique for texture. Click here to view.

Acrylic Night Sky Tutorial #1 – This tutorial demonstrates a step-by-step approach to painting a vibrant night sky cloud scene. This scene is a good starting point for a beginner that doesn’t want to take on too much detail to start. Click here to view.

Acrylic Night Sky Tutorial #2 – This tutorial covers painting a moon with a purple night 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.

Acrylic Night Sky Tutorial #3 – This tutorial teaches you how to paint an easy vibrant night sky with stars and a simple foreground tree. This is a beginner-level scene that uses easy and simple acrylic painting techniques. Click here to view.

Acrylic Night Sky Tutorial #4 – 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.

Acrylic Night Sky Tutorial #5 – This beginner-friendly tutorial focuses on painting a simple moon against a blue background night sky. It uses easy techniques for those new to acrylic painting. Click here to view.

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